News Mavericks Team Notes

[Dallas Mavericks]

The Dallas Wings need more out of their backcourt — or anyone, really

Paige Bueckers #5 of the Dallas Wings pushes Allisha Gray #15 of the Atlanta Dream for an inbound pass during the first quarter of a game between the Dallas Wings and Atlanta Dream at Gateway Center Arena on May 24, 2025 in College Park, Georgia. | Photo by Andrew J. Clark/ISI Photos/Getty Images

Dallas dropped a fourth-straight game, 83-75 at the Atlanta Dream, on Saturday to open the 2025 season

The 3-pointer wasn’t falling for the Dallas Wings in the first half on Saturday against the Atlanta Dream. Down the team’s two best ball handlers, Atlanta was content to pump the ball into Brittney Griner time and time again, for the most obvious of reasons. Not only did she have five inches of height on Dallas’ NaLyssa Smith, who started for the Wings opposite the 34-year-old 6’9 center, but Griner was the Dream’s best advantage left on the floor to be played.

Griner scored on back-to-back possessions late in the second quarter Saturday afternoon to give the Dream a 32-28 lead at the time. Atlanta outscored Dallas 20-12 in the second on their way to a 83-75 win. The Wings needed an effective answer to stem the tide.

It’s precisely at these times that the Wings’ backcourt tandem of Arike Ogunbowale and rookie Paige Bueckers has to be the difference-maker for Dallas. They have to be the instigators. They weren’t in Atlanta.

The Wings have to get more from the pair of playmakers than the seven first-half points Ogunbowale and Bueckers managed (all by Bueckers) in Saturday’s loss. Ogunbowale, in particular, has to get to the line more. At halftime Saturday, it had been seven full quarters since her last trip to the stripe. Ogunbowale made her first bucket of the game over Griner with 2:02 left in the third quarter, then went to the line for the first time a minute later to bring the Wings to within 63-46.

Four games into the 2025 season, this team is still a work in progress. Some latitude needs to be afforded for them to get there, but at some point, progress will be expected. We thought Wednesday’s 85-81 loss at the Minnesota Lynx was a good sign to that end, only to have the team take a step back in Atlanta on Saturday. Ogunbowale busted out of her shooting slump for 21 points on five 3-point makes in Minneapolis, while Bueckers made plays for both herself and her teammates with 12 points and 10 assists in her third-ever WNBA game. The pair shot just 6-of-25 from the field in the loss to Atlanta.

First-year head coach Chris Koclanes has stressed early on this year that everyone on this roster has to hunt their shots on offense. There are buckets to be had — go get them. Smith was effective in the first half, scoring nine and doing it from all three levels to pace Dallas at the break.

Bueckers went on the hunt starting midway through the second quarter and adjusted nicely to what Atlanta’s defense gave her at times throughout Saturday’s game. The problem (one of them, anyway) is that Bueckers flashed several times with her shotmaking and playmaking abilities but then receded into the background for several minutes at a time before flashing again.

It doesn’t help when all an opposing team has to concentrate on is limiting Bueckers and Ogunbowale and letting the rest of the chips fall where they may on defense. These two can’t be faulted for everything, and their teammates have to help out more. Consistently taking the ball out of the basket doesn’t help either — the Dream shot a collective 10-of-16 (62.5%) in the third quarter to grow their lead to as large as 20 points.

It all added up to the Wings getting outscored 51-32 in the second and third quarters in Atlanta. Dallas responded with a 13-0 run that carried over into the fourth and included a four-plus-minute scoreless stretch for the Dream. They cut the lead to five on Kaila Charles’ bucket inside on an assist from Ogunbowale’s drive-and-dish midway through the fourth. The valiant comeback attempt that comes up just short is becoming a familiar game script for the Wings early in 2025, but so far, it hasn’t yielded any results.

Seeing five Dallas Wings reach double-figure scoring is nice and all, but someone has to step forward, take the reins and steer this thing toward a win. Allisha Gray led the way for Atlanta with 27 points on four made 3-pointers in Saturday’s win over Dallas.

Source: https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2025/...-more-out-of-their-backcourt-or-anyone-really

 

[Dallas Mavericks]

Kyrie Irving may just finish his career in Dallas

Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images

All signs continue to point to Irving signing on in Dallas for the foreseeable future

Kyrie Irving arrived in Big D back in February of 2023. The Dallas Mavericks made what some considered to be a risky trade at the time, having lost their 2029 First Round Pick (no protections) amongst other assets for a player who only months prior was suspended by the Brooklyn Nets after a controversial post on X (then Twitter). Although his first half-season with the Mavs yielded an underwhelming result, things clicked in a big way in his first full season with the team, where he helped the Mavs return to the NBA Finals. In the Offseason prior to that Finals run, the Mavs re-upped Irving on a three-year deal worth $126 million. That deal held a player option in the final year, which brings us to today.

After Irving suffered a significant injury on March 3rd, which required surgery later that month, the logical conclusion was that he would pick up his option while rehabbing. $44 million in a year that would be optimistically truncated until at least January seems too good to pass up, unless of course there was a better deal to be had. We later reported that he may get an extension from the Mavericks and now Kevin Gray reiterates that notion.

“[Kyrie] Irving holds a $44 million player option for next season that he must activate or decline by June 24. There have been rumbles all season that the Mavericks, either using that option as the starting point for an extension or based on an entirely new deal, have been hoping…

— Kevin Gray Jr. (@KevinGraySports) May 24, 2025​

As Gray states, Irving needs to make the decision to either pick up or decline his player option by June 24th. The Mavs appear intent on keeping Irving in Dallas long term, and all signs indicate Irving likes the idea. Not only is it inherently smart to secure long-term money while rehabbing from a serious injury, but Irving has spoken favorably of Dallas almost from day one. He has even gone as far as saying he wished he had been drafted by the Mavericks in the first place. Add to that nothing but positive feedback from his teammates, and Irving’s continued stint in Dallas begins to look like an inevitability. The notion that Mavs’ GM Nico Harrison may not sit idle, but rather lock Irving up regardless of his injury, shows the level of commitment they have to their star guard.

If Irving commits to, and plays out, another three seasons in Dallas, he will all but match the longest tenure of his career (six seasons in Cleveland). Not only that, but such a deal would suddenly propel Irving into being one of the longest tenured Mavericks in history. Astonishingly, the Mavs have fewer than twenty players all time who have played more than six seasons with the franchise. A deal of this nature would also find Irving at age 35 when it expires. It’s too far a reach to accurately speculate now, but depending what happens at that point, we could be talking about Irving retiring in a Dallas uniform. Before we get way too ahead of ourselves, we’ll pull back to the immediate reality that Irving may be prolonging his stay in Dallas within the month. Given Harrison’s commitment to his current stars and his apparent “win now” mentality for the team, an extension for Irving makes a great deal of sense. He has performed very well both on and off the court while serving as a mentor to younger players like Jaden Hardy. With fellow Duke standout Cooper Flagg likely to be his teammate, Irving will again be well positioned to help a young player acclimate to NBA life. Question marks still remain in respect of his health, but with generally favorable post-surgery updates, Irving re-upping in Dallas should be a good thing for the franchise within their immediate window of contention.

I invite you to follow me @_80MPH on X, and check back often at Mavs Moneyball for all the latest on the Dallas Mavericks.

Source: https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2025/...ract-extension-player-option-dallas-mavericks

 

[Dallas Mavericks]

Sean Sweeney may not be on the Dallas sideline next season

Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images

Sweeney has once again drawn interest for a head coach position, this time with the Phoenix Suns

Dallas Mavericks Assistant Coach Sean Sweeney is once again garnering attention for vacant head coaching positions, in what may now be able to call an annual trend. This time, the Phoenix Suns are in the running for his services. After Monty Williams won Coach of the Year in 2021-2022 while manning the sidelines in Phoenix, the Suns are now looking for their fourth coach in as many seasons, after Williams gave way to Frank Vogel and then to Mike Budenholzer.

