Mavericks finally admit how badly they messed up with former first-round flyer

Entering the offseason, Nico Harrison and the Dallas Mavericks understood that they needed to fill the gaping hole at their guard position after Kyrie Irving went down with an ACL tear in early March. There's no doubt that Irving could make a recovery before next season ends, but the bottom line is that the Mavericks needed to address their massive hole at the point guard position.

With this in mind, the Mavericks added D'Angelo Russell to a two-year team-friendly contract, and rumors are also pointing to Dallas making a reunion with Dante Exum despite not having enough roster spots available to sign him right away. While Exum will be primarily brought back to Dallas to fill a roster need and defend at the point of attack, the Mavericks still need to find a way to create an open roster spot to sign the Australian guard.

Many fans have been quick to name Olivier-Maxence Prosper as Dallas' odd man out on the roster, considering the Mavericks have a logjam at the forward position, and Prosper has failed to take advantage of the minutes he has been given. Still, now the Mavericks appear to be fully on board with trading Prosper to clear up roster space, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line.

Trading Olivier-Maxence Prosper is full admission that Mavs messed up

In a recent report, the Mavericks have "ramped up their efforts" in an attempt to trade Prosper to clear up a roster spot. As currently constructed, the Mavericks would be over the legal 15-man standard roster size if they signed Exum today, so the Mavs were required to conduct a salary dump-type trade or roster move to re-sign Exum.

While trading Prosper in the attempt to clear up roster space shouldn't go as a surprise to fans, as in two seasons with the Mavs, he has only averaged 3.5 points per game on an abysmal 39.6 percent shooting from the field, he still gained the love from fans. Prosper's time in Dallas could be summed up as disappointing, but he quickly became a fan favorite and someone who was easy to cheer for.

There's no doubt that the Mavericks had higher expectations for Prosper after selecting him with the 24th overall pick in the 2023 draft, and it might even be safe to assume that Harrison would probably select a different player with what fans now know about Prosper. As unfortunate as it may be to say goodbye to a player like Prosper, the Mavericks were never the right place for a player looking to work on his game, with Prosper's skill set to develop.

Even after selecting Prosper, the Mavericks understood that it would be an uphill battle before Prosper would even see a healthy dose of minutes on an NBA floor, and in two seasons, they weren't wrong.

Moving forward for Prosper, the hope is that the Mavericks can find a suitable situation for the 23-year-old who would be willing to give him an actual chance at gaining real rotational minutes. In Dallas, Prosper was never going to develop into the best version of himself as he was constantly behind a logjam of players, and this season would have been no different with the addition of Cooper Flagg.

For Dallas, this move not only makes perfect sense but has been necessary since the Mavs were rumored to be re-signing Exum; however, they must avoid attaching draft capital in the salary dump trade with Prosper. As unfortunate as it may be to hear for some fans, Exum's skill set is much more in need for this rendition of the Mavericks than Prosper's would have been.

Prosper has all but played his last game in Dallas, and now the Mavericks must do everything in their power to find the Canadian a new home that will welcome him with open arms.