Mavericks' bold Masai Ujiri move forces uncomfortable trade question

With Patrick Dumont electing to hire one of the biggest names on the market, Masai Ujiri, to be the Dallas Mavericks' new president and head decision-maker, who is he keeping to build around Cooper Flagg? Nearly everyone on the roster becomes a potential trade chip. This is his team now, and heading into his first offseason with the team, we don't know exactly how he wants to build the roster or his thoughts on the players who currently surround Cooper Flagg.

The Ujiri hiring signals a blank slate for the Mavericks

This is completely different from last summer when Nico Harrison was in charge. Despite the obvious benefit of trading Anthony Davis to fully rebuild around Cooper Flagg after selecting him with the No. 1 overall pick, this is a move Harrison would've never made. Davis was his golden child, and trading him after giving up Luka Doncic to bring him in seemed impossible.

GMs or team presidents get attached to players all the time, but Ujiri has no attachment to any players on this roster. He was just out of the NBA for a little less than a year after being fired by the Toronto Raptors last summer, and the Mavericks are now his canvas to build a championship-level squad.

This presents the question of how will Ujiri make the Mavericks his team? Who could be moved to fulfill his new vision? He wants to win a title badly, and he has no obligations to anyone on the roster. He wasn't the GM who brought any of them in, and we could see him take some big swings to help get the Mavs back to the NBA Playoffs as soon as next season — regardless of how uncomfortable giving up on some of the current players would be.

Who's at risk of being traded by Masai Ujiri?

Outside of Flagg, the franchise cornerstone, everyone could be on the table to be moved. Dallas doesn't have any trade restrictions that prevent players from being moved (as they had with P.J. Washington after he signed a four-year extension last summer), and Ujiri has the assets to build this roster as he pleases.

Despite being excited about Flagg playing with Kyrie Irving for the first time, there's always a chance he sends Irving elsewhere if he feels it gives the Mavericks a better chance to win in the future. Irving has been an A+ pickup on and off the court in Dallas over the last three years, but with him being 34 years old and entering his 15th (healthy) season in the NBA, he doesn't line up with Flagg's timeline.

He and Flagg have the chance to be a dominant duo together, but Irving shouldn't be considered untouchable just yet. Teams are going to be calling Dallas about their star point guard this summer, and it'll be up to Ujiri if he wants to listen or not.

Outside of Irving, players like P.J. Washington and Klay Thompson will be appetizing to rival teams as well. Every team needs a knockdown 3-point shooter or a versatile 6-foot-7 wing who can defend and provide strong rebounding and physicality, and the Mavericks could get back good value if they want to move on from either player.

Washington enters his first year of a four-year, $90 million extension with the Mavs this season, and he is officially trade-eligible after not being able to be moved all of last season. He was a key reason that Dallas made the NBA Finals in 2024, but his shaky fit alongside Flagg raises questions of whether he'll be on the team for opening night in October.

He could find himself as one of the team's top trade candidates if Ujiri doesn't believe in his long-term upside next to Flagg, and Washington's status with the team could emerge as one of the biggest stories of the summer.

Dallas' roster has several trade candidates

In Thompson's case, he was just in trade rumors last season. There were whispers that he preferred to play for a contender, but the Mavericks didn't trade him ahead of the February 5 trade deadline. He ended up having a strong season off the bench, averaging 11.7 points per game while shooting over 38 percent from downtown, and he can still give a team elite shooting and floor spacing at this point in his career.

Even someone like Daniel Gafford could be on the move after his rollercoaster 2025-26 season. He has been in trade rumblings for each of the last two seasons, and Ujiri could prefer to rebuild this roster with Dereck Lively II and someone like Marvin Bagley III.

Mavericks fans will be on the edge of their seats to see the trade approach that Ujiri takes with his new team, and anything is possible at this point. He wants to turn this team into a long-term contender with Flagg at the head of the snake, and he's going to do whatever it takes to get there.

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