Chris Haynes dove into the Suns’ head coach search on his aptly named Haynes Briefs YouTube show, where he listed the eight candidates the Suns are considering in what is their second round of interviews. AZ Sports Zone corroborated Haynes with a post on X naming the eight.

The 8 coaches that advanced:

Sean Sweeney
David Fizdale
James Borrego
Johnnie Bryant
Jordan Ott
Steve Hetzel
Micah Nori
Dave Bliss https://t.co/OKTvproOQT

— Zona (@AZSportsZone) May 18, 2025​

Sweeney tops a list (though there is no indication the names were displayed with any type of priority) that should cause some consternation among Mavs’ fans. Sweeney has often been credited as the defensive mastermind in Dallas and can be considered Jason Kidd’s right-hand man. The two were together in both Brooklyn and Milwaukee for Kidd’s prior head coaching gigs, so it was no surprise Sweeney teamed up with him again in Big D. While most of the focus is rightfully placed on the players, key cogs to a coaching staff shouldn’t be overlooked. It’s only a matter of time before Sweeney lands in the big chair somewhere, but the timing seems particularly troublesome this Offseason.

Dallas is fresh off the notorious trade of Luka Doncic and an injury-laden season the likes of which the franchise had never before seen. Coming out of the chaos and with a fresh opportunity to transition into the Cooper Flagg era, it would be nice to have continuity on the coaching staff, especially when you imagine Sweeney’s defensive prowess with Flagg’s skills on the defensive end. While there is a selfish side that is rooting for any of the other seven candidates to get the nod, Sweeney has put work for the past decade-plus and before long will get a shot at the top of the pyramid, whether in Phoenix or elsewhere.

I invite you to follow me @_80MPH on X, and check back often at Mavs Moneyball for all the latest on the Dallas Mavericks

Source: https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2025/5/24/24435431/sean-sweeney-phoenix-suns-head-coach-jason-kidd

 

[Dallas Mavericks]

Anthony Davis is the odd man out for the Dallas Mavericks: Part 1

Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Now that Dallas has won the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes, the Mavericks must move Anthony Davis to maximize Flagg and the roster

Editor’s note: Our man Sudarshan initially wrote a monstrous story about his rationale for the Mavericks needing to trade Anthony Davis, so we’re splitting it into a three part series. What follows is Part 1, with the rest to follow in the coming days.

What a difference one miraculous stroke of fortune makes,

10 days ago, most Mavericks fans were in the doldrums, bemoaning the immaturity and sheer incompetence of a front office that was unable to get out of its way. Surely, at some point during these playoffs, we’ve all probably thought the Mavericks would’ve smoked these teams on their way to back-to-back finals appearances if Nico Harrison hadn’t traded Luka Doncic away. The Jayson Tatum injury and the Celtics’ inability to fire on all cylinders consistently, along with the Cleveland Cavaliers’ spectacular flameout, only add legitimacy to the argument that this could have been Dallas’ year had they stayed the course.

Then on Monday, the Basketball Gods/David Stern’s ghost/Adam Silver’s shiny 8-ball head smiled favorably on the Mavericks’ lottery odds and gave them the first overall pick in a draft with one of the most hyped prospects since Anthony Davis or Victor Wembanyama. Suddenly, for everyone in the Dallas Mavericks universe, from ownership to the fans, the world brightened, like when Thanos was finally defeated at the end of Avengers: Endgame. The future could be controlled again and wasn’t at the whims of a mad being hell bent on imprinting his vision on everything.

A lot of things had to fall into place for the Mavericks to win the Cooper Flagg lottery, and now that it’s here, one can’t help but think of all the possibilities the future holds in store. Mock drafts and draft profiles of thirty different prospects hold a little less meaning when the only thing that everyone in the Mavericks' universe needs to worry about is ensuring that Nico Harrison is locked in a closet somewhere from now until his contract runs out.

Now, while the idea of drafting Cooper Flagg has all of us salivating, it is merely one step on the path to redemption. Flagg is the kind of prospect that defines organizational direction, unlike most. You don’t simply add him to your roster. You bend your roster to maximize his potential. You move anyone and everyone who doesn’t fit/enable his play. Of course, someone like Flagg is a high-floor high ceiling prospect that can adapt to any situation, but that isn’t an efficient solution because these first few years are critical as they give him the platform to build on and ideally the organization should do everything to NOT force him into a style of play that might not be the best use of his talents.

Flagg’s ideal position based on scouting profiles so far is at the 3 with the potential to slide to the 4 when required. So, a starting lineup of Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, Cooper Flagg, Anthony Davis, and either Dereck Lively or Daniel Gafford would be, on paper, a good fit.

But I just don’t think that is the case.

Having Davis and one of Lively or Gafford on the floor majorly mucks up the spacing, leaving teams to pack the paint, leading to a flawed system of play on offense that will ultimately get found out in crunch time against high-level opposition. It, like the seeming double-big trend, might work as a gimmick during the regular season, when the games come at you fast and the variety in opponents means that crafting gameplans becomes a complicated endeavor, but in the playoffs, teams will find a way to pull it apart. The Cleveland Cavaliers are the perfect example of this. Some will rightly point out that they had to deal with injury issues, and that is valid, but the fact of the matter is that Indiana picked them apart with their up-tempo five-out spacing.

The trick isn’t just to be big. It’s about playing big even while physically being small. The Kevin Durant-imbued Warriors could play really big with Draymond Green at the 5, Durant at the 4, and Andre Iguodala, Klay, and Steph Curry at the other three positions being big enough. They had size, skill, and playmaking skills in spades and shot opponents out of the arena.

Last season’s Celtics and this season’s Pacers are of a similar mold. They have big men in Kristaps Porzingis and Myles Turner who can defend the rim admirably on defense, but space the floor and bomb away till opponents give up. They also have skilled big wings/guards like Jayson Tatum, Jalen Brown, and Derrick White for the Celtics and Andrew Nembhard or Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, and Tyrese Haliburton for the Pacers. When these teams go small, they don’t give up any advantage on the defensive end of the floor.

Considering the way the Mavericks roster is built following the Luka Doncic-Davis trade, one naturally gravitates towards PJ Washington being the odd man out. In the current lineup, Washington plays out of position at the 3. When Washington was at the 4, that role suited him perfectly as it minimized his weaknesses (ball handling, shot creation) while maximizing his strengths (finishing, defense). After the Luka trade, Washington’s weaknesses came to the fore when he looked turnover-prone and out of his depth next to the Mavericks’ big man tandem.

So, trade Washington, plant Flagg into the lineup and everything’s perfect right?

Again, I would argue otherwise.

The correct move is to trade Anthony Davis to recoup a high-level guard (any decent guard, really) to boost the team’s woeful depth at the position and to run the offense and/or play-off Kyrie when he returns post the All-Star break.

This allows for lineups like the ones the Mavericks were able to run out when they went on the Finals run in 2024, only with more defensive flexibility and spacing. The missing element (and it’s a big one) is the god level playmaking or scoring that Luka brought to the table. The hope is that the guard return in trading AD helps bring some of that to the table to maximize everyone else. The Mavericks can then play big on defense, while spacing the floor and tearing opponents apart on the offensive end of the floor.

Davis is a preternatural two-way talent and is a rightful all-time top 75 player. He is someone you would ideally trade for and build around. The keyword is ideally. His insistence on not playing the 5 hamstrings affects his effectiveness in today’s game. He can play at the 4 for small stretches, but most of his minutes should be at center, where he can use his athleticism and ball handling to take advantage of slow-footed big men or switches onto smaller defenders. Still, he has been insistent in wanting to play at 4, where his inability to guard smaller wings on the perimeter gets exposed. Or at least, it was by the end of this last season.

His mentality is another glaring issue. Davis rarely shows up when the occasion demands it against high-level opposition. Analysts will point to his big games down the stretch. We should counter that these were against the Bulls, Hawks, Raptors and Kings – hardly the kind of opposition that would have you in sweats, trying to figure out a way to score a win.

Starting tomorrow, I’ll break down the first grouping of trade scenarios about what the Mavericks could do with Davis. Check back then and head down the road of madness with me and the trade machine.

