2026 Dallas Mavericks Preseason

[Smitty]

Really encouraging hearing this kind of stuff. Simple. Basic. I’m really liking the May hire!

https://x.com/mikeacurtis2/status/2105725823835578512?s=46&t=4w35gotNXtBJnqxbaL7e9w

[DL2RimRocker]

Really encouraging hearing this kind of stuff. Simple. Basic. I’m really liking the May hire!

https://x.com/mikeacurtis2/status/2105725823835578512?s=46&t=4w35gotNXtBJnqxbaL7e9w

I just hope May leads us to June next year 

[KillerLeft]

Timpf weighs in on the Mavs' outlook for the season. I agree with almost all of this. 

https://youtu.be/lcsd0FN0oBI?si=bg8NmbwsWZdI8CzP

[mvossman]

Timpf weighs in on the Mavs' outlook for the season. I agree with almost all of this. 

https://youtu.be/lcsd0FN0oBI?si=bg8NmbwsWZdI8CzP

Wow.  This was dead on.  Would have been curious to hear his thoughts on May, but the rest was completely on point.

[ballsrchr]

Timpf weighs in on the Mavs' outlook for the season. I agree with almost all of this. 

https://youtu.be/lcsd0FN0oBI?si=bg8NmbwsWZdI8CzP

It's very rare I agree with anyone's assessment of the Mavs, but this one hits the nail on the head.

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

How many games does Kyrie play this year? If he plays 65-70, the Mavs should be competitive. I could see them fighting for .500.

If he plays <50, it’s going to be ugly.

[Knutsen]

How many games does Kyrie play this year? If he plays 65-70, the Mavs should be competitive. I could see them fighting for .500.

If he plays <50, it’s going to be ugly.

I would be happy with 60 games - that’s more or less his average before the ACL, isn’t it?

Deciding will be how much Sergio, Sasser and also Flagg will develop and grow as ball handlers in the first half of the season, so that we maybe can cope with Kyrie missing games better than in the first half.

[Smitty]

@IsaacLHarris
For fans asking about how to watch the two Mavs preseason games in China, the Mavs will stream them for free at https://mavs.com/chinagames

[Smitty]

[SleepingHero]

Its been a minute since I've had a chance to sit down, but I am excited about this upcoming season. I'm looking forward to see how some of the guys play in pre-season. Specifically Tarik and De Larrea.

Can Tarik not shrink on an NBA court and provide ample shooting? If he can become a version of Joe Harris with ELITE 3pt shooting with movement and so-so defense? Can he be a step above that? Or is he just a spot up shooter like Matt Bonner with poor defense?

De Larrea has arguably the hardest job. He's very young and hes our only true playmaker on the roster. If he can come in and provide heady play above his years, I can see him starting. But that's a big ask for him. Summer League he showed flashes of his playmaking ability, but can he be consistent with it?

Very excited to see Friday.

[SleepingHero]

How many games does Kyrie play this year? If he plays 65-70, the Mavs should be competitive. I could see them fighting for .500.

If he plays <50, it’s going to be ugly.

He's probably going to play 55. That's roughly what Kyrie has been at for his career post Boston.

But Kyrie isn't the engine of this team, its Flagg. If Flagg can play 75 games and actually take another step toward superstardom, then the Mavs should be above .500.

We'll see though.

[Smitty]

Christian Clark (@christianpclark)
Dusty May says the Mavs will have a “limited roster” of players tomorrow. He says Kyrie Irving will only play in one of the two games here in Macau. Which game is TBD.

[yudi_dirk41]

The Macau games are the first time in years I can watch the Mavs at a normal hour, early evening here instead of breakfast. Saturday is the only clash. I checked my local club's kick-off on https://garudayaksa-fc.id/ and it lands at almost the same time, so one of them goes on the phone.

On Kyrie, 55 sounds right to me as well. I'd rather they sit him for one of the two Macau games than push it, the second half of the season is where we needed him last year. Curious how the limited roster looks, maybe we finally get a proper look at the young guys for 30 minutes.

[CooPerFan]

He's probably going to play 55. That's roughly what Kyrie has been at for his career post Boston.

But Kyrie isn't the engine of this team, its Flagg. If Flagg can play 75 games and actually take another step toward superstardom, then the Mavs should be above .500.

We'll see though.

Agree. Its cooper’s team

[WillE]

The Dallas Mavericks have signed forward Matt Cross to a training camp deal.

[Knutsen]

The Dallas Mavericks have signed forward Matt Cross to a training camp deal.

Our new enforcer?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Cross_(wrestler)

[ballsrchr]

Our new enforcer?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Cross_(wrestler)

He's in the prime of his life--45 years old.  Maybe I'll come out of retirement...

Naaww.  My prime is--45 years ago...

...but then if they are talking about a small forward who played in the G league--https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Cross_(basketball)--that may be a different story.

Roster churn?

[michaeltex]

building the G-league roster?

[F Gump]

The Dallas Mavericks have signed forward Matt Cross to a training camp deal.

In case anyone is wondering why, this is just a move to get GL priority rights on a player, which can come with small guarantee bonuses for a player who is GL fodder.  (Lundy was the same.) When these players inevitably get waived, they will sign a GL deal with the Legends as soon as they clear NBA waivers.

One note about Cisse. If they waive him, if he has any NBA value elsewhere, he'll get claimed off waivers and that will erase any cap cost to the Mavs. It will be as if they never signed him. If no one wants him, does he end up a 2-way guy for the Mavs? At one point I thought yes, but not so sure now - who would he replace?

[michaeltex]

IDK if Powell makes the team, which means Cisse gets cut, but he's been a ready player his whole playing career and he still looks to be in great shape.

I will say that he will have more support if he's the 3rd string center. Gone are the midget rosters. Even with the bench players, he'll have size so he's not alone protecting the basket. Aldama and Rez will provide frontcourt support. DP does seem to know how to keep the ball moving. If he's not rolling toward the basket, he has a good idea of what to do when receiving a pass so the offense keeps moving. Which was one of my "scream at the TV" frustrations last season.

Still a few weeks to work it out, but, IMO, it's not a disaster if Cisse can't step up.

FWIW, the Macao trip was a real burden on a newly assembled team like DAL. Teams like HOU or OKC have been together and they have just a few changes compared to the roster turnover with the Mavs. For my part, I would rather have seen them spend that week at their practice facility working on melding together.

But it was sponsored by the Sands China, LTD, group of whom Patrick Dumont is President and CEO, so I guess you make the best of it.