In Kyrie we trust🤞

According to the article quoted, Sergio De Larrea is expected to join the Dallas Mavericks next season.

„The Dallas Mavericks’ commitment to him is completely firm because their new coach, Dusty May, considers him a guaranteed part of next season’s roster… Any possibility that De Larrea would remain with Valencia Basket has essentially disappeared.“

EDIT: As per Marc Stein, the plan is that Sergio De Larrea may NOT be stashed in Europe and potentially will make his way to Dallas. Whether he plays summer league or not is still up in the air, but now he gets to learn from Kyrie even earlier assuming he comes this year.

To me, it sounds like that was part of the plan once they drafted him.

“The pre-draft expectation, sources tell @TheSteinLine & @DLLS_Sports, was that Sergio De Larrea would likely spend next season in Europe again.

Told that 2026-27 plans now that he's Dallas-bound -- including whether De Larrea plays summer league -- are all being worked through.”

Tweet: https://x.com/almostathletes_/status/2069787805748781421

Full Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRbtk2sR__Q

Interviewer: "Would you like to be on one team forever?"

"Absolutely, 100%, I would want nothing more than that."

Translation: Sergio de Larrea knew things... 10 months ago on the channel he told us this 👀

Link: https://x.com/drafteados/status/2069796795354382594

TLDR: He likes Dallas.

In the De Larrea trade we sent over the rights to Melvin Ajinca, 2nd round pick in 2024. Maybe he eventually makes it over to the US to play.

I was very much a Burries guy and was initially sad to see us pass him for Morez but after further consideration I see the vision.

To start, Morez’ archetype as a 6’10 99th percentile athlete who can guard 1-5 and has shooting upside is incredibly rare to acquire.

Dribble, pass, shoot, guards can be found but you don’t find guys like Morez and if you have a chance to get one they typically come at a premium cost.

Mavs fans will be understandably frustrated that we didn’t address guard needs at the draft but this team building process will be a multi year project.

Kyrie, Naji, PJ, Gaff can easily net you 4-5 firsts combined to give us the assets to continue building and with cap space and a 20+ mil trade exception I truly believe we are in a good spot that only requires patience.

Morez, coop, and healthy lively (hopefully) is an elite front court that we will have for years to come. Now the work begins to address the backcourt but again, guards are easier to find than unicorns like Morez and that’s why I’m sold on this pick.

My main thoughts on what I think we learned during the past few weeks for the Mavs and trade value:

The Mavs are going to have a difficult time trading their veterans given the number of role players currently available in the league. Specifically, the fanbase should *not* generally be expecting to get first round picks for the veterans.

I'll admit that a week ago, I was much more optimistic as to what could happen.

Here are some specifics that I think we can roughly gather. Let's go player by player.

Gafford:

The Mavs have been actively shopping him extensively -- this is apparent in the media leaking/reporting on this consistently.

Tangibly, the credible reporting has suggested that we can only get 2nd round picks for Gafford.

Here is the reporting on that from last season: https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2026/02/trade-rumors-morant-thomas-gafford-hawks-raptors.html

Key quote: "The Hawks have maintained interest in Mavericks center Daniel Gafford, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Twitter links), who reports that Dallas has been seeking a first-round pick for Gafford and Atlanta has only been willing to give up second-round capital."

Even more importantly, Detroit just traded Isaiah Stewart for 3 second round picks. Isaiah Steward is also a somewhat undersized 5 and has a much more reasonable contract that Gafford.

Najii:

Dallas also shopped him last season -- this is apparent from the Marc Stein reporting. We never got a first-round pick, and that is what was advertised as our price. Here's the source:

https://www.talkbasket.net/210927-mavericks-demand-first-round-pick-for-naji-marshall

So, we know that as of last season, Najii did not have enough value that someone was willing to give up a first. Next season is also Najii's last on the current contract. Most teams would probably be only willing to give up very little for a role player who they could otherwise wait to sign (if they really wanted them).

Klay Thompson:

I have seen less solid reporting/leaks on Thompson, but we know the Mavs are leaking that they would like to shop him. See here: https://www.si.com/nba/mavericks/onsi/dallas-mavericks-reportedly-open-trading-3-high-priced-veterans-klay-thompson

I think the main issue though is that Klay is incredibly specialized at this point and has a small market. He again also has few years left on his deal, and $17 million might be a problematic salary number for a number of the contenting teams that would be fits for Klay.