Editor’s note: Our man Sudarshan initially wrote a monstrous story about his rationale for the Mavericks needing to trade Anthony Davis, so we’re splitting it into a three part series. You just read Part 1, with the rest to follow in the coming days.

Source: https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2025/5/26/24432090/nba-draft-lottery-cooper-flagg-anthony-davis-trade

 

[Dallas Mavericks]

Daniel Gafford may go, but he shouldn’t go to LA

Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images

The chance of Daniel Gafford being traded is real, but the Mavs need to avoid LA as a possible trade partner

Rumors recently dropped that Daniel Gafford was seeking starting center level money for his next contract. Despite still having a year left on his current deal, speculation immediately began that Gafford would soon be on his way out of Dallas as a result of both that desire and the growing glut of frontcourt depth in Big D. Gafford has since squashed the salary-related rumors, yet talk of him being on the move has persisted. The Mavericks are not in the friendliest of spots relative to the salary cap, and Gafford could certainly fetch valuable assets such as picks and/or more favorable salaries that could make it easier to navigate the Offseason.

A logical landing spot for Gafford would be none other than the Los Angeles Lakers, with whom the Mavericks swung a separate deal you may be familiar with, back in early February. LA has an almost desperate need for a center, and the chemistry Luka Doncic has with Gafford is tried and true at this point. There is no question about the fit, but there are a few roadblocks in the way of LA getting another trade done with Dallas.

Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times recently reported on some interesting factors that could play into LA and Dallas meeting at the trade table once again. He confirmed LA’s obvious need for a center, stating “the Lakers’ scouts and executives... have openly spoke about the team’s needs at the center position — an obvious priority for [GM Rob] Pelinka and [head coach J.J.] Redick.” That, of course, is the obvious portion of an equation that quickly gets more complicated, as he continues “the team has shown no interest in using [Austin] Reaves in a trade that nets them anything less than a top-tier big… with the two most common names linked to them in the earliest stages of the offseason - Brooklyn’s Nic Claxton and Dallas’ Daniel Gafford. According to rival scouts and executives, the Lakers best assets (minus Reaves) are their 2031 first-round pick, second year wing Dalton Knecht and a bunch of expiring contracts. Some combination of them would be a must in any deal the team would make for a center.”

Dallas could certainly benefit from some backcourt help in the form of Reaves (and Knecht). Kyrie Irving is out until at least January and Klay Thompson, while still effective, is not getting younger. There is, however, the issue of optics. Woike continues “the trouble, of course, is that people around the NBA wonder how it would look if Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison engaged Pelinka and the Lakers on another trade after the last deal between the teams was so unpopular that it caused protests.”

Harrison has demonstrated a thick skin when it comes to enduring relentless criticism since the Doncic trade, so he may not hesitate to re-engage the Lakers on another deal, but there are various reasons he shouldn’t.

The Mavs theoretically had a chance to get Reaves when they traded Doncic​

We will never know what Rob Pelinka’s line in the sand was when it came to the Doncic trade. He may simply have marked Reaves as untouchable. An outright non-starter. Whatever the case, it’s not a stretch to think Harrison could have gotten more for a unicorn-level generational talent. What the nuances of that trade would have looked like are anyone’s guess, but failing to get Reaves when giving up one of the biggest assets in the league, only to then have to give up more assets later to get Reaves, makes the Mavs look like losers of consecutive trades to the same team. It is most assuredly not the PR move Dallas needs.

Knecht and the 2031 first round pick​

Once again, needing to swing a second deal to get these assets leaves the Mavs looking foolish for not being able to net them during the first go-round. Perhaps worse still is that Knecht was clearly available in February, having been traded for Mark Williams in the move that wasn’t, coming right back to LA after Williams failed his physical. The pick too is a major sticking point for Dallas fans. It seems the pick should have been a requisite inclusion in the Doncic trade. While some may think Dallas fans are delusional, one only has to see the past wheelings-and-dealings of Danny Ainge to believe other GMs could have gotten that pick (and then some) included. To give up more assets for it now is a tough pill to swallow.

The Mavs simply can’t help a West foe any more than they already have​

Moving past the potential for criticism and finger pointing, a Gafford-for-Reaves swap is arguably just not smart. While Reaves is a legitimate talent, the Lakers arguably need a player like Gafford more than they do Reaves. With Doncic and LeBron James (for at least a little while longer, we suspect) manning the backcourt, delivering Gafford to LA immediately helps a Western Conference foe. After Doncic dropped 45 points in his return to Dallas, its safe to expect he will remain motivated against his former team going forward. Handing a potential Playoff opponent a dangerous lob threat and defensive anchor, satisfying their biggest need, just isn’t a smart thing to do. There are 28 other teams to speak with of Dallas is determined to move Gafford.

Gafford is valuable to the Mavericks​

Gafford has somehow become expendable in the eyes of some. With the pending addition of Cooper Flagg, it’s true the Mavericks have a lot of depth in the frontcourt. P.J. Washington may be on the move to help alleviate that, but regardless, the Mavs’ depth specific to the center position isn’t exactly overflowing. Anthony Davis prefers to play the PF spot, and if either Dereck Lively or Gafford suffer an injury, it propels Dwight Powell up the depth chart. Gafford and Lively are a legitimate two-headed monster, and while they may not be a pair long term, it feels premature to break up that tandem now. It will not take much to quickly look very thin at the center position if either of the two are injured or elsewhere. While the Mavs cobbled together a center rotation with the likes of Kai Jones and Kessler Edwards last season, that is far from ideal. If defense truly wins championships as Harrison declared, the Mavs’ front office had better get the better end of any deal involving Gafford.

Gafford remains a valuable asset to what Dallas is trying to achieve, while certainly carrying a lot of appeal to other teams around the league. The Mavs do have some cap issues to contend with, and Gafford may be a trade piece with his expiring contract, but LA should not be his landing spot.

I invite you to follow me @_80MPH on X, and check back often at Mavs Moneyball for all the latest on the Dallas Mavericks

Source: https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2025/...akers-austin-reaves-dalton-knecht-luka-doncic

 

[Dallas Mavericks]

As players start pulling out of the draft, Cooper Flagg has an interesting case to do the same

Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images

While Flagg likely won’t do the unthinkable, there is still a choice to be made

Christian Clark of The Athletic released a piece on Tuesday morning titled “The Mavericks, like the Warriors in 2020, will attempt a two-timeline approach”. The article highlighted the Warriors’ pitfalls after drafting James Wiseman in 2020, and how that relates to the situation Dallas is in. The Warriors failed the attempt at a seamless transition mainly because the players they drafted to do it were not very good. Cooper Flagg is not James Wiseman or Jonathan Kuminga. Still, Clark’s observation leads to an important question nonetheless: it is hard to juggle building two different teams, so why would Flagg, who does not turn 19 until later this year, want to come into a situation that is not 100% committed to his development?

I am not saying Flagg will or should withdraw from the NBA draft and return to Duke. But, first-round talents have already done just that, with the implication being that they were not guaranteed the situation they wanted. Flagg has as much incentive to play another college season as anyone. First of all, with the emergence of NIL allowing players to earn a lot of money in college, Flagg will not lose out on as much money as he previously would have if he decides to pull out, especially with how popular he already is. Secondly, all reporting has indicated that Flagg cares deeply about winning and is a competitive freak. The Blue Devils fell short this year in the Final Four, and returning for a sophomore season would give him a chance at redemption while still being 19 at the time of next year’s draft. Lastly, and the most important point in my opinion, the Mavericks have made it clear that their goal is to win now. This will likely result in Flagg playing out of position, not getting the reps he needs to grow, and dealing with frustration when the organization prioritizes two players in their mid-30s over him for the next few years. Not to mention the dysfunction that has surrounded the Mavericks for the better part of three months, constantly looming like a dark cloud.

