MAVS NEWS:

[david75090]

Mavs: Waived F Dalano Banton. Waived G Dennis Smith Jr. Waived F Jeremiah Robinson-Earl.

[WillE]

Mavs: Waived F Dalano Banton. Waived G Dennis Smith Jr. Waived F Jeremiah Robinson-Earl.

And yet they have converted C Moussa Cissé to a Two-Way contract.

So what can we read out of this decision?

He seems to be long, young and athletic and plays Center. While the other above don't offer these attributes, they all shouldn't be available for Two-Way Contracts anymore, right?

[Jmaciscool]

Mavs: Waived F Dalano Banton. Waived G Dennis Smith Jr. Waived F Jeremiah Robinson-Earl.

Cissé got the final 2-way as well.

[Chicagojk]

And yet they have converted C Moussa Cissé to a Two-Way contract.

So what can we read out of this decision?

He seems to be long, young and athletic and plays Center. While the other above don't offer these attributes, they all shouldn't be available for Two-Way Contracts anymore, right?

Yeah, the other three were not 2 way eligible.  I think the Mavs gave them some exposure, plus being in an NBA camp.  I think the likely outcome for all three is to be on the Mavs G-league team.   If so, I am glad.  Mavs G-league roster has always been bottom level.  I am not sure Nembhard is going to play many G-league games, I think.

Cisse looked good in preseason.  Although, he played college for five years and really did not put up much stats.  Was pretty good on defense.   I read he was a top 10 recruit who re-classified.   Looking at his Wikipedia page, it looks like he played at three high schools and 4 colleges.   Maybe getting him for two years and see how he can develop in a set system will help?

[KillerLeft]

Cissé got the final 2-way as well.

Man, I know we're all prone to latch onto whatever new young guy is around every season, but I really liked Cissé! I like him more than Kai Jones, I think.

[Jym]

Who is the main decision maker on our 2-way signings? 
They know what they're doing

[DL2RimRocker]

Cisse looks to have Mihinmi potential or worse case Mbenga.

Maybe history could repeat itself again:

Damp/Diop/Mbenga
Chandler/Haywood/Mihinmi
Lively/Gafford/Cisse

[Winter]

A Mbenga reference. Wow.

I think Don Nelson was firing one up what they acquired him.

[RasheedsBigWhiteSpot]

A Mbenga reference. Wow.

I think Don Nelson was firing one up what they acquired him.

DJ "Moose" Mbenga 

I always thought he looked like a Mangalor from "The Fifth Element".

[Smitty]

@townbrad
Kidd says Gafford went through partial practice today, “He looked good, so we’ll see how he feels tomorrow.”


@JoeyMistretta_
Jason Kidd did not officially reveal Mavs’ starting lineup, but did say that if Cooper Flagg is listed at PG, it will be more of a “point-forward” role.

More from Jason Kidd on Cooper Flagg potentially being listed at point guard: "I think he will be excited (regardless of which position he's listed at), dream come true for Cooper. I don't know if it really matters what position. He's about winning, he competes at the highest on both the offense and defensive end, trying to help his team win. I think when we're looking at him starting at the point guard, it's probably more of a point forward situation. But technically we got to list someone at the point guard position, so I guess we're listing him at the point guard position."

It's worth noting that Kidd did NOT officially reveal the opening night lineup, so Flagg isn't guaranteed to be listed at PG. Mavs seem to be strongly considering it based on Kidd's comments, though.

[Reunion Mav]

No D Lo mention. Is he hurt or potentially passed by for now?

[Kidnova]

Mavs Exercise 2026/27 Option On Dereck Lively

https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2025/10/mavs...ively.html

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

No D Lo mention. Is he hurt or potentially passed by for now?

Interesting

Maybe since there's no backup PG available  (Exum or Williams), they want to bring DLo off the bench.

[Chicagojk]

No D Lo mention. Is he hurt or potentially passed by for now?

I think he starts game 1 and PJ comes off the bench.  I expect different iterations early though.

[Jym]

If we actually go double bigs without a point guard for major minutes, this will feel that season where we got Lively.
I swear we lost at least 5 games just purely based on bad rotations

[F Gump]

Interesting

Maybe since there's no backup PG available  (Exum or Williams), they want to bring DLo off the bench.

This is about wanting both PJW and Flagg in the starting lineup. You could see this coming in June, subject only to Flagg's ability to handle the ball under pressure. But he's shown that's not an issue, and his size and ability to run and attack the basket are huge challenges for the other team. 

PJW has been great, even better than last year. I think they expect their bigger lineup will put pressure on the opponents to adapt to it and make lineup changes, rather than the other way around. 

I think DAR also made the question easy. IMO he played himself out of realistic consideration for a possible starting role (his defense was horrendous early on, making the whole defense porous as a result, though it looked to me like it began to improve a bit in later games). 

