Dallas, TX
3 Biggest Questions Facing the Dallas Mavericks This Offseason
To say the 2025-26 season was a disaster for the Dallas Mavericks would be a massive understatement. They thought they could make a deep postseason run with the star rookie Cooper Flagg flanked by Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving, but that never ended up happening.
Flagg was spectacular, putting up historic numbers. Anthony Davis played only 20 games before he was salary-dumped to the Washington Wizards, and Kyrie Irving never played this season as he recovered from a torn ACL. All of that led to the Mavs finishing with an abysmal 26-56 record.
As they enter the offseason, here are the three biggest questions we’re asking.
Who Do the Mavericks Hire As General Manager/President of Basketball Operations?
The Dallas Mavericks fired Nico Harrison in November, which was about 9 months too late, but they need to find his replacement. Matt Riccardi and Michael Finley have performed admirably in their co-interim GM setup, being able to pull off the Anthony Davis trade, while adding in Jaden Hardy and D’Angelo Russell, which opened a lot of future financial flexibility.
However, the Mavericks want to go big game hunting. Tim Connelly and Koby Altman have been mentioned as possibilities, as Dumont wants the best executive personnel possible.
Whoever is hired will have to execute in this upcoming draft, but they’ll have some options about what to do with their space below the first tax apron. Do they use it to bring in additional picks? Can they use Khris Middleton’s Bird Rights to secure a high-value free agent? They’ll have a few different options at their disposal.
Who Do the Mavericks Take in the NBA Draft Lottery?
The 2026 NBA Draft is the last year the Mavericks have control over their first-round pick until 2031. 2027’s is top-2 protected, it goes to the Charlotte Hornets, 2028 and 2030 are pick swaps owned by the San Antonio Spurs and OKC Thunder, and 2029’s is currently owned by the Houston Rockets.
That makes it imperative to nail the 2026 NBA Draft. They’ll have a lottery pick, though the exact pick won’t be known until the lottery is held in May. They also have the 30th overall pick and a mid-second round pick. Capitalizing on that lottery pick is a must, though. That’s their best and possibly only chance to pair Cooper Flagg with another young star.
What Does Kyrie Irving Look Like When He Comes Back?
Kyrie Irving possibly could’ve returned during the season, but they decided to let him recover all year, mostly because of the state the team was in. How they think he will look next season will impact their entire offseason and draft process.
If they think he can bounce back to form, then they need to add the right complement to him in the backcourt. If they think he’ll come back a step slowed, they may need to consider a trade.
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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.”
If the Dallas Cowboys want to get over the hump and back into the playoffs in 2026, they’ve got to see a massive improvement in the defense.
Owner Jerry Jones was brutally honest with just how much the Cowboys were held back by their defense in 2025, and the numbers very clearly spell that out.
How does a Cowboys team that ranked top 10 in passing, rushing and points on offense still miss the playoffs?
Well, Dallas also ranked 30th in total yards allowed, 32nd in passing yards, 23rd against the run and 32nd in points against, that’s how. That putrid showing rightly cost Matt Eberflus his job, which set the stage for Dallas to hire Christian Parker.
It also set the stage for a total overhaul of the defense, with Dallas making many additions to that side of the ball, including at corner, where the Cowboys were bad on the boundary and in slot last season.
Fow now, we’re more focused on the boundary competition, as the Cowboys appear set to roll with Caleb Downs in the slot.
Cowboys’ CB competition is crucial for 2026
The Cowboys won’t have much hope for a playoff appearance if the cornerback play doesn’t improve. Of the 10 teams that landed in the bottom 10 in passing yards allowed last season, only two of them made the postseason.
Of course, the pass-rush played a part in that, and while Dallas has made multiple additions to that group this offseason, there really aren’t any guarantees with Rashan Gary, Malachi Lawrence or Donovan Ezeiruaku.
If that trio fails to improve a pass-rush that was tied for the seventh-fewest sacks in the NFL in 2025, the cornerbacks become even more crucial.
DaRon Bland and Shavon Revel did not play well in 2025, and while the former appears safe for now when it comes to a starting job on the outside, his leash could be short if he struggles again.
Revel, on the other hand, isn’t locked into a starting job on the boundary and is competing with Durant and Caelen Carson. It’s also worth keeping an eye on who finishes in second in that battle because that player could replace Bland if he struggles or gets hurt again.
There is hope Revel can bounce back now that he’s another year removed from the torn ACL he suffered in his final year in college and can enjoy a full offseason, but we’ll have to see it first before we can believe it.
“It’s very beneficial,” Revel said of having a normal offseason. “Just because I can clean up a lot of things, a lot of errors I didn’t see last year, or I did see last year, that I could clean up this year.”
“My knee is 100%, so now it’s time to focus on situational ball and I’ve got to see what I need to fix or get better at,” Revel added.
When training camp kicks off next month, we’re going to be locked into watching the battle at cornerback because it could very well make or break Dallas’ entire 2026 campaign.
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