The Mavericks’ insistence on doing two things at once creates the case for Flagg to withdraw from the draft. From a fan’s perspective, the choice is clear: rebuilding around Cooper Flagg and tailoring your off-season decisions around him is the way to go. But that is not how the organization thinks. They still insist that a championship will fix all of the wrongdoings and have the hubris to believe they can manage a win-now timeline and a build-for-the-future timeline simultaneously. And maybe they can! Once again, Cooper Flagg is leaps and bounds better than any of the players Golden State has taken in the last five years. He will be able to contribute to winning in many ways, even if he is not the star that he projects to be right away. That makes this endeavor much easier. But if you look at the situation from Flagg’s point of view, the opportunity in Dallas doesn’t look that much better than the one back in Durham.

Source: https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2025/...-flagg-has-an-interesting-case-to-do-the-same

 

[Dallas Mavericks]

Anthony Davis is the odd man out for the Dallas Mavericks: Part 2

Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images

Trades, trades, and even more trades

Yesterday, I made a lengthy case explaining the roster situation the Dallas Mavericks find themselves in. To build a roster for now and the future, Anthony Davis must be sacrificed. That is the reality of the situation facing the Mavericks after the lottery. A sensible person would consider it the most logical outcome to take the team forward.

GMs around the league are already beginning to point this out as a viable strategy to build for the future. It’s not a knock on Anthony Davis. It’s a question of how he fits this team now that Cooper Flagg is in the mix.

To that effect, I looked at some trade scenarios that could net Dallas assets to contend/compete while also building for the future. These range from fairly sensible to quite wacky, but I’ll let all of you be the judge of that.

I have three disclaimers before we begin:

1. All of these are illogical by default, since He-Who-Should-Be-Fired is most probably not trading Anthony Davis after all the kerfuffle of the Luka trade and how AD fits the “defense wins championships” culture. Let’s not let that little detail derail this thought exercise, though (See Chris Mannix’s point in the video above).
2. Draft pick compensation might not be completely realistic as it’s the most nebulous part of trade conversations. So, this exercise primarily focuses on the players who could be moved around.
3. These are scenarios that look at situations where all teams “win” in some form. It might be utopian to think of this as a possibility, but that’s the exercise. Of course, the idea of “winning” a trade is in the eye of the beholder, and that makes it subjective by default, but that was the goal when running through these. It’s not just about aggregating all the best players in the trade on the Mavericks.

Onwards!

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Scenario 1: Bring Trae Young Back to Dallas​

The Atlanta Hawks, stuck on the treadmill of mediocrity, decide to cash in on Trae Young and build around its young core of Dyson Daniels, Jalen Johnson, Zaccharie Risacher and Onyeka Okongwu.

The Trade​

A Dallas-Atlanta-Los Angeles Three team trade scenario

Summary​

• DAL receives Trae Young, LAL 2025 1st Rd. Pick, LAL 2025 2nd Rd. Pick (#22 & #55, via ATL)
• ATL receives Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves, Dalton Knecht, LAL 2031 1st Rd. Pick
• LAL receives Daniel Gafford

For Dallas​

Defense takes a hit with Young in the lineup, but the immense switch-ability of Flagg, Washington, and Lively could compensate for that. No one can deny Young’s playmaking and shot-making, which would unlock Washington and Lively’s effectiveness once again, opening the floor for Flagg to get to his comfortable spots. Once Kyrie is back, Young and Irving would form a formidable offensive tandem that could terrorize opponents into submission. Depending on further moves, this could open more flexibility under the first apron to wheel and deal for additional players to suit the roster.

For Atlanta​

The Hawks get a soft rebuild around a two-way anchor in Davis, who moves to the much weaker Eastern Conference and can theoretically play the 5 next to Okongwu. The addition of Austin Reaves provides secondary ball-handling and scoring, which would partly compensate for the loss of Young. They could then use the 13th pick in this year’s draft to load up on a scoring guard like Jase Richardson or Jeremiah Fears to pair next to Dyson Daniels.

For Los Angeles​

For the Los Angeles Lakers, they get their starting center, one who has built-in chemistry with Luka Doncic, and they sacrifice their defensive traffic cone to do so. Austin Reaves is a regular-season frontrunner who teams routinely target in crunch time to break the Lakers’ defense. Gafford gives them a solid paint presence on both ends and could get paid like a starting center like he wants. The Lakers also get more room under the first apron to build around Luka and Lebron and only sacrifice their 2031 first rounder in the deal.

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Scenario 2: Kevin Durant asking out reshapes the Western Conference​

The Houston Rockets, fresh from flaming out in the first round as the two seed, acts on its long-rumored interest in Kevin Durant who asks out of Phoenix. The Suns, looking for a change in direction, hit the refresh button to create some avenue of contention now and in the future.

The Trade​

A five team trade scenario involving Dallas, Phoenix, Houston, Los Angeles and Sacramento

Summary​

• DAL receives Devin Booker, Aaron Holiday, Nate Williams, LAL 2031 1st Rd. Pick
• PHX receives Anthony Davis, Fred Vanvleet, Cam Whitmore, PHX 2025 1st Rd. Pick, PHX 2027 1st Rd. Pick, LAL 2029 1st Rd. Pick (via DAL with Lottery Protections)
• HOU received Kevin Durant, Vasilje Micic
• LAL receives Daniel Gafford
• SAC receives Austin Reaves, HOU 2026 2nd Rd. Pick

For Dallas​

Considering the dire lack of shot creation and shot making, why wouldn’t Dallas jump at the opportunity to add one of the league’s premier scorers? At 28-years-old, Booker fits in better with the Mavericks squad than he did in Phoenix from a timeline standpoint, and his evolution as a playmaker over the past two years playing next to Kevin Durant means that he can run the offense while Kyrie is still recovering from injury. Dallas gets a player who’s comfortable shouldering the burden of scoring and is comfortable off the ball to form a formidable backcourt once Kyrie returns after the All-Star break. Aaron Holiday and Nate Williams get thrown in as salary fillers. Holiday’s team option means that the Mavericks can decline and clear more space.

For Phoenix​

With Durant asking off the Phoenix Suns in this scenario, it triggers a whole cacophony of events, leading to Matt Ishbia to blow up the whole thing. Dallas jumping in with Davis gives them a lifeline to contend, and the trade helps them recoup their 2025 and 2027 picks and gives them some semblance of a future once more. The reduction of salary from Booker to VanVleet brings Phoenix under the second apron, giving them the flexibility to reshape the roster to suit their needs. Getting Davis and VanVleet along with the 10th pick in this year’s draft (their own 2025 pick salvaged back from Houston) means that the Suns get a premier big and a competent ball handler/scorer that, along with Beal and the draft pick, allows them a chance of competence that they wouldn’t have come close to after losing Durant.

For Houston​

They get an experienced superstar in Durant who can help bridge the experience gap that a young roster lacks. The loss of the Phoenix picks is the price for this move, and VanVleet is the only player on the roster who makes sense from a salary-matching standpoint. The trade allows them to remain under the second apron, giving them the flexibility to reshape their roster around Durant, Sengun, Green, Smith Jr., and Thompson. They would need to trade for/sign a ball handler to balance out the roster, which is big/wing heavy, but it shouldn’t be as much of an issue considering that they remain asset heavy despite giving up the 2025 and 2027 Phoenix picks.

For Los Angeles​

See Scenario 1. Gafford is their plug-and-play center for the next few years.

For Sacramento​

The Sacramento Kings get Reaves and a second round pick for their role as trade facilitator. Their cap space takes a small hit, but nothing that impacts their ability to shape their roster. Sacramento is primed to blow it all up after trading away De’Aaron Fox, and Reaves is the perfect tank commander — someone who can run the offense next to Lavine and Monk, if they remain on the team to start the season.

---

Scenario 3: Giannis goes to San Antonio​

Giannis, looking for a chance at contention on a team based in a state with no income tax, asks out of Milwaukee, looking to form a super team with Victor Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox in San Antonio.

