Mavericks' moves this week reveal a crucial roster-building advantage

For the first time since the Santi Aldama and Marcus Sasser trade, the Dallas Mavericks made some moves this week. They were part of a three-team trade on Sunday that sent Ryan Nembhard and Lu Dort to the Atlanta Hawks, draft capital to the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the No. 1 overall pick from the 2024 NBA Draft, Zaccharie Risacher, to Dallas.

A day later, they waived Tyler Smith and signed Jett Howard, the No. 11 pick from the 2023 NBA Draft, to a two-way contract. Howard played for the Orlando Magic for the last three seasons.

While other teams sometimes give up on these lottery picks, the Mavericks are giving themselves an advantage by buying low on them before they reclaim the value that made them highly-touted draft picks in the first place. Acquiring multiple lottery picks from the last three years in one week is an excellent idea for a team looking to rebuild the roster around Cooper Flagg. If Risacher or Howard takes a major step, Dallas' moves to get these players will look even better.

Mavericks' moves for Risacher and Howard share a similar theme

Dallas' new front office of Mike Schmitz and Masai Ujiri has done an excellent job of putting talent around Flagg this offseason, and their moves of trading for Risacher and signing Howard reveal a tendency about them that Mavericks fans should be excited about. Schmitz and Ujiri like to take swings on players who are underappreciated that they can get for a bargain, and that's exactly what they did with Risacher and Howard.

Trading Nembhard and a future second-round pick for the first overall pick from just two years ago is an absolute steal, and it almost seems too good to be true on the surface.

Dallas' second Risacher pursuit worked out much better than the first

Less than six months ago, the Hawks didn't want to part with Risacher in a potential trade with Dallas for Anthony Davis. Atlanta was interested in Dallas' former star big man, while the Mavericks were intrigued by Risacher, but the Hawks didn't want to give him up.

Dallas' front office moved away from dealing with the Hawks, ultimately trading Davis to the Washington Wizards.

Dallas couldn't even convince Atlanta to give up Risacher (and other assets) in exchange for Davis back in February, but they got him for pennies on the dollar in July. It's unusual for a team to give up on a No. 1 pick this quickly, especially since Risacher has shown some potential over the last two seasons, and the Mavericks clearly have confidence in him.

Risacher has been on Mike Schmitz's radar for some time now

When looking at the Risacher deal, Schmitz clearly values some of his old evaluations from his time at ESPN and DraftExpress. His former career covering the NBA Draft, which later led to him landing a front office position with the Portland Trail Blazers, has put him in an excellent position to succeed now.

A trade for Risacher is much more about upside than current talent, and Schmitz has had an eye on him since he was a teenager playing in France. His intentionality in scouting these prospects from their early days up until they enter the NBA has paid off, and the Mavericks took a swing on Risacher at the best time possible.

Risacher is in a great spot to bounce back

Dallas isn't in a position to contend for a title right now, and this is the exact situation Risacher needed. Atlanta likely would've given him a longer leash when it comes to development if they weren't a playoff team, and with the Mavericks in a mini-rebuild, he now has a low-pressure environment to grow alongside Flagg.

Hawks fans were disappointed that he never looked like a No. 1 pick, but it'll be completely different in Dallas. Mavericks fans are extremely welcoming, and this new opportunity should work wonders for his confidence.

Orlando and Dallas should be significantly different for Howard

The same can be said about Jett Howard.

The Magic have made the NBA Playoffs in each of the last three seasons, and despite being a lottery pick in 2024, Howard has been buried on their bench over the last few years. He has only played 133 games for the Magic. With him playing just 11.0 minutes per game for his career, Orlando clearly didn't believe, nor did they have the room on the roster, to develop him.

On the other hand, Dallas saw the potential and signed him to a two-way contract. Howard was a lottery pick for a reason, and his movement shooting is extremely intriguing. Schmitz scouted him before he even played at Michigan, and if he's even part of the Mavericks' rotation as a two-way player, Dallas struck gold here.

Both of Dallas' moves this week showed that Schmitz and Ujiri like to take swings on players who have more value than it appears, and their moves for Risacher and Howard could prove to be extremely impactful in the 2026-27 season.

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