The Dallas Mavericks acquired the rights to former Clemson and Marquette forward Olivier-Maxence Prosper from the Sacramento Kings, who took him with the No. 24 overall pick, on the night of the 2023 NBA Draft.
Prosper has since played in 92 regular-season games, but he has yet to find a stable role in the Mavericks’ rotation. In those contests, he has averaged 10.0 minutes played, 3.5 points, 2.2 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game, all while shooting 39.6% from the floor and 26.0% from three-point range.
Prosper’s lack of production has made him a potential candidate to be offloaded before the 2025-26 campaign. And rumors about an outbound move from the Mavericks have only heated up as of late.
Mavericks looking to complete offseason signing, and dealing Prosper expedites that process
NBA insiders Mark Stein and Jake Fischer reported on Wednesday that the Mavericks “have ramped up their efforts to create the needed roster space to complete the signing of Dante Exum” and are “focused on finding a new home via trade for Olivier-Maxence Prosper.”
Bleacher Report’s Doric Sam wrote that dealing Prosper won’t yield a high return for the Mavericks but would allow them to replace an option off the bench rendered obsolete with one that better fits their current roster construction.
“Prosper’s role would further be diminished with the Mavs during the upcoming season following the arrival of 2025 No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg, who also plays the small forward position. Flagg is expected to play a big role immediately as a rookie, and he will see some time as Dallas’ primary ball-handler while star point guard Kyrie Irving recovers from a torn ACL,” Sam wrote.
“Irving’s absence makes Exum’s return even more important, as the Mavs will need a reliable point guard to allow Flagg to grow other parts of his game while relieving him of the ball-handling duties. Exum has spent the last two years in Dallas and has proven to be a capable contributor off the bench, shooting 49.1 from three-point range in 2023-24 and 43.4 percent from beyond the arc last season.”
The Mavericks re-signed Exum, who had spent the past two years with the team, on July 2. But the signing cannot be completed until a corresponding roster helps the team reach salary cap compliance, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania and Bobby Marks.
Exum appeared in 20 regular-season contests for the Mavericks last season — across which he averaged a career-high 8.7 points per game — before suffering a season-ending injury (a broken bone in his left hand) on March 14.
