Dallas has added size, length, athleticism and shooting throughout the offseason, with GM Mike Schmitz explaining how the roster is being built around Cooper Flagg and the team's primary creators.
The Mavericks reshaped their roster this offseason with a clear vision in mind, and Mike Schmitz laid it out plainly Friday. Speaking with 103.5 The Fan, the Mavericks general manager described a team built around size, length and skill, the kind of construction that has become a hallmark of the front office he now helps run.
"We definitely feel like we've upgraded in a variety of ways with the size and the length and the skill level," Schmitz said. It's a philosophy the front office committed to deliberately, even as Schmitz was careful not to suggest there's only one path to building a winner. "I think there are different ways to do it, and you've seen teams be successful with different models," he explained.
Schmitz doubles down on the roster improvement.
"One thing I think we are proud of with this offseason and a lot of our moves and our acquisitions is we've gotten bigger. We've gotten longer. We've gotten taller. We've gotten rangier. We feel we've gotten more athletic and more skilled, creating more space for our primary ball handlers and creators to operate."
That description isn't a one-offseason strategy. It's the Masai Ujiri formula. Throughout his career, Ujiri has prioritized long, versatile and athletic players, the type who can switch defensively and create matchup problems on offense. The championship roster he built in Toronto was defined by that profile, and the Mavericks' offseason reflects the same principles being applied in Dallas around young cornerstone Cooper Flagg.
The acquisitions back up the talk. Through trades, Dallas added former No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher, stretch big Santi Aldama, combo guard Marcus Sasser and the draft rights to sharpshooting wing Tarik Biberovic. In the draft, the Mavericks selected physical big man Morez Johnson Jr. at No. 9, along with international prospect Sergio de Larrea, who impressed during Summer League. Nearly every one of those additions fits the profile Schmitz described.
"To this point, we feel like we've added to our talent base, added some skill sets that help complement several of our players," Schmitz said. "And I'm so excited about where we're at and the direction we're heading." He stressed that the evaluation never stops. "We're constantly evaluating ways to get better," he added, noting that Dallas studies roster trends around the NBA and internationally while searching for ways to improve its lineups.
That work continues right up to the October 21st season opener against Houston.
"We've got almost two months to opening night, and the schedule was released yesterday, and just kind of crunching some of those numbers and taking a look at all the different things," Schmitz said. "How many back-to-backs are you playing? How many national TV games do you get? How many miles are you traveling? All those things."
For all the emphasis on size and length, Schmitz was quick to acknowledge that roster building is more art than formula. "I don't think it's exact science," he said. "There are different ways to win, but we feel we've gotten bigger and more skilled for sure."
Whether it all translates to wins is still unanswered. But the vision is coherent, the execution has been deliberate, and Schmitz sounds convinced Dallas is moving in the right direction. For a team building around Flagg, that clarity of purpose matters as much as the size and skill the front office spent the offseason adding.
