The Mavericks have wasted no time putting their stamp on the offseason in the first year of the Masai Ujiri-Mike Schmitz front office era, and the roster is already looking very different around reigning Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg.
Dallas opened draft season by taking big man Morez Johnson Jr. with the No. 9 pick, then kept moving. The team slid from No. 30 to No. 25 to land Sergio de Larrea, a Spanish guard who grew up rooting for the Mavericks because of Luka Doncic. To make that jump, Dallas sent New York the 30th pick plus two second-rounders.
The second round brought even more turnover. The Mavericks added Tobi Lawal at No. 48 on a two-way deal, then flipped cash to the Lakers to get the rights to Vsevolod Ishchenko at No.
- The Russian wing remains unsigned.
From there, Dallas jumped into a six-team blockbuster that brought in Santi Aldama, the draft rights to Tarik Biberovic and Marcus Sasser. To finish its part of the deal, the Mavericks sent Khris Middleton and a 2033 second-round pick to Washington, while also sending AJ Johnson, a top-20 protected 2030 first-round pick via Golden State, and a 2029 second-rounder via Houston to Memphis.
Biberovic eventually signed a two-year, $6MM contract with a team option for 2027/28. Dallas used part of its non-taxpayer mid-level exception to give him a starting salary of $3MM, far above the rookie minimum of $1.4MM, and used its bi-annual exception to bring in Sasser.
The moves kept coming. On Saturday night, the Mavericks matched a two-year minimum-salary offer sheet for Moussa Cisse, and that deal is currently non-guaranteed. Then on Sunday, Dallas agreed to another trade, landing 2024 No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher from Atlanta in exchange for Ryan Nembhard and a second-round pick that goes to Oklahoma City.
In all, the Mavericks have sent out Middleton, AJ Johnson, Nembhard, the No. 30 pick in 2026, the Warriors’ 2030 first-round pick, five second-round picks and cash. The haul coming back includes de Larrea, Ishchenko, Aldama, Sasser, Biberovic and Risacher.
Christian Clark of The Athletic noted the roster now has an unusual shape, with several bigger wings and forwards in the mix. Dallas currently has 16 players on the standard roster, 15 of them guaranteed, and is reportedly exploring a Daniel Gafford trade. Klay Thompson is also said to be a prime target for the Heat, though he remains under contract for $17.5MM in 2026/27.
There’s still plenty of talent on the books. Johnson impressed in two Summer League games and looks like a long-term piece under new head coach Dusty May, who coached him at Michigan.
Kyrie Irving is set to return from a torn ACL in ’26/27, and the Mavericks also have Flagg, de Larrea, Biberovic, Aldama, Sasser, Cisse, Gafford, Thompson, Max Christie, Caleb Martin, Naji Marshall, P.J. Washington and Dereck Lively II on standard deals.
Dallas also still has two unsigned free agents in Dwight Powell and Brandon Williams. Powell, the Canadian big man, has spent the past 12 years with the franchise after arriving as a rookie trade acquisition. Williams carved out a rotation role last season, averaging 13.0 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 66 games, playing 22.2 minutes per night.
The bigger question now is whether the Mavericks are done. They’re close to the luxury tax line, don’t control their own first-round pick until 2031, and have only one future second-rounder left, according to RealGM.
In Other News...
Mavericks Just Took Another Cheap Flier On A Wing Around Cooper Flagg
The Mavericks kept churning the back end of the roster by waiving Tyler Smith and using the opening to sign Jett Howard to a two-way contract, another low-cost swing on a young wing with some real pedigree. Howard arrives with the kind of profile teams keep betting on in these spots: a former lottery pick, a big frame for the position and a reputation as a shooter, which makes him an easy developmental fit for a Dallas team still sorting out its long-term pieces.
It also pushes Dallas to three two-way players for next season, a sign the front office is still leaning into upside wherever it can find it. The move comes on the heels of the recent Zaccharie Risacher trade, and the pattern is clear enough even if the end result is not yet - the Mavericks are collecting young talent around Cooper Flagg and seeing which of these cheap flyers can turn into something more. [Read more 🡒]
Mavericks Trade Rumor Puts Key Rotation Wing Back In Spotlight
PJ Washington has found himself back in the middle of the rumor mill as the Lakers continue exploring ways to reshape their roster around Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. Los Angeles is reportedly weighing trade possibilities involving Jarred Vanderbilt and Dalton Knecht, and one of the more intriguing ideas floating around the league has the Mavericks pulled into a larger deal with the Bulls in the mix as well.
For Dallas, the appeal is obvious enough to understand even before any specifics are finalized: a rotation wing like Washington would be the kind of name that naturally draws attention in a broader roster shuffle. The framework being discussed would also send help back to Dallas along with future draft value, but for now it remains just that, a framework, with nothing confirmed as a completed transaction. [Read more 🡒]
Mavericks Just Reopened The Roster Fear That Burned Them Last Season
The Mavericks spent the offseason trying to reshape the roster, but their latest move only sharpened the concern that has hovered around the team since last year: who is actually going to handle the ball when the games start to matter? Dallas already thinned its point guard group by moving Ryan Nembhard in the deal for Zaccharie Risacher, and the remaining options are light enough that every rotation decision now feels magnified heading into the regular season.
After waiving Tyler Smith to open a roster spot, the front office still chose to use that flexibility on another forward, Jett Howard, rather than adding help in the backcourt. It leaves Dallas with a familiar-looking balance problem, one that puts extra pressure on Kyrie Irving and the rest of the guard rotation to carry a load the roster does not seem fully built to support. [Read more 🡒]