The Trade​

A five team trade scenario that sends Giannis Antetokounmpo to San Antonio

Summary​

• DAL receives Austin Reaves, Stephon Castle, ATL 2025 1st Rd. Pick (#14, via SA)
• MIL receives Anthony Davis, Nic Claxton, SA 2025 1st Rd. Pick (#2), ATL 2027 1st Rd. Pick (via SA), SA 2029 1st Rd. Pick
• SA receives Giannis Antetokounmpo, Gabe Vincent
• LAL receives Daniel Gafford, Harrison Barnes
• BKN receives Devin Vassell, Kyle Kuzma, Jaden Hardy, Dalton Knecht, LAL 2031 1st Rd. Pick

For Dallas​

This is a rebuild scenario for Dallas, who add Stephon Castle to pair with Cooper Flagg and build around for the future. The addition of Austin Reaves, who, while he might be a defensive liability, provides a semi-reliable third/fourth option scorer to start or come off the bench, depending on what the situation calls for. The Mavericks come out of this with a clear direction for the future, while the return of Kyrie post All-Star break gives them a chance to make some noise towards the money end of the season. The addition of the 14th pick in this year’s draft (Atlanta’s pick from the Dejounte Murray trade) gives them a means to add high-level depth to build around the young core. Personally, I’d look at another big/big wing with Davis and Gafford moved out in this scenario — Danny Wolf or Rasheer Fleming maybe?

For Milwaukee​

With Giannis gone, the Milwaukee Bucks rebound with a slightly less heralded two-way monster along with Nic Claxton to enable Davis to play at the 4 for stretches if the situation calls for it. The addition of the second pick allows them to draft Dylan Harper to pair with and eventually take over from Damian Lillard once he returns from his Achilles injury. The addition of Atlanta’s 2027 and the Spurs’ own 2029 pick gives them more ammo to build in the future or to package in a trade for another contributor. For Anthony Davis, it represents a chance to fill the Giannis void and become a force in the weaker Eastern Conference.

For San Antonio​

The San Antonio Spurs get Giannis to pair with Victor Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox to form a new super team contender in the West. They sacrifice a significant chunk of their draft pick war chest as well as young players like Castle and Vassell, but such is the cost of acquiring a two-time MVP at the peak of his powers to play alongside your generational phenom.

For Los Angeles​

Like Scenarios 1 and 2, they sacrifice Reaves to land their center to pair with Luka and LeBron. In this case, though, they add a proven role player in Harrison Barnes to add to the rotation of DFS, Rui Hachimura and Jarred Vanderbilt — another player who can spot up and knock down the looks created by Luka and LeBron’s playmaking.

For Brooklyn​

For their role in facilitating all the salaries in the trade, Brooklyn walks away with young players like Devin Vassell, Dalton Knecht and Jaden Hardy. They take back Kyle Kuzma’s salary in the move but are rewarded with the Lakers’ 2031 pick for their troubles.

---

This is getting too long. We’re in silly season now. But what if I told you there were three more scenarios? There are. Check back in to see how deep the rabbit hole goes in Part 3.

Editor’s note: Our man Sudarshan initially wrote a monstrous story about his rationale for the Mavericks needing to trade Anthony Davis, so we’re splitting it into a three part series. You can read Part 1 in case you missed it.

Source: https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2025/...e-odd-man-out-for-the-dallas-mavericks-part-2

 

[Dallas Mavericks]

Mavericks ticket sales bouncing back after Cooper Flagg luck, per CEO Welts

David Banks-Imagn Images

The Mavericks have already felt the return of never before felt fortune in drafting Flagg.

The Dallas Mavericks’ unfathomable stroke of luck jumping 10 spots in the draft and the opportunity to select Cooper Flagg has been felt by the organization financially, according to team CEO Rick Welts. In an appearance this week at a Wall Street Journal event, the Dallas Morning News notes that the longtime front office executive stated the team saw $7-million in new future ticket sales in the days following the NBA Draft Lottery.

The more Welts has made public appearances, especially following the fortuitous lottery, the more he seems comfortable reflecting on what has been a pretty dark rough patch for the organization. To be clear, the rough patch was completely their own doing so no one should be shedding tears for any of the decision makers. But with the team receiving a historic get-out-of-jail-free card it’s worth reflecting on.

Also interesting to note how Welts has at least framed the fan response:

“It was kind of interesting,” he said. “It’s like, anybody who had been with us 10 years and more renewed; anyone who had been with us four years or less pretty much didn’t. They had kind of bought tickets for the Luka era. And then kind of the middle was a mix.”

In many ways that isn’t groundbreaking information, but if true, is an interesting way to mark fan engagement with the team; presumably from fans that were around for the loyalty of the Dirk years.

Welts also dove into other well-trod ground of his experience around the trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. The CEO said he first learned of the deal from team governor Patrick Dumont 45 minutes before the deal was finalized. That it happened 32 days into the job for Welts, it had to be jarring.

One more bit that may never get clarified but jumped off the page at reading:

He called it “an incredibly rough ride.” At his previous stops of running NBA teams’ business operations, Phoenix and Golden State, the team almost immediately traded its most popular player. But he said fan attachment to those players paled with Dallas fans’ love for Doncic.

“We have since rethought a lot of procedures about how we’ll do things in Dallas going forward,” he said. “It was tough. It was tough on everybody.”

I don’t know what those “procedures” are that he’s referring to, but one has to assume it involves not giving free reign to Nico Harrison to do whatever his mamba mentality heart could dream up. And if that is the reevaluation the team is considering, one has to wonder why he’d still have the job if those sorts of procedures have to exist in the first place.

Source: https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2025/...r-cooper-flagg-luck-per-ceo-welts-luka-doncic

 

[Dallas Mavericks]

Dennis Schroeder addresses a major need for the Mavericks

Photo by Brian Sevald/NBAE via Getty Images

It’s time to bring another German to Dallas

After missing the postseason one year removed from an NBA Finals run, the Dallas Mavericks have major holes to address, specifically at the guard position. Following the Luka Doncic trade to the Los Angeles Lakers and Kyrie Irving’s ACL tear, the Mavericks had to play point guard by committee to survive the season. Spencer Dinwiddie, Naji Marshall, and Brandon Williams stepped up, filling into roles that gave them great responsibility.

With Dinwiddie’s return to Dallas uncertain as he enters free agency, Dallas needs to explore all options available at the guard position. With Irving out of commission until 2026, addressing their need for a point guard needs to be the first thing Dallas does after drafting Cooper Flagg with the number one pick in June’s NBA Draft.

31-year-old Dennis Schroeder would adequately address this need for the Mavericks. Schroeder had short-lived stints in Brooklyn and Golden State this season before he eventually landed in Detroit, backing up Dallas native Cade Cunningham. Schroeder averaged 10.8 points and 5.3 rebounds in 28 games for the Pistons, providing stability for a young team that made a fun postseason run.

Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images

Strengths​

Schroeder has many strengths that the Mavericks could benefit from, including his pick-and-roll playmaking. His quickness makes him a threat to score off screens, whether from the midrange or in the paint. He is also a sufficient decision-maker with the ball in his hands and will easily form chemistry with Mavericks bigs Dereck Lively and Anthony Davis, whom he's familiar playing with from their time together in Los Angeles. Schroeder’s last year with the Lakers was also Jason Kidd’s last year on their coaching staff before he became the Mavericks head coach.

Schroeder is a pesky defender, too, making him a valued asset to many teams over the last few years. His lateral speed has allowed him to excel as an on-ball defender, and effort is never a worry with him on this side of the ball. He’s also equipped with quick hands, allowing him to easily poke the ball free from offensive players. His experience with the German national team allowed him to improve his team defense IQ, as displayed in their run to the gold medal in the 2023 World Cup.

Weaknesses​

Schroeder’s most glaring limitation as a player remains his inability to be a consistent shooter from behind the arc. His career averages hover around 34%, and he shot an even worse 30% in his Detroit stint last season. His lack of spacing causes him to struggle off the ball, too. Another weakness is his lack of size. His 6’1 stature oftentimes gets him in trouble in defensive switches as he struggles to guard players of any substantial size.

Photo by David L. Nemec/NBAE via Getty Images

Fit with the Mavericks​

With the point guard spot wide open for the Mavericks until Irving’s return expected sometime in 2026, Schroeder’s experience and veteran leadership would be beneficial for the Mavericks. With the chaos that was the Mavericks' 2024-25 season, having as much veteran leadership as possible around young guys like Flagg and Lively will be crucial for their development. His familiarity with Davis and Kidd will allow him to fit in here. The best ability is availability, and Schroeder has appeared in 75-plus games over the last two seasons.

