Mavericks' history with hidden gems is great news for John Poulakidas

The Dallas Mavericks have a long history of turning two-way guys into players who deserve standard contracts. Last season, they began the season with Miles Kelly, Moussa Cisse, and Ryan Nembhard on two-way contracts. While Dallas traded Nembhard earlier this summer, both he and Cisse were signed by the Mavericks to standard contracts.

Dallas is excellent at finding diamonds in the rough

Nembhard started 27 games as a rookie and Cisse turned into a high-energy piece off the bench. Both players were crucial pieces of the rotation, and Dallas' rookie class was more loaded than they got credit for.

A year earlier, Brandon Williams, A.J. Lawson, and Kessler Edwards were their three two-way players to begin the season. Since then, Williams was converted to a standard contract by the Mavs, and Lawson had his two-way contract converted to a standard deal by the Toronto Raptors.

Poulakidas has a chance to become Dallas' next two-way success story

Now, entering the 2026-27 season, Dallas has three players who will be hungry for a standard contract. John Poulakidas, Tobi Lawal, and Jett Howard are all on two-way deals, and each of them has a chance to become the next Maverick who goes from a two-way standout to a staple of the rotation.

Each player has a distinct skill. Lawal is a freak athlete, and Howard and Poulakidas project as knockdown shooters. They will all have the chance to earn a spot in Dusty May's rotation, but the player who may have the chance to carve out a long-term role in Dallas is Poulakidas.

The Mavericks signed Poulakidas to a two-way deal near the end of last season, and he did not disappoint. In 13 games, the young sharpshooter averaged 8.8 points per game while shooting over 40 percent from three and capped the season off with 63 points over the final three games.

His shooting off the catch is electric, and after finishing in the bottom five of the NBA as a team in 3-pointers made, 3-pointers attempted, and 3-point percentage last season, the Mavericks can use as much shooting as they can get. Dallas did a good job of adding more shooting this offseason by trading for Tarik Biberovic, Santi Aldama, Marcus Sasser, and Zaccharie Risacher, but Poulakidas has the chance to be the best shooter of this group if he continues to improve.

Why Poulakidas makes sense as a long-term fit for the Mavericks

Shooting has been his specialty since his Yale days, and with the Mavericks shopping Klay Thompson, Poulakidas could help replace his production. Even if Dallas holds onto Thompson, his contract expires after the 2026-27 season.

Someone will have to pick up the slack once Thompson is gone, and Poulakidas has the potential to do that. He made over three 3-pointers five different times for the Mavs last season, and with Kyrie Irving set to return, Poulakidas will get even more open looks.

Dallas has put a clear focus on putting as much shooting as possible around Cooper Flagg after how poorly things went last season, and a strong season could lead to Poulakidas joining the young core alongside him. This is the perfect season for Poulakidas to go from a hidden gem to a household name, and if history says anything, he just has to beat out Lawal and Howard to pull this off.

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