Cooper Flagg's Mavs Reveal 2 'Surprises' On Depth Chart For Camp

DALLAS - It doesn't get much more "unofficial'' that this, but ...The Dallas Mavs, via their website, have unveiled a 2026-27 depth chart.

And it's overflowing with what we might consider surprises.

Two examples? Two kids.

Santi Aldama, for instance, is the starting center in the Mavericks depth chart that Eddie Sefko published Wednesday at Mavs.com. 

Oh, and rookie Morez Johnson Jr. starts at power forward.

A decision like that, if it holds, would put PJ Washigton on the bench, along with Naji Marshall.

And in the case of Aldama? Sefko slotted the 7-footer ahead of Daniel Gafford, Dereck Lively II and Moussa Cisse. ... all three of whom started at least one game for Dallas last season.

The other three starters make plenty of sense.

That would be Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving, of course, along with Max Christie.

In Sefko's view, the roster carries “too many players for too few spots,” though that doesn't necessarily mean it's a high-quality roster.

Certainly, it is hoped that the new management trio of president Masai Ujiri, general manager Mike Schmitz and coach Dusty May will focus on moving more pieces.s

Said May in his interview on 105.3 The Fan:“We have a lot of pieces and how they work, who plays well together. Those are the things that we’re going to have to figure out. There’s a lot of puzzles throughout a season that you have to put the right pieces in the right places.''

Aldama arrived here from Memphis in the six-team trade that also brought to Dallas Marcus Sasser from Detroit and the draft rights to Tarik Biberović.

Lively hasn’t played since December after season-ending surgery on his right foot. But Dallas has exercised his option for 2026-27, and he is eligible to sign a long-term extension before the season begins. ... so there is some positivity here.

Cisse spent last season on a two-way contract as an undrafted rookie. In July, the Mavericks matched the two-year, $4.7 million offer sheet he signed with the New York Knicks, which elevated him to a standard deal.

The big wild card here might by Johnson, who was drafted ninth overall in June, just hours after Dallas announced May as head coach.Johnson started for May’s national championship team at Michigan.

Washington would back him up in the projection, and Marshall would land behind Christie at shooting guard.Behind Flagg, Sefko listed Zaccharie Risacher, Biberović, and Caleb Martin. ... with Risacher a most intriguing guy.

Atlanta took Risacher first overall in 2024. He came to Dallas in a three-team deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder that sent Ryan Nembhard and a second-round pick out. Sixty-seven games and 46 starts for the Hawks last season produced 9.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 22.4 minutes.

Can he do more? If so, this depth chart can change. In the meantime, it is obviously anchored by Flagg, who won Rookie of the Year on a 26-56 team. He averaged 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists.

That part of the Mavs depth chart, at least, is in good shape.