He succeeds in pushing the pace in transition, a new identity Dallas has adopted over the last couple of seasons. His ability to easily build chemistry with bigs will lead to plenty of fun lob passes to Dallas’ group of big men. He will fit like a glove in Dallas’ defense with his intensity and effort at the point of attack, becoming a complementary piece to a potentially dangerous defense that includes Flagg, Davis, and Lively.

Given the Mavericks' current circumstances, signing Schroeder would address a gigantic need. Picking up a competent point guard will be detrimental to how the Mavericks' season plays out in Irving’s absence. With Dallas’ tight books, bringing in Schroeder along for the ride would put Dallas in a better position for success next season.

Source: https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2025/5/29/24436586/dennis-schroeder-addresses-need-for-mavericks

 

[Dallas Mavericks]

Group Exercise: Let’s all take note of Erick Dampier’s son, together

Tim Duncan #21 of the San Antonio Spurs handles the ball against Erick Dampier #25 of the Dallas Mavericks in Game Six of the Western Conference Quarterfinals during the 2010 NBA Playoffs on April 29, 2010 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. The Spurs defeated the Mavericks 97-87 to win the series 4-2. | Photo by D. Clarke Evans/NBAE via Getty Images

Erick Dampier Jr. is a 2028 prospect and recently made Team USA’s Under-16 team.

File this one away for your Dallas Mavericks Meditations on a Far-Flung Future, or don’t. Nothing means anything anymore in the months when your NBA team has hung up their sneakers, and so, at some point, we commence posting simply for posting’s sake.

To that end, let’s all gather ‘round the campfire for a look at a 2028 prospect that has recently caught our collective eye — none other than Erick Dampier Jr.

If a news peg exists for this conversation, it came out on Tuesday that Dampier Jr. was announced as a member of Team USA’s 2025 U16 squad, so congratulations to the young man. His name is beginning to ring out a little more lately in future-tripping basketball circles.

His dad, of course, played for the Mavericks from 2004-2010, a perennial 8-and-8 low-post presence whose greatest attributes were the six fouls per game he could be counted on to take advantage of and his ability to at least match size for size (6-11, 265 lbs.) with the best bigs in the league of his era. He was an anchor down low whose flat-footed presence in the paint allowed Dirk Nowitzki to roam free and change basketball as we knew it by impacting the game with his length and range at all corners of the 94-foot expanse. He was traded to the then-Charlotte Bobcats before the 2010-11 season and was waived, then signed a one-year deal with the Miami Heat, whom the Mavs subsequently beat in the NBA Finals.

Dampier Jr., at this early stage in his development (he’s 15), looks like he might be able to surpass Dear Ole’ Dad, at least in terms of athleticism and playmaking ability. He was named to MaxPreps’ All-America Freshman Second-Team after averaging 13.5 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks per game for Madison, Miss.’ Madison-Richland Academy (MRA) this season. He’s also listed as the No. 3 recruiting prospect in the 2028 class by ESPN. Damp Jr. is either 6-9 or 6-10, depending on what listing you’re reading, and is somewhere in the 220-230lb. neighborhood.

His freshman year at MRA was actually his second year playing with the varsity team, as he made a leap forward in his development as an eighth-grader. He averaged a double-double as an eighth-grader, according to a separate report from MaxPreps. The video above shows off, as well as just his stature as a man among boys, Damp Jr.’s ball-handling skills and his ability to run the floor, which are two traits his dad didn’t necessarily hang his hat on throughout his NBA career. Damp Jr. told On3’s Maroon and White Daily last year that he’s been working on his shooting more and more, though this past season’s highlights from the high-school season show him playing a more traditional big-man’s role. You can see a little bit of Damp Sr.’s game in him with an effective jump-hook and his tenacity on the boards.

“Everything I have learned, I have learned from my dad,” Damp Jr. told On3. “It is really beneficial for me. Everything I want to do in the sport, he has already done. So I take a lot of advice from him and it makes it a lot easier for me.”

He hasn’t made any choices about the next level, entering just his sophomore year in high school, apparently. His recruiting profile on both ESPN and 247 list no college activity yet at this early juncture.

“It is still too early for offers and all of that,” Damp Jr. told On3. “But at camps Mississippi State and Ole Miss have talked to me when I was there. There’s also a lot of coaches that follow me on Instagram and things like that. But it is still early for recruiting.”

of Freshman season pic.twitter.com/bF8VdJHJZF

— Erick Dampier Jr (@edampjr25) March 21, 2025​

How many Mavs fans woulda thunk that of all the former Mavericks who took a swing through Dallas, that Erick Dampier’s son would be the one to flash this brightly coming up in the amateur game? In a world where Jeffrey Jordan couldn’t make the cut and Bronny James can’t seem to crack the Los Angeles Lakers’ roster, it makes some sort of sense on a cosmic level that Damp Jr. might be a big deal in a few years.

What many more Mavericks fans will remember is that Damp Sr.’s cap number of about $10 million per year was allotted to a stand-still five at a time when the team could have used that money to re-sign Steve Nash. Nash signed with the Phoenix Suns in free agency the year that Damp got to Dallas, and his assist numbers promptly jumped from about eight to about 11 for the next few seasons. Dampier’s best statistical game in a Mavericks’ uniform came in a 93-89 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in 2005, when he scored 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting, hauled in 26 rebounds and blocked seven shots. He also grabbed 20 rebounds in a 121-103 win over the Houston Rockets in 2009.

Brandon Castillo
Courtesy Photo

And here’s just one more little Erick Dampier-related nugget from the Remember When File. Damp made an appearance at the Six Flags Over Texas theme park during the 2009-10 season, shortly before he was traded to Charlotte, and my buddy Brandon got him to hold onto a stuffed tiger Brandon had won earlier in the day and stand in for a photo op with the fabled Shockwave roller coaster featured prominently in the background. As a Mavs Fan of a Certain Age, this image has been seared into my memory since the moment he showed it to me, no doubt at the expense of some bit of knowledge which could have proven the least bit useful lo these past 15 years. Shout out to Damp, Damp Jr. and to my buddy Brandon.

Source: https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2025/...-all-take-note-of-erick-dampiers-son-together

 

[Dallas Mavericks]

Destroying trust within an organization is not a win-now move: The costly mistake of losing trust

Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Without trust, everything goes slower and costs more. That’s called the trust tax, and it will prove costly for the Dallas Mavericks.

What happens to an organization when the trust is gone?

Trust is one of the most important aspects of running a business, an organization or - a team. Without trust - both in the sports world and in business - the potential for success in any high-performing group decreases significantly.

That’s what the highly acclaimed leadership expert, New York Times bestselling author, and former CEO, Stephen M. R. Covey, calls the ‘trust tax’.

Trust fosters faster decision-making, smoother communication and reduces conflicts. But lack of trust slows everything down. The hidden costs of mistrust are wasted time, increased supervision and lost opportunities.

Things like micromanaging and double-checking leave employees (or players) afraid to make mistakes and start questioning the competency of the people in charge. Consequently, good employees - or players - may even start looking for new opportunities.

So what happens if you lose the trust from your employees, players and stakeholders overnight?

We may be about to see the repercussions of this play out very soon in Dallas.

Because back in February, that’s exactly what happened. In one swoop, the trust which the Dallas Mavericks regime had accumulated through a handful of relatively successful moves over a couple years, was lost.

After building a roster around the franchise superstar, perhaps luck, perhaps skill, had the Dallas Mavericks on a road to contention. But one man, or a small group of people, decided to change that with one quick and big decision. And at that moment when they traded Luka Doncic, trust went down the drain for pretty much all stakeholders: fans, media people, employees, locals, sponsors, business partners - and players.

Trust is key if you want to build success on any high performing team - and especially in sports. What was lost that night, and the ensuing weeks of media leaks, could affect this franchise for years.

