Iowa's Bennett Stirtz is one of the most unique prospects in the 2026 draft class. The only problem is Dallas picks at 30 and Stirtz will likely be gone before they get there.
The Dallas Mavericks hold a lottery pick, the 30th selection and pick 48 in the second round in the 2026 NBA Draft. Most of the conversation has centered around what Dallas does with the lottery pick on Sunday.
But there is a scenario worth exploring where the more important selection ends up being the one at the end of the first round, and it starts with a 6-foot-4 floor general from Iowa named Bennett Stirtz.
Stirtz has one of the most unique paths to the draft in recent memory. He started at Division II Northwest Missouri State, followed head coach Ben McCollum to Drake where he helped lead the Bulldogs to a historic NCAA Tournament upset, then followed McCollum again to Iowa for his senior season.
He averaged 19.7 points, 4.4 assists and 1.4 steals per game on 47.7% shooting from the field and 35.8% from three. The level of competition got harder every year and the production never wavered.
What makes Stirtz special is not athleticism. What makes him special is something far rarer. His feel for the game is among the best in this entire draft class.
He controls tempo in a way most 22-year-olds simply do not know how to do. He reads defenses before plays develop, gets to his spots at exactly the right moment, and makes the correct decision under pressure consistently.
The challenge for Dallas is that most mock drafts project Stirtz somewhere between picks 20 and 28, meaning he would likely be gone before the Mavericks pick at 30. To get him, Masai Ujiri would need to find a trade partner willing to move back.
The asset cost to move up five to ten spots from 30 is manageable, likely pick 48 or a future swap, and the return could be exactly the plug-and-play guard Dallas needs alongside Cooper Flagg.
Stirtz does not need the ball to impact the game. He spaces the floor, runs pick-and-roll with precision, and makes everyone around him better. On a team built around a ball-dominant forward in Flagg, that profile is not just useful. It is ideal. Ujiri built his reputation on finding value where others did not look. Stirtz is exactly that kind of player.