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.
Dallas, TX
Cowboys hot topic: Osa Odighizuwa's good play could price him out of Dallas
The Dallas Cowboys are trying to close the 2024 season on a positive note and have successfully done so at the moment with three wins in their last four games. Although they won’t make the postseason, it is good to see them showing heart and resolve with all the injuries and misfortune they’ve had. However, once these season ends in January, the page will turn to offseason activities, which includes free agency.
Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones has already mentioned that the team will have a tight offseason when it comes to spending. While that’s not surprising in the slightest with how things go in Dallas, it also puts the future of some of the top guys on the roster in question. One in particular, defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa, is a big one to monitor.
Back during the summer, Odighizuwa made it clear what he wanted to do was sign an extension with Dallas while having his best NFL season to date. The former third-round pick has certainly done the best season-to-date thing.
So far this season, Odighizuwa has already tied a career-high with four sacks and set a career mark with 22 quarterback hits (nine more than any other season). He’s also equaled his best year with 31 hurries and has set a new career-high in pressures with 51. His 79.0 pass-rush grade ranks ninth for all defensive lineman in 2024 per Pro Football Focus.
This is great for Odighizuwa because he has certainly upped his value. With what he’s done this season, and the steady progression in his play, Odighizuwa is possibly looking at commanding a deal around $5 to $7 million annually. If he finishes strong in the last three games, he could be looking at double-digit numbers per year. As good as it is for him, it may be the opposite for Dallas.
The Cowboys do like to keep the players that they draft and develop into star or contributing players. Unfortunately, especially when it comes to Stephen Jones specifically, it always comes back to the salary cap, or at least it’s used a reason not to pay guys big dollars. The Cowboys put themselves in these positions by waiting to pay players, much like they did with Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb. Those deals could have and should have been done earlier to put the Cowboys in a better position as far as the cap. There are plenty of ways to manipulate the cap, but Dallas tends to stand firm on being frugal.
If Odighizuwa is to hit the market, teams will come calling. Although he’s a bit undersized at 280 pounds, Odighizuwa uses his wrestling background to get tremendous leverage and drive much bigger offensive linemen into the backfield. He’s solid against the run, and he helps keep linebackers clean, and teams that see themselves as contenders will be willing to pay him for those services and pay him well.
It would behoove the Cowboys to value defensive tackles as a high priority for once during the offseason and bring Odighizuwa back. However, with the way Dallas handles contracts, don’t be surprised if the 2024 campaign is his last with the Cowboys.
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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