Dallas was just starting to become a destination for free agents. It was becoming a place good players wanted to go to - Klay Thompson’s signing last summer is a testament to this positive development.

But who would want to come to a workplace - or team - that made an objectively poor decision trading their franchise star for pennies on the dollar? How can you trust the leadership’s decision-making process after this - not to mention, how do you know they won’t treat you the same way in the future?

“Nothing attracts and retains people like a high trust team. A high trust culture. Nothing repels people like a low trust culture”, as Covey points out.

And then we’re back to the low trust tax, which has social as well as economic implications, according to Covey: “High trust organizations outperform low trust organizations by three times. 286 percent. It’s a multiplier.”

But economic implications and less opportunities for free agency signings is just the tip of the iceberg of what the Dallas trust tax could end up costing the Mavs.

Because the truth is that trust is one of the most important aspects of team dynamics and success.

“When the trust goes down you’ll find that the energy goes down with it. As will the joy in all its forms, because nothing is as exhausting as low trust. Emotional energy goes down, as well - that’s passion, creative energy, innovation, engagement. As will joy,” Covey says.

“To an individual you call it happiness, on a team you’d call it fun and in an organization you’d measure it as satisfaction. They’ll all go down when the trust goes down.”

Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd knows this and has pointed to trust as one of the main pillars of coaching and winning.

When I wrote a column praising Kidd for the trust he has managed to build in Dallas last September, I did not expect to be writing a piece on the trust tax the following off-season. Kidd’s emphasis on and understanding of the power of trust has always been clear. As I wrote back then: “Kidd’s approach may be a little unorthodox, but getting the unconditional trust of superstars and role players alike is rare.”

A coach, who bases so much of his approach on trust - between players on a team and in himself as a leader - will now have to pretty much start over rebuilding trust on his team. Most of the players on the Mavs, however, kept going and playing hard through the most difficult times this season, and that is a strong testament to what Kidd has built in Dallas.

“Trust, leadership and vibes are intangible, but just as important aspects of coaching. Unreachable for some, impossible for many. And in order to create a winning team, you have to have the trust of the players no matter what. Over the last three years in Dallas that’s exactly what Jason Kidd has done,” I wrote back in September.

The interesting part will be whether Kidd can hold on to that trust from the players over the next season or two. Will cracks start to show, or will the team manage to work through these issues in the locker room?

The tangible benefits from trust are real. Stronger relationships, enhanced collaboration, and a higher success rate. To put it simply: there’s more winning with higher trust.

Jason Kidd knows everything about the power of trust, but has the regime come to terms with what it will take to rebuild that?

The costly trust tax has already affected people in charge where it hurts the most: the bottom line. Stakeholders of all kinds, like sponsors, fans and business partners will be slow to trust the organization’s competency again, as it stands right now. They will fear being ridiculed, which is the case at the moment, as front offices and media people alike joke about whether the Dallas GM will actually use their number one draft pick or trade it away. Being associated with a brand like that is not good for business.

Cooper Flagg will, of course, help the worst of this, if he ends up in Dallas. Relevancy and interest in the Mavs have increased a little since the lottery, as a generational talent once again is set for Dallas.

But the ridicule and jokes in the corners are not about to go away anytime soon. Competency is being questioned, and if this regime stands, it will pay for its choices for a long time. That’s the trust tax, and it always comes around sooner or later.

The question will linger for years to come: Was it worth it? Time will tell, but tax waits for no man.

Thank you to head teacher at Montpellier Business School, speaker and CEO, Steeve Kunakey, for inspiration and advice.

Find more Beyond Basketball pieces here.

Source: https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2025/...zation-is-not-a-win-now-move-dallas-mavericks

 

[Dallas Mavericks]

Does Daniel Gafford still fit on the Maverick’s revamped roster?

Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

The talent reservoir in the front court is overflowing

The Dallas Mavericks have a problem in their front court: it’s getting a little overcrowded with talent. When they traded for Daniel Gafford during the 23-24 season (along with PJ Washington), they sought to install a veteran presence next to rookie Dereck Lively II, one who could groom him to become an elite 5. As Lively was then under the tutelage of former Mavs champion, Tyson Chandler, he was in no shortage of quality instruction. The Mavs brass knew that, while Lively displayed an extremely high ceiling, they’d need someone with more NBA experience (and sheer mass) at the center position if they were to make it far in that year’s playoffs.

After acquiring Gafford, the team utilized a Gaff-DLive rotation at the 5 which supplemented their all-star back court seamlessly, rocketing the team all the way to the NBA Finals, where they subsequently sputtered against another elite team that just had more experience together as a unit. At any rate, Lively, now entering his 3rd season, has acquired NBA Finals experience very early on in his young career, and he is no doubt acclimated to the pace required of a starting caliber center. And he’s had 3 years to fill out his youthfully lanky frame. Add to all this that he’ll be on a very affordable rookie contract for another two seasons.

The topic of the Mavs front court began to get interesting when the franchise’s fearless leaders deemed it worthwhile to acquire 32 year old Anthony Davis via trade in February of this year. While Davis is approaching the point in time where most NBA players have eclipsed their prime, he’s still an elite two-way player, with the size and defensive prowess that any team would covet, especially a team that loves loves loves talking about defense these days.

Seeing as Davis prefers playing the power forward position, rather than strictly center, the potential for him to start alongside Lively, with Gafford able to sub at the 5, creates a huge, unfairly athletic lineup for Dallas’ front court. And now Dallas has won the NBA Draft lottery and will undoubtedly select Duke 6’9” sensation Cooper Flagg with the first pick. Flagg can play either forward position and has the ball handling skills of a guard. In today’s NBA, position titles offer generalities more than specifics. But the Mavs also have PJ Washington at the forward spot; and Klay Thompson; and Naji Marshall; and Caleb Martin; and OMax. Not a bad problem, but a front court situation to be dealt with, nonetheless, especially when salary aprons are accounted for.

While anything is possible, it seems less likely that the Mavs would part with Lively or Washington before Gafford, based on their respective upside for the team. They’re certainly not considering letting go of AD or their rookie-to-be. So if the Mavs brass do consider the front court to be a problem of too many numbers, is it likely that Gafford will be dealt in free agency, as MMB writer Michael.Harris_80MPH suggested last week? At 27 years old, Gafford has $14 million due to him next season, which is only about $1 million less than Washington. Lively is only set for a little over $5 million as he’s still on a rookie contract, and AD comes in at just over $43 million.

The math might make the best sense to part with Gaff’s contract, but do the stats? His field goal percentage is consistently hovering at all-time great levels. Granted, his shots are almost always within a couple of feet from the basket, but why then doesn’t every big man connect on those types of shots with alarming consistency? His minutes were down slightly from his inaugural season in Dallas due to nagging injuries this year, but at 27 he’s still in peak form, and doesn’t have anything even somewhat resembling AD’s injury history. He’s also a fierce competitor, a team-first guy, and a seemingly pretty fun dude. Lively may be all those things, as well, though.

So what do you do in this situation? Keep them all and hamstring yourself financially, limiting your ability to acquire a much-needed guard while Kyrie is recovering from injury, for the sake of ensuring that another AD injury doesn’t bring the team’s current philosophy to its knees? Surely, almost every Mavs fan is in possession of the correct opinion on this one, right?

Source: https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2025/...rd-still-fit-on-the-mavericks-revamped-roster

 

[Dallas Mavericks]

The Dallas Wings are in survival mode after 94-83 loss to Chicago Sky

Angel Reese #5 of the Chicago Sky drives to the basket while NaLyssa Smith #1 of the Dallas Wings goes up for a block during the game on May 31, 2025 at the College Park Center in Arlington, TX. | Photo by Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images

Wings’ rookie guard Paige Bueckers sat out of the loss in concussion protocol and Dallas dropped its second game to Chicago in three days.

ARLINGTON, TX — Dallas Wings forward NaLyssa Smith had a little something extra for Angel Reese when Reese thought she got past Smith on her way to the bucket midway through the second quarter Saturday at College Park Center.

