The Dallas Mavericks haven’t had to stress too much about their decision on NBA Draft night, as there’s no debate about who they should take with the No. 1 overall pick. Cooper Flagg is the top prospect in this class by a mile. That freed up Nico Harrison and the front office to focus on other pressing offseason matters this week, namely re-signing Daniel Gafford and Kyrie Irving.
Irving’s deal won’t be official until July 6, but after declining his player option, he and the Mavs agreed to a three-year, $119 million deal to keep him as the point guard in Dallas. However, even with Irving returning on a new deal, Dallas still has a need at lead guard. Irving will miss a significant portion of next year rehabbing from a torn ACL, and even when he returns they need more depth at that spot.
Even though Harrison’s stated roster-building mantra is “defense wins championships,” when it comes to point guards he seems to have an affinity for bucket-getters. Marc Stein reported Wednesday morning that the Mavericks are considered the “leading suitor” for D’Angelo Russell, as Dallas will apparently target the 29-year-old who played with the Lakers and Nets last year.
The 2024-25 season wasn’t Russell’s best, as he averaged 12.6 points and 5.1 assists per game on 52.2% true shooting, his least efficient shooting season since his third year in the league. However, a down year presents some opportunity for the Mavs, who have the $5.7 million taxpayer mid-level exception, thanks to Irving’s new deal, as their only real avenue to make an upgrade.
That will keep them out of the running for other point guards on the market, as someone like Dennis Schröder is expected to command close to the full mid-level at $14.1 million, so trying to buy low on Russell is one of the few options they have for an established lead guard. The hope for the Mavs would be that Russell would be comfortable playing alongside Anthony Davis again and he’d bounce back some as a shooter, giving them enough as a starter early in the season before slotting back into a reserve role whenever Irving is healthy again.
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