Mavericks give up on first-rounder early

Dallas is waiving Olivier-Maxence Prosper, also known as "O-Max," two seasons after they used the No. 24 pick in the draft on the Canadian forward. The Mavericks are hard-capped at the second apron this season because they signed point guard D'Angelo Russell using the taxpayer mid-level exception. They agreed on a deal with guard Dante Exum back in July, but the Mavs didn't have room for his salary with the limited space they had below the second apron.

Friday was the deadline for teams to waive-and-stretch players before the season, so the Mavericks had to get rid of one salary by today. They chose Prosper, who is making just over $3M in 2025-26, so his salary will count for $1,002,360 on the Mavericks' salary cap for each of the next three seasons.

Prosper never nailed down a rotation spot in his two seasons with the Mavericks. Last year, he averaged 11.2 minutes in 54 games, scoring 3.9 points and collecting 2.4 rebounds. But it's bad NBA business to get nothing out of a first-round pick just two years later, especially when it means giving up on a player who just turned 23 last month.

It's also a sign of the weirdness of the Mavericks' roster, which has 18-year-old Cooper Flagg, the No. 1 pick in last year's draft, but also 35-year-old Klay Thompson, 33-year-old Kyrie Irving and 32-year-old Anthony Davis. There's five players 30 and older, including Exum, while Russell and Caleb Martin will turn 30 during the season.

Dallas and GM Nico Harrison have a potential superstar in Flagg, but the roster is geared around players over a decade older than him. That's because the infamous Luka Doncic trade brought back the much-older and injury-prone Davis. Even with Irving likely to miss most of the season recovering from his ACL tear from March, the Mavericks couldn't pivot to a youth movement by shopping Davis & Co. because they traded their franchise player to get AD. It would be embarrassing.

Instead, the Mavs opted for the more minor embarrassment of ditching a first-round pick two seasons into his career. The pressure is on for Flagg and his teammates to win right away, because they'll have one of the NBA's highest payrolls and likely a short window to contend while Davis and Irving are still star players.

For Prosper, he becomes an appealing candidate for a minimum signing with a team willing to take a flyer on an excellent athlete with a 7-foot-1 wingspan and huge defensive potential. The Mavs are effectively underwriting his development with another team. Given the roster needs of certain aspiring Western Conference contenders, don't rule out Prosper coming back to haunt the Mavericks next year.