The Mavericks have made a habit of squeezing real value out of two-way contracts, and that history gives John Poulakidas a clear opening heading into 2026-27.
Dallas has already shown it can spot a player before the rest of the league catches on. Last season, the Mavericks opened with Miles Kelly, Moussa Cisse, and Ryan Nembhard on two-way deals.
Nembhard was traded earlier this summer, but both he and Cisse were eventually signed to standard contracts by Dallas. Nembhard even started 27 games as a rookie, while Cisse developed into a high-energy bench piece.
The rookie group ended up being stronger than it got credit for.
The year before that, Brandon Williams, A.J. Lawson, and Kessler Edwards began the season on two-way contracts. Williams was later converted to a standard deal by the Mavericks, and Lawson had his two-way contract turned into a standard one by the Toronto Raptors.
That track record is why the spotlight now turns to Poulakidas, along with Tobi Lawal and Jett Howard. All three enter the 2026-27 season on two-way deals, all three have a shot to earn rotation minutes, and all three are looking to turn opportunity into something more permanent.
Lawal brings freak athleticism, while Howard and Poulakidas project as knockdown shooters. Of the group, Poulakidas looks like the best bet to become a long-term piece in Dallas.
The Mavericks signed him to a two-way deal late last season, and he delivered right away. In 13 games, Poulakidas averaged 8.8 points per game and shot better than 40 percent from three. He finished the season strong, too, pouring in 63 points over the final three games.
That kind of shooting matters for a Dallas team that struggled badly from deep last season, finishing in the bottom five in the NBA in 3-pointers made, 3-pointers attempted, and 3-point percentage. The Mavericks tried to fix that this offseason by adding Tarik Biberovic, Santi Aldama, Marcus Sasser, and Zaccharie Risacher, but Poulakidas still has a chance to be the best shooter in that group if he keeps trending up.
His shot has been his calling card since his Yale days, and Dallas could use exactly that kind of weapon with Klay Thompson on the trade block. Even if Thompson stays, his contract runs out after the 2026-27 season, which means somebody has to be ready to fill that void.
Poulakidas has already shown he can do damage. He hit more than three 3-pointers in a game five different times for the Mavericks last season, and with Kyrie Irving set to return, the looks should only get cleaner.
Dallas has made it clear it wants as much shooting as possible around Cooper Flagg after last season went sideways. If Poulakidas keeps building on what he showed, he has a real shot to move from two-way surprise to part of the young core. For now, he just has to outlast Lawal and Howard to make that leap.
In Other News...
Mavericks Face A Klay Thompson Decision Heat Fans Will Love
Klay Thompsons situation has become one of the more interesting offseason holdovers for Dallas, with Miami showing the most aggressive interest and reportedly keeping its bi-annual exception available for a possible deal. The Heat have already passed on veteran-minimum talks with Bradley Beal and DeMar DeRozan, which says plenty about how carefully they are targeting the market as they look for a proven perimeter piece.
For the Mavericks, the wrinkle is less about whether Thompson still has appeal and more about how the team ultimately chooses to handle his future. Dallas would prefer to work out a trade, but the path could change if the front office decides a buyout makes more sense as roster decisions loom, leaving this as one of the more closely watched personnel calls on the teams calendar. [Read more 🡒]
Klay Thompson Just Added More Tension To An Unsettled Mavs Situation
Klay Thompsons place in Dallas has already been one of the offseasons more delicate topics, and his latest response only added another layer to it. After a fan drew a comparison between Thompson and Ray Allen, he pushed back by pointing to the scoring load he carried on Golden State championship teams before Kevin Durant arrived, reminding everyone that his rsum was built on more than just a catch-and-shoot reputation.
For the Mavericks, the timing matters because Thompsons future remains unsettled and the front office still has decisions to make about how to handle it. Reports have suggested that a trade could still be on the table rather than a buyout, with the Miami Heat among the teams keeping an eye on the situation, which leaves Dallas with a situation that feels far from resolved. [Read more 🡒]
Mavs Front Office Just Sent A Clear Message About This Roster
The Mavericks are taking a clear step into a different phase, one centered less on veteran names and more on what the roster can grow into from within. General manager Mike Schmitz framed the shift as a chance to lean into internal competition and give younger players a bigger runway, while also thanking Klay Thompson for what he brought during his time in Dallas.
For a team trying to sort out its next look, the move matters because it changes the texture of the roster as much as the rotation. Thompsons next stop is already lining up elsewhere, but in Dallas the bigger story is the message being sent to the rest of the locker room: the opportunities ahead will have to be earned, and the front office is clearly willing to let that process play out. [Read more 🡒]