Dallas has added some much-needed guard depth through a chaotic series of transactions.
Monday, July 6, marked the end of the NBA's week-long free agency moratorium, which is a pause in the league calendar that allows transactions to be completed and insured under the rules of the salary cap before they are officially announced by the team.
Early in free agency, NBA insider Marc Stein first reported for The Stein Line that the Dallas Mavericks were expected to trade for Detroit Pistons point guard Marcus Sasser.
That move is now official, as Dallas acquires Sasser through a trade that includes five other teams, according to ESPN.
In the move, former Mavericks forward and veteran free agent Khris Middleton, who turns 35 years old next month, rejoined the Washington Wizards in a sign-and-trade. He is back on the team he began the 2025-26 season with after inking a new three-year, $17.6 million contract.
Dallas is also reportedly sending AJ Johnson to Milwaukee and a 2030 conditional first-round pick and a 2029 second-round pick to Memphis for former Grizzlies stretch-big Santi Aldama and the draft rights to Bosnian sharpshooter Tarik Biberovic.
Middleton's sign-and-trade creates a $5.6 million trade exception, which absorbs Sasser's incoming salary. Crucially, Dallas retains its full taxpayer midlevel exception of greater than $20 million to use elsewhere in free agency.
Sasser, 25, joins his hometown team after averaging 7.0 points per game on respectable 38 percent shooting from 3-point range in his three-year career.
The Red Oak native, who attended the University of Houston before becoming a first-round draft pick, has appeared in 166 games in his NBA career, with his rookie season in 2023-24 seeing a career-high 8.3 points in a personal-high 19 minutes played per game. Sasser's minutes began to dwindle in Detroit just as the Pistons, led by DFW-native Cade Cunningham, ascended into an Eastern Conference contender.
The move is Mavs president Masai Ujiri's first free agency addition to the backcourt. Kyrie Irving and Ryan Nembhard will be returning, and Sasser provides a promising scoring punch for an area many fans were skeptical of after previous roster moves.
Ujiri loaded up the Mavs' frontcourt with No. 9 overall pick Morez Johnson Jr., and the addition of 7-footer Aldama adds to the surplus on the interior. Dallas also currently retains centers Daniel Gafford, Moussa Cisse and Dereck Lively II, along with forwards P.J. Washington, Naji Marshall, Caleb Martin and Cooper Flagg.
Sasser joins Spanish guard Sergio De Larrea as another newcomer in the Mavericks' guard rotation. De Larrea is fresh off a league championship overseas and will participate in the NBA Summer League with Dallas, beginning on July 9.
Young playmaker Brandon Williams remains an unrestricted free agent, which suggests that this move for Sasser could spell the end of Williams' time with the Mavs after three seasons.
"... Their playstyles do differ," says our own Kyler Fox about Williams' comparison to Sasser, "and Sasser's may be better suited for what Dusty May and the Mavericks will be trying to execute."
"Williams is more of a microwave scorer. He thrives attacking downhill and creating offense with the ball in his hands. He's a better shot creator than Sasser, but his outside shot remains inconsistent — as evidenced by the 23.2% clip he shot from three this past season ...
"The same year Williams was abysmal from deep coincided with Sasser's best perimeter-shooting season as a pro. He connected on 41.5% of his 2.8 attempts per game, potentially providing the Mavericks with more 3-point shooting off the bench."
