Mavericks' brutal cut saves them from disastrous trade trap

To no one's surprise, the Dallas Mavericks have parted ways with former first-round selection Olivier-Maxence Prosper. The Mavericks selected Prosper with the 24th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft after a trade with the Sacramento Kings that netted them the 24th pick in that year's draft on top of taking in Richaun Holmes' egregious contract.

While there was plenty of hype surrounding Prosper after an impressive draft combine outing that raised his value into a potential late lottery caliber player, it was clear his time in Dallas would be short. Not only did the Canadian fail to impact the Mavericks' rotation in his two seasons spent with in Dallas, but it was easy to see that Prosper wasn't able to develop into the player he could become due to the Mavericks' depth at the forward and center positions.

It's no doubt a shocking surprise for fans to see the Mavericks bail on such a young talent so early; however, after waiving and stretching Prosper's rookie contract, Nico Harrison and the Mavericks' front office should feel thankful they didn't fall into a trade trap that would have cost them future draft capital.

Avoiding attaching draft picks in Prosper trade goes down as a huge win

Earlier this week, it was reported that the Mavericks would be looking to explore a trade for Prosper or Jaden Hardy to clear up an open roster spot for the rumored Dante Exum signing. Not only would trading Prosper have been a huge headache for the Mavericks, considering they couldn't take any contracts back in return, but they likely would have needed to attach one of their future second-round picks to entice a team to take Prosper.

The Mavericks waited until the absolute last second before waiving and stretching Prosper, as the deadline to waive and stretch players for the offseason was Friday at 4 PM CT. By doing this, Prosper now has the opportunity to sign with another team on a training camp deal where he can potentially compete for a roster spot on a younger team and develop his game.

By no means was Prosper a declining asset for the Mavericks, as he was just on a rookie contract, but it would have been hard to ask any team to take Prosper's contract on without another sweetener in the trade. By avoiding trading a second-round pick, the Mavericks are adding more flexibility to their future to not only possibly use the seconds on an incoming rookie, but they could also be used as a sweetener in a bigger trade for a veteran.

Throughout Prosper's career, it became increasingly clear that he wasn't built to play in the long run in Dallas. This was likely the reason the Mavericks would have needed to attach a second-round pick in a salary-dump trade.

It's also important to keep in mind that the Mavericks only have two second-round picks in their arsenal, and they have yet to pick a direction with Cooper Flagg at the helm. Assuming the Mavericks shift their focus to fully rebuilding around Flagg, having as many draft assets as possible has already been a proven formula for winning, as proved by the Oklahoma City Thunder this past season.

The NBA is shifting towards building teams through the draft, and as currently constructed, the Mavericks need to hold on to any and every draft pick they are able to accumulate.