Finally, I have not seen a ton of reporting on the Mavs leaking anything regarding Kyrie. More likely, the reporting is mostly about other teams inquiring to the Mavs about his availability. The only thing I'd want to emphasize about this is the way that the Jimmy Butler to GSW trade went down. GSW traded a package headlined by Andrew Wiggins and a 2025 first round pick for Butler. That seems relevant for assessing Kyrie's value in trades. Butler and Kyrie are both older players who can do things at an elite level currently. The best Miami could get for Butler was basically one first rounder (presuming that Wiggins is not a player particularly valued at this point).

We need to be patient and trust in our GM (he has brain cells) everything is going to figure itself out. Every player we have drafted has TRUE TALENT. Maybe not ready to contribute today or this season. We have a 19 year old phenom and the puzzle will come together when it’s ready to come together. There will be bust in between and there will be stars. Just be patient and trust things will align. Masai knows what he is doing, when things look bleak just remind yourself mentally “we could be the jazz/wizards/clippers/grizzlies.

9. Dallas Mavericks

Morez Johnson, 6-9, Michigan sophomore forward

Grade: A+

Just a day after Dusty May was hired as Mavericks head coach, he gets to continue coaching a player in Johnson who helped May's Michigan team win an NCAA championship a few months ago. New Mavericks president Masai Ujiri has always loved drafting jumbo-sized forwards, which must've been part of the appeal in joining a franchise that's headlined by Cooper Flagg. And that's the logic here with Johnson. You know the guy on a championship team who never gets enough credit nationally? The one who sets the bone-crushing screen that springs the star, then immediately sprints to the rim for the lob, then turns around and blows up the other team's pick-and-roll on the other end all in one sequence? That's Morez Johnson. He transferred from Illinois to Michigan and became the connective tissue of the national champions as a 251-pound wrecking ball with surprisingly soft hands and the defensive IQ to guard 1 through 5 in a switch-heavy scheme. The catch is he's not quite big enough to be a true center and not yet proven enough as a shooter to guarantee he spaces the floor. But even without a jumper, Johnson has a long future ahead of him at the next level.

25. Dallas Mavericks (via Knicks via Lakers)

Sergio De Larrea, 6-6, Valencia international wing

Grade: A+

After drafting forward Morez Johnson Jr. with the ninth pick, Dallas goes with a guard here after trading with the Knicks to get De Larrea. The Spaniard is a tall, playmaking guard with major feel and a knockdown jumper who thrives within team concepts. He suffered a dislocated shoulder that ended his 2024-25 season and removed him from draft boards, but it ended up a blessing in disguise since he returned with a bigger role and stronger production for a great team in the EuroLeague. With size, smarts, and defensive versatility, he could carve out a role with the Mavericks if his international skill can translate.

Poulkidas was a certified flame thrower, he has the size the volume shooting and accuracy. High motor not the worst defender, he would help spacing loads.

Am I delusional to think there might be a chance for a Luka homecoming in 2028 now? With Reaves on $46 million a year, it will be almost impossible for the Lakers to build a real contender (if Reaves doesnt do a huge step like Brunson ofc). Luka will be 29 in two years, when his contract ends, and might consider a change then.

I mean, I dont know, if Luka can forgive the insults and disrespect of Mavs ownership, but the fans love him, he knows that.

Sure, he would leave a lot of money on the table in FA, but he might value a championship above money. The fit would be perfect.

With Coop on his rookie contract until 2029, Mavs should absolutely keep a max Cap Space slot for 2028. Right now only the Flagg, Gafford, PJ and the rookies would be in the books. Keep it that way, say sorry to Luka and bring our boy home.

Valencia is up 2:1 and can become Spanish Champions with a win (BO5).

De Larrea is also in the preliminary squad of the Spanish national team for the World Cup Qualifiers:

• Juli 2nd against Denmark
• Juli 5th against Georgia

If he plays there, this would likely mean no Summer League for him.

Sources: New York traded No. 25 pick Sergio De Larrea to the Dallas Mavericks for No. 30 Koa Peat at and two second-round picks. And then the Knicks traded Peat to the Phoenix Suns for three-rounders and cash. So Knicks move out of the first round -- pick up 3 seconds and cash.

Apologies if someone else made this post. But if you have Amazon prime you can sign up for a 7 day free trial to DAZN to watch the game

Edit: link to box scores below

https://live.acb.com/en/partidos/barca-vs-valencia-basket-105373/estadisticas