The Dallas Mavericks entered the 2026 NBA Draft with the #9 pick, the #30 pick and a fair amount of trade rumors swirling around them. After selecting Morez Johnson, Jr. at #9, things went dreadfully quiet on the trade front. As subsequent picks were made and the minutes ticked by, it seemed apparent that Dallas would be making a selection at #30 instead of packaging that pick with a veteran in an effort to move up the draft board. Any hope at picking up a young guard to help in the rebuild looked bleak.
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3 Dallas Mavericks Players Most Likely to Be Traded This Season
Dallas Mavericks General Manager Nico Harrison has done a tremendous job overhauling the roster to become a contending team. What was once Luka Doncic and everybody else is now a quality team that can go toe-to-toe with the best.
Harrison is never satisfied with his work, constantly making changes around the fringes if he thinks it will help the team. In this offseason alone, he’s turned Tim Hardaway Jr., Josh Green, and Derrick Jones Jr. into Klay Thompson, Quentin Grimes, Naji Marshall, and Spencer Dinwiddie.
If Harrison decides to make more moves this season, these three players are most likely to be on the trade block. A.J. Lawson will not be mentioned as he is the likeliest to be waived to bring back Markieff Morris.
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The Dallas Mavericks’ decision to sign Dante Exum last offseason has been tremendous value, signed to just over $3 million for this coming season. It will be the last year on his deal and the Mavs may not want to re-sign him which could lead to a trade. Teams are always looking for perimeter defenders that can score off the dribble, and Exum flashed an improved three-point shot last season, including a game-winner at Sacramento.
Jaden Hardy, who has potential as a dynamic scorer, is the Mavericks’ best young trade candidate, as Dereck Lively II and Olivier-Maxence Prosper are likely off the table. Hardy has just one year remaining on his rookie contract before he enters restricted free agency and the Mavs have to be wary of the second tax apron. He could be attached with a larger salary to acquire a better player if they don’t plan to re-sign him next offseason.
Any moves the Mavericks want to make will likely start with Maxi Kleber and his $11 million salary. He has two years left on his deal which will make him a negative asset given his production recently, but he has the largest salary that can match someone else’s quality asset if attached with the right draft capital.
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With the #30 pick, Dallas selected Koa Peat, Adam Silver said goodnight and that was that. Except it wasn’t. As the first round of the Draft was concluding, rumors started buzzing that the Mavericks were in fact making a move. Details are still being confirmed, but as it stands, Dallas will be trading the #30 pick Koa Peat and two future second-round draft picks to the New York Knicks in exchange for Sergio DeLarrea’s services. The exact second-rounders were still being determined late Tuesday night.
Here are the details we have at this time:
Los Angeles Lakers Received: 24th Overall Pick (Cameron Carr, Baylor)
Dallas Mavericks Received: 25th Overall (Sergio de Larrea, Spain)
Phoenix Suns Received: 30th Overall (Koa Peat, Arizona)
New York Knicks Received: Cash (Lakers), two second-round picks (Mavericks), and three more second-round picks (Suns)
DeLarrea was on the radar of a number of Mavs Moneyball staffers, perhaps none more than Tyler Edsel who wrote an excellent crash course on him and what he can bring to the Mavs. To be clear, it is unlikely he is going to have a massive day-one impact on the team, but the Mavericks really needed to do something to acquire more young talent that fit a position of need. While he may not be as flashy a name as Brayden Burries (whom the Mavs skipped over in favor of Morez) or Labaron Philon, Jr. (who somewhat surprisingly slipped to #22), Dallas really needed to do bolster the guard position and they came through.
If DeLarrea’s shooting transfers to the NBA level, it would be a big boon for a team that struggled from downtown much of last season. While not an immediate impact player, Dallas did well to move up a bit in a low-cost move that keeps all of their other assets intact for what will surely be a summer of retooling via trades and free agency.
Stay tuned for updates, as it is unclear which second-round picks the Mavericks will let go of in this deal.
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What Drake London’s new deal could mean for George Pickens
Falcons WR Drake London is now the NFL’s third-highest paid wide receiver in AAV, signing a four-year, $141 million extension with $100 million guaranteed and $35.26 million per year.
London, who is 25, is the same age as Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens, and both are heading into their fifth seasons in the NFL. Pickens too was seeking a long-term contract, but the Cowboys told him and his representation that would not happen this offseason, and he instead signed his $27.3 million franchise tag that keep shim under contract for the 2026 season.
Pickens’ one-year deal on the tag makes him the 17th highest-paid wide receiver in the league in AAV. Should Pickens go out and post a year similar to his 2025 campaign where he had more than 1,400 receiving yards and nine touchdowns, a deal similar to London’s may be in the ballpark of what Pickens could seek. For reference, CeeDee Lamb is the league’s fifth-highest paid WR at $34 million annually. If Pickens surpasses him and is closer to London’s $35 million per year mark, he and Lamb would become the highest-paid WR duo in NFL history, surpassing the Bengals’ Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, who currently combine for $69 million per year. – Tommy Yarrish
The Texas Department of Public Safety, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and Garland Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Abby Policastro and Marissa Aulbaugh prosecuted the case.
“This verdict should send a clear message to drug dealers that we will dismantle any effort to peddle deadly fentanyl in our community,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould. “I want to thank our law enforcement partners for their dedicated collaboration in taking thousands of fentanyl pills off the streets of Dallas.”
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