But I think the roles and minutes at PG will be VERY fluid as they try to find their way for the first month. I think BW is 100% ready to go, and may play as many minutes or more than DAR because he defends and he is smart with his shot selection. They like him a LOT. Exum (once he's healthy) may be used at SG more than PG depending on Max's ability to play well. DAR may be in the same boat. When Kyrie returns, who knows?

If the question becomes "we have too many good guards" then is that a problem? 

On whether Flagg can do the job of PG - it's not going to look like the way Luka plays it, but this is stuff Flagg has been doing since he was 15. Flagg is already a good ball handler, that's not an issue, and no he won't crumble if he's pressured. But they will LITERALLY have almost anyone bringing the ball up the floor, and almost anyone initiating the offense, and it will "flow" from one player to another - no rigid need for only this person or that to be The Ball Handler or The Shooter or The Dunker. The offense won't be static. 

The main question for the offense imo will be shot selection and whether they can hit the good shots when they get them (because I think they will get great shots all the time, if they work at it).

[Winter]

Agree with FG on the subject of the lineup. They two best two-way players on the team are Flagg and PJ. You can make a case that AD should be in that mix, but AD's effectiveness is so much better when he's in the frontcourt playing on bigs.

I think It's almost criminal to keep PJ or Flagg on the bench while the other one plays. I'm all for finding ways to keep them on the court together.

[Smitty]

It feels like Flagg will start at PG tomorrow, opening night. Kidd mentioned wanting to go with his top 10. So, expect a 10-man rotation against the Spurs, the early part of the season, the entire season? Who knows with Kidd, but it's pretty easy to get to the top 9.... DLO, Klay, Flagg, AD, Lively, Max, Naji, PJW, Gafford.

The list to pick from to get to 10: B-Will, Martin, Hardy, Powell, Exum (hurt?), Nembhard, Kelly, Cisse

Believe it or not I think it may come down to B-Will and Nembhard. If Exum were healthy, it'd be him, but I'm not sure we can count on him anymore... What does that say about Martin though? SIGH. Here's a visual, and yes, I know I don't have Flagg starting at "PG" in the breakdown, it's for visual symmetry.

10-man rotation:

DLO | B-Will
Klay | Max
Flagg | Naji
AD | PJW
Lively | Gafford

DNP: Nembhard, Martin, Hardy, Powell, Exum, Kelly, Cisse


Potential starting 5 matchups for tomorrow night:

Flagg 6'9 - Castle 6'6
Klay 6'5 - Vassell 6'5
PJW 6'7 - Champagnie 6'8
AD 6'10 - Barnes 6'8
Lively 7'1 - Wemby 7'3

[mvossman]

This is about wanting both PJW and Flagg in the starting lineup. You could see this coming in June, subject only to Flagg's ability to handle the ball under pressure. But he's shown that's not an issue, and his size and ability to run and attack the basket are huge challenges for the other team. 

PJW has been great, even better than last year. I think they expect their bigger lineup will put pressure on the opponents to adapt to it and make lineup changes, rather than the other way around. 

I think DAR also made the question easy. IMO he played himself out of realistic consideration for a possible starting role (his defense was horrendous early on, making the whole defense porous as a result, though it looked to me like it began to improve a bit in later games). 

But I think the roles and minutes at PG will be VERY fluid as they try to find their way for the first month. I think BW is 100% ready to go, and may play as many minutes or more than DAR because he defends and he is smart with his shot selection. They like him a LOT. Exum (once he's healthy) may be used at SG more than PG depending on Max's ability to play well. DAR may be in the same boat. When Kyrie returns, who knows?

If the question becomes "we have too many good guards" then is that a problem? 

On whether Flagg can do the job of PG - it's not going to look like the way Luka plays it, but this is stuff Flagg has been doing since he was 15. Flagg is already a good ball handler, that's not an issue, and no he won't crumble if he's pressured. But they will LITERALLY have almost anyone bringing the ball up the floor, and almost anyone initiating the offense, and it will "flow" from one player to another - no rigid need for only this person or that to be The Ball Handler or The Shooter or The Dunker. The offense won't be static. 

The main question for the offense imo will be shot selection and whether they can hit the good shots when they get them (because I think they will get great shots all the time, if they work at it).

I came away from that preseason with very different impression than you.  Dlo was not great, but he was better than the alternatives.  I saw nothing to suggest it would be a good idea to play Flagg at PG.  Brandon Williams was a two way last season with a small sample of quality play, and we got to see all of 3 minutes of garbage time in the preseason.  It will be a huge win if he turns into a quality rotational player, but its asking an awful lot for him to be starting.  

I'm not sure where this confidence that they will get great shots all the time comes from?  They will have poor spacing and limited creation.  There was little to no evidence of this "flow" offense generating a lot of good looks in the preseason.  Its going to be a struggle with this team, especially until Kyrie comes back.

[Chicagojk]

I think Dlo starts but the last two preseason games was weird.   Even if DLO starts, I fully expect to have Lively announced as the point guard