Mavericks' brutal roster cut makes their stance on young guard crystal clear

The Dallas Mavericks officially waived Olivier-Maxence Prosper last Friday to make room to re-sign Dante Exum, and the team now has 15 players on standard contracts ahead of next season. Their brutal roster crunch is now over, and the team can focus on training camp, which begins in less than a month.

Dallas was rumored to be signing back Exum for months, but since his arrival meant that they would have 16 players under contract, it was always known that someone was going to get the boot from Nico Harrison.

Prosper was long rumored as a suitor to be traded or waived, but another option they could've considered is Brandon Williams, since he isn't on a fully guaranteed deal that expires after this season. Waiving Williams likely would've been the easier financial decision for Dallas, but since they kept him, it shows how highly Harrison and company value him, and he could be due for a breakout year this season.

Brandon Williams is quietly earning the Mavericks' trust

Last season for Dallas, Williams averaged 8.3 points, 1.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 0.7 steals per game while shooting 52.1 percent from the field and 40 percent from downtown. His scoring off the bounce and ball handling were electric to end the 2024-25 season, and with him sticking around this summer, Mavericks fans should be excited to see how he has improved this summer.

This isn't to say that Williams was ever in the conversation to get waived or traded, as he ended the season on an absolute tear, but it should be noted that the Mavs drafted Prosper with a first-round pick two years ago. Dallas's decision to keep Williams around is a testament to how much he has improved over the last few years, and their stance on him is clear.

He went from being on multiple two-way deals on the Mavs to one of their most reliable bench scorers, and he brings the team a quality that hardly anyone else does. Self-created scoring.

Outside of Irving, Anthony Davis, and D'Angelo Russell, Williams is one of the only players on the team who can create their own shot, and his creativity with the ball in his hands is a thing of beauty.

Whether Williams is getting to the rim to finish with a crafty layup or hitting a mid-range jumper after hitting a defender with a nasty dribble combination, he makes the game look easy, and he is stepping into an opportunity that could make or break what the rest of his career in Dallas looks like.

Heading into the beginning of next season, the Mavericks will be without Kyrie Irving, likely for multiple months, as he tore his ACL back in March, and this will be Williams' time to shine. Irving is someone with whom he shares a special bond on and off the court, and the time that Irving is out will be Williams' dress rehearsal to prove that he deserves real minutes even once Irving is back in the lineup.

Williams will be on a mission to prove that he belongs in Dallas long-term, and for the time being, the Mavs seem to already believe this notion. They would've waived him instead of Prosper if they didn't believe that he can take his game to the next level this season, and his rise could end up being one of the biggest stories of the year.