The Dallas Mavericks are using the waive and stretch provision on 2023 first-round pick Olivier Maxence-Prosper, per ESPN’s Shams Charania, making the 22-year-old forward a free agent for next season. ‘O-Max’ isn’t a massive name you’d recognize, but being a former first-round pick garners enough attention to make you wonder why the Mavericks dumped him just two years after acquiring him in the 2023 draft.
Let’s break down why the Mavericks made this move and what it means for them going forward.
Why did the Mavericks waive Maxence-Prosper?
This primarily concerns Kyrie Irving’s status for next season. With the All-Star guard sidelined for at least half of next season due to an ACL tear, the Mavericks will need all the help they can get in the backcourt until he returns. They signed D’Angelo Russell in the summer as their big free agency pickup, who will immediately slot in as the starting point guard in Irving’s absence.
But when looking at the bench for Dallas, it doesn’t have a reliable backup guard to eat up those second-unit minutes. There’s Jaden Hardy, who has struggled to find consistent minutes in Jason Kidd’s lineup for years now, and is naturally more of a shooting guard than someone who can orchestrate the offense. Beyond that, there’s the undersized Brandon Williams, who had a few breakout performances last season, most notably a 17-point, five-assist outing in the Mavericks’ play-in win against the Kings. Williams showed promise in bursts, but was a two-way player in each of the last two seasons, so relying on him significantly out of the gate may be a big gamble for a Mavericks team with high expectations.
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Sam Quinn
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