The Dallas Mavericks will soon return to the hardwood, as will the rest of the NBA, as training camp starts on October 1st. Teams are submitting camp rosters and getting underway for a near season.

With the Mavericks revealing their training camp roster — which marks the beginning of a new era with Klay Thompson in town — a young forward made a jersey number change.

Olivier-Maxence Prosper, previously sporting No. 18, will now wear No. 8 heading into his second season in the NBA.

READ MORE: Mavericks Conference Rival Makes Curious Trade

Right now, there’s not much to know about Prosper. He’s a 22-year-old forward who holds plenty of potential in the league. At 6-foot-8, the Mavericks forward has the chance to emerge as a three-and-D player. The potential floor-spacer didn’t have an incredible rookie season in that regard, though. He converted on just 29 percent of his 3-pointers on the season.

His NBA statistics weren’t incredible in year one — which consisted of 40 games played and one start — but Prosper thrived in the G-League. While it doesn’t completely prove his potential, it does hold some merit. He averaged 18.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per game while converting on 43 percent of the 5.3 3-point attempts per game for the Texas Legends.

Heading into year two, Prosper’s services certainly won’t be a need, as he will be depth for the squad. The Mavericks bolstered their roster following an NBA Finals appearance. Should the 22-year-old forward have to play, though, he’ll do so and be a serviceable player alongside a core of Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, and Thompson. He’ll knock down 3-pointers while playing stout defense, fitting right into the team’s system.

READ MORE: Mark Cuban Believes Superteam Era is Over

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Shams Bomb! On Friday night, the Minnesota Timberwolves made the first big trade of the post-Adrian Wojnarowski “Woj Bomb” era by trading power forward Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, breaking up the “Nova Knicks.”

A bit of a surprising trade, to say the least, the Western Conference runners-up are shipping off what was a pillar of their franchise for the last several seasons. The timing seems odd considering what they just accomplished with Towns as a major part of their offense, a floor-spacing big man who can shoot the ball as well as any 7-footer in the NBA (just ask him).

READ MORE: Mavs’ Opening Opponent Will be Shorthanded to Start Season

Rumors were swirling that DiVincenzo was unhappy in his role, according to the post below on X.

This is an interesting trade for multiple reasons. The first is that it completely reworks the offense for the Timberwolves, as they no longer have the same ability to run the pick-and-pop that has been a staple of their offense for as long as Towns has been playing there. While Randle brings his own benefits to the table, it is still a bit confounding as to why they would make the move now.

Though Towns struggled to do what he does – shoot the ball – in the Dallas Mavericks series, connecting on just 37.9% of overall field goals and 24.2% from three, it is still going to cause a complete change in the way that the Timberwolves attack defenses.

For the Knicks, opening up the floor could help players like former Maverick and current New York point guard Jalen Brunson as well as help Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart, and could provide some rebounding as well. After losing Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency, the Knicks still have issues with big-man depth, but at least this move adds some floor spacing to their repertoire.

READ MORE: Dallas Mavericks Media Day and Preseason Information

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12:31 AM on Sep 28, 2024 CDT