With 16 players fighting for 15 roster spots, Dallas must trim its rotation. From P.J. Washington to Daniel Gafford, one established name likely faces the chopping block.
DALLAS - The Dallas Mavericks, with Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving as the hub of the wheel, has been wildly active in making changes around them.
As a result, though, the team currently has 16 players signed to standard contracts and must get to 15 by opening night.
So the wheel has too many spokes.
So far, added via trade are NBA Draft Time gets like Spanish guard Sergio De Larrea, big man Santi Aldama and shooter Tarik Biberović.
The Mavericks re-signed Moussa Cissé after matching a two-year, minimum offer sheet he signed with the New York Knicks.
And guard Ryan Nembhard was traded to the Atlanta Hawks in a deal that was headlined by the Oklahoma City Thunder moving on from Lu Dort. The trade - which reports suggest was triggered by Dallas - brought Zaccharie Risacher to the Mavericks.
Not every move is a good move, of course. ... but the Mavs certainly couldn't stand pat after last year's non-contending effort.
But another trade seems to be in the wings. Consider ...
Mavs Way-Too-Early Depth Chart
G: Kyrie Irving, Marcus Sasser, Sergio De Larrea
G: Max Christie, Naji Marshall, Tarik Biberović
F: Cooper Flagg, Zaccharie Risacher, Klay Thompson, Caleb Martin
F: P.J. Washington, Santi Aldama, Morez Johnson Jr.
C: Daniel Gafford, Dereck Lively II, Moussa Cissé
That's one guy too many.
So ...
Who are the candidates to be moved? In reverse order of likeli
4 - PJ Washington: Dallas now has many players who spent the majority of their minutes at power forward, including P.J. Washington, Santi Aldama, and Morez Johnson Jr. With all three on the roster, it appears challenging to factor them all in, even when sliding players across positions.
Washington would be the guy who might be expendable here.
3 - Caleb Martin: He's a logical trade candidate at some point. ... if somebody wants him. He played 58 games in 2025-26, averaging 3.9 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.3 blocks in 14.8 minutes per game.
As our Grant Afseth notes, "Martin will earn just over $10 million for the upcoming season with a final-year player option for 2027-28 worth under $9.4 million. Given how many wing players there are on the Mavericks, clearing a roster spot by moving on could be advantageous.''
2 - Daniel Gafford: There are the trade rumors and there is a market for him. But ... is Dereck Lively II, coming off a season-ending foot surgery, healthy? Are you really ready to give center minutes to Johnson or Aldama?
Maybe Cissé, productive last year in limited minutes, is ready to make a leap?
1 - Klay Thompson: Plan A didn't work. It's time to move on. He originally arrived in Dallas intent on competing for championships alongside Luka Dončić and Irving. But he no longer fits here, and teams like the Miami Heat are interested.
Do they want to pay him $17.4 million this season, though? Can a trade be made rather that just a buyout?
The Mavericks have time to sort through all of their options. But the options seem pretty clear to us. And one of them, we bet, is eventually utilized.