Smith’s authoritative block on Reese’s driving attempt came with a mean mug and a little added sauce, but it also came amidst an 11-2 Wings’ run to take back a 36-35 lead. Smith battled on the Wings’ next offensive possession as well, going to the hoop right through Chicago’s Kamilla Cardoso, who has three inches of height on Smith, to put Dallas (1-6) back in front.

One of the problems the Wings have dealt with early this season, though, is that their runs through the first few games are primarily coming in response to adversity. Their runs don’t break the backs of their opponents — they’re more of a survival mechanism when the Wings get backed into a corner.

Mere survival is no way to live, and the Wings are in full-fledged survival mode after Saturday’s 94-83 loss to the Sky (2-4). Chicago guard Ariel Atkins led all scorers with 26 points in the win and took away four steals for the Sky on defense.

“We just got to go out every single night and put our heart on the line,” Smith said after the game. “Nobody wants to go out there and lose every night. We’re trying every night to win, and we’re going to put it together. It’s our job to do it.”

The Wings put themselves in a hole with a seven-minute cold stretch from late in the first through the first 3:30 of the second before they inched back in front with their second-quarter run. Dallas shot just 3-of-14 from the field and the Sky outscored the Wings 21-7 in that span.

“We have to be better with 50/50 balls,” DiJonai Carrington said. “We have to be better about getting to the long rebounds, because that’s when we can really run, and I think that will jumpstart our offense — getting more deflections and more steals.”

Smith was the Wings’ pick-me-up on both ends of the floor in response, though. She scored a team-high 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the floor and blocked three shots in the first half. But despite out-shooting Chicago from the field in the half, Dallas fell behind once again as the first half came to a close, and the Sky took a 46-43 lead into the break. Smith would finish with a team-high 20 points and five rebounds in the loss.

Bueckers sits, in concussion protocol​

Rookie guard Paige Bueckers sat out of Saturday’s loss and remains in concussion protocol after complaining of a headache following Thursday’s 97-92 loss at Chicago. Bueckers will also be held out of Tuesday’s game at the Seattle Storm.

“She (Bueckers) really didn’t say anything [during the game],” Wings head coach Chris Koclanes said in pre-game comments. “After the game, she said she was feeling like she had a headache. ... That was the first of it. So once that was said, went to the doctor… ‘Let’s make sure we’re not missing anything, and we’re doing everything we need to do to take care of her.’”

Bueckers was playing a team-high 34 minutes per game through the first five games of the season. The number one overall pick from the 2025 WNBA Draft is averaging 14.7 points and 6.7 assists per game through her first five professional appearances.

Arike’s ups and downs​

Bueckers’ absence put even more of a spotlight on Arike Ogunbowale’s ability to go and get buckets. Ogunbowale was coming off a season-high 37-point performance in Thursday’s loss at Chicago, and her up-and-down start to the season continued on Saturday.

The seventh-year star and the WNBA’s second-leading scorer from last year managed just six points in the first half on Saturday on her way to 15 in the loss. She shot just 5-of-16 from the field and 1-of-5 from 3-point range on Saturday. Ogunbowale scored her first basket of the second half with eight minutes left to play in the game, then scored seven more down the stretch to make her line look a little more respectable.

DiJonaise​

Photo by Tim Heitman/Getty Images
DiJonai Carrington #21 of the Dallas Wings drives to the basket against Elizabeth Williams #1 of the Chicago Sky during the first quarter at College Park Center on May 31, 2025 in Arlington, Texas.

Carrington stepped up for the Wings and turned solid defense into easy offense all night long as the Wings tried to deal with Chicago’s length and size for the second time in three nights. Carrington finished with 16 points on and six assists in the loss.

Carrington created extra possessions by taking charges. She played a featured role in starting the break off turnovers and in finishing with fast-break scores. She stole the ball on a post-entry pass to Angel Reese early in the second quarter on one end, then made a sly baseline drive on the ensuing Wings possession to inch Dallas back in front 24-23 at the time.

Her hard foul on Atkins with 1:31 left to play in the third quarter was upgraded to a flagrant-1 on review. It looked like she had a play on the ball, but there was some contact above the shoulders on the play. Discretion needs to be the better part of valor for Carrington at times, but you can’t fault her tenacity on the defensive end.

“I have to set the tone on the defensive side of the ball,” Carrington said. “And that’s starts with applying pressure early. Also, I have to be more disciplined on the ball to put us in better positions behind the ball. I want to pull everybody along with me with that aggression, with that physicality.”

Source: https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2025/...survival-mode-after-94-83-loss-to-chicago-sky

 

[Dallas Mavericks]

Survey deems Maverick’s fanbase league’s most negative

Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Where’s our trophy?

A short article published today by The Sporting News has revealed recent findings by an online publication called Vegas Insider that the Dallas Mavericks fanbase is currently the most negative fanbase in the league, ranking teams 1-30 (with Dallas finishing first) based on an analysis of data purportedly pulled from aggregate Reddit comments across NBA team communities. The sticky particulars of the science behind their process were not fully disclosed. The article sums it up neatly, saying “According to Vegas Insider, the Mavericks fans have the highest percentage of negative comments across all fanbases at 32.41%.”

It’s not made totally clear how exactly the Reddit comments in question were qualified as truly negative, rather than, perhaps, simply neutral or slightly melancholy, nor which of them, if any, were the result of a bad case of gas or bloating, rather than outright disdain; but, sure, fine. The main criteria revealed to be utilized in their scrutiny of Reddit sites was the frequency with which swear words were used by commenting fans, and in particular, the use of the “F-Word” (F**K).

After some ruminating, all of that got me to thinking... why the f**k would it not be us? We just got thoroughly screwed by a bunch of white-collared weasels. Had the rug pulled out from under out feet. Got hoodwinked. Conned. And, what? You expect positivity? Nay, you go so far as to observe that the fanbase is an angry one, rather than discuss the cause of their anger. That’s like pointing to the man whose tongue has recently been cut out of his mouth and declaring to all who will listen “This man is the most quiet man of all those men present here today, and it’s a shame that he isn’t able to move on from his quietness.”

The article went on to say that Dallas fans will likely be less negative in the near future due to the fact that they’ve (somehow) secured the first pick in the upcoming NBA draft after entering the draft lottery with only 1.8% chance odds of securing that pick, and are all but certain to select Duke sensation Cooper Flagg to become the next face of the franchise, something that just about every other fanbase in the league would’ve loved to have happened to them. Yeah, okay. I agree with that assessment. That should cause the anger to dissipate. Time has a way of healing all wounds, it’s said.

But this is, once again, ignoring (or moving on from, as some callously urge) the fact that the Dallas Mavericks general manager and governor royally screwed over the Mavericks fanbase earlier this year, so much so that many have subsequently written the franchise off, preferring lonely non-fandom over rooting for an organization that is run by people with no spine and no sense of dignity or commitment to its community.

Sure, Flagg will likely be an All-Star caliber player in a few short years, promising to keep the Mavericks relevant for another decade, which is what fans need. That gives them purpose in their actions as a fan, gives them reason to look forward to the end of the day when they can clock out of work in time to catch the game on television. But there’s something very valuable about trusting your leaders, just like any other game or social movement. If the people leading the charge are content with suddenly and arbitrarily trading in their trusted weapons for all new ones, changing their battle cry mid-battle, haphazardly adjusting the system of beliefs that fostered interest in joining their particular cause in the first place, then how can it be expected that the pawns, the soldiers, the fans, will all just smile and shrug their solders, ready to charge ahead all the same? It can’t be expected! And it shouldn’t be.

As was carefully exposited by another MMB writer this week, when you indifferently mishandle the trust that fortifies a fanbase, you thereby severely undermine its potency, while simultaneously overestimating its likeliness to acquiesce with your silly, selfish caprice.

It makes me happy that Dallas fans have been (very informally) recognized as the league’s most negative. That displays resiliency and passion, people, not mediocrity. Don’t let anybody trick you into thinking otherwise.

Also, everything sucks. F**K F**K F**K

Source: https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2025/6/1/24440282/survey-deems-mavericks-fanbase-leagues-most-negative