New Dallas Mavericks team president Masai Ujiri is congratulated after an introductory news conference on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, in Dallas.
Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News
CHICAGO — All 30 NBA teams ventured to the Windy City for the league’s annual draft combine to assess the top prospects from the widely anticipated 2026 NBA draft class.
Executives, coaches, scouts, agents and team personnel gathered at Wintrust Arena to begin the draft prep process, including Mavericks team president Masai Ujiri and new general manager Mike Schmitz.
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The real fun starts now for the revamped Mavericks front office, who will continue to evaluate players from afar and in person over the next couple of weeks when predraft workouts begin. The star-studded quartet of AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer and Caleb Wilson are deemed the cream of the crop, but Schmitz is confident the Mavericks will find a talented player in the lottery despite entering at No. 9.
“You look every year at redrafts and there’s always a thinking of consensus, but the reality is there are players who end up being All-Star caliber guys or even better that don’t go in the top two, three, four, five,” Schmitz said. “I feel really confident that we’re going to get a high-level player at nine and excited to get the process going.”
That process is already underway as the combine enters its final weekend.
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Here’s what we learned in Chicago:
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Who was in attendance, and what’s next?
It’s unclear who from the Mavericks’ previous regime will remain with the franchise now that Ujiri is in charge. He plans to examine the team “from head to toe” during the offseason, which means changes could be on the rise.
The Mavericks took a large contingent to Chicago for the draft lottery and combine, including Ujiri and Schmitz, CEO Rick Welts, CFO Kieran Kelliher, assistant general managers Matt Riccardi and Michael Finley, vice president of basketball strategy Andrew Baker, director of pro personnel and international Makhtar Ndiaye, vice president and chief of staff Khalia Collier, director of analytics James Brocato and head athletic trainer Jana Austin.
Several of those executives and staff members will also be in attendance at the team’s practice facility once they begin hosting many of the top prospects in Dallas, for a better opportunity to get to know them. The Mavericks conducted several interviews in Chicago, but NBA teams are allowed less than 30 minutes with each player they meet, as mandated by the league.
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There are less than 40 days until the June 23 draft to determine which players will best fit alongside Cooper Flagg and the rest of the Mavericks’ roster.
Evaluating young talent
There are several players who could be available by the time the Mavericks are on the clock, but it’s impossible to predict the exact order of how the first eight picks will shake out. Don’t rule out a possible trade, either. There has been a trade within the lottery in each of the last three drafts.
Like most teams, the Mavericks will prepare for multiple scenarios entering next month’s draft as they narrow their big board down to a smaller list of players they would be interested in. Most mock drafts predict Dallas will choose either Mikel Brown Jr., Brayden Burries or Keaton Wagler. Labaron Philon Jr. is also an option despite being one of the last projected guards in the lottery.
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The Mavericks met with several players during this week’s combine, including Dybantsa, Wagler, Burries, Christian Anderson, Zuby Ejiofor, Isaiah Evans and Morez Johnson Jr.
Dallas would love to strike gold for the second year in a row and see the potential of its lottery pick manifest into a superstar to align with the current trajectory of Flagg. It’s not impossible, given examples at No. 9, including Dirk Nowitzki and Rolando Blackman.
Anything’s possible, even for the Mavericks’ later picks at Nos. 30 and 48. There are plenty of players who are drafted late or not at all who become rotation players, and sometimes even All-Stars. Schmitz was asked about the archetype of player who could mesh well with Flagg after Sunday’s draft lottery.
“He’s so versatile,” Schmitz said. “I think that’s the beauty of Cooper. He can play with the ball. He can play without the ball. He’s got such a high IQ and he defends multiple positions at a high level. I think there are a multitude of different players that can fit with that style and I think that allows us to be really creative with different lineups we can put around him and different targets we can look to add in the draft, free agency or a trade.”
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What are the options?
The Mavericks have the ninth, 30th and 48th overall picks in the NBA draft. They could keep all three or choose to trade any of them.
Could they move up in the draft? Of course. They don’t have as much draft capital as most teams, but they have the contracts to do so.
Schmitz mentioned the draft as an option to improve the roster, but also mentioned free agency and the trade market. What about the Giannis sweepstakes? Trade season will likely begin once that domino falls.
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Simple math says the Mavericks roster will not look as it did this season. With three upcoming draft picks and four unrestricted free agents in Marvin Bagley III, Khris Middleton, Brandon Williams and Dwight Powell, along with a team option in Ryan Nembhard, Dallas will surely look different on opening night of the 2026-27 campaign.
The Mavericks are likely to keep their options open as the offseason intensifies.