The Dallas Mavericks are just over 12 hours away from playing in their first Summer League game with Cooper Flagg at the helm. Flagg isn't only going to be the main spectacle as the Mavericks face the Los Angeles Lakers, but the ultimate plan is to have the ball in Flagg's hands as much as possible during the first two games of the Summer League (assuming he only plays in the first two games).
While there are plenty of expectations on Flagg and other Maverick rookies, fans couldn't help but notice that Olivier-Maxence Prosper failed to make the Dallas Summer League roster when it was announced. Although Prosper is becoming a third-year pro, which should be a good enough indicator for him missing this year's upcoming Summer League, Prosper failed to make a huge leap in his sophomore season.
With Prosper failing to make an impact in his second season with the Mavericks, all signs should point to him playing in this season's Summer League; however, with him not on the active roster, it could be a good indicator of how the Mavericks feel about Prosper's future in Dallas. It should be noted that Prosper may still be recovering from a wrist injury that he suffered at the end of last season, but if he happens to be fully recovered, he should have been playing to improve his game.
Mavericks may be quietly preparing to move on from Prosper
It's no secret that Prosper has become one of the few Mavericks that have become easy to let go of due to their value dropping enormously. To begin last season, Prosper's value was as high as it's ever been entering his second season, which may have been the perfect time to trade him and get some positive value in return. Prosper has already been in some trade rumors this offseason, and with him not playing in Summer League, this could be an indication that a trade could be in the works.
While it's easy to say the Mavericks should have traded Prosper at his highest point, they now run into the problem of having too many standard contracts on the current roster after re-signing Dante Exum, which means the team will need to make a tough decision, and trade or release one of its players. Many fans are quick to point fingers at both Prosper and Jaden Hardy, but with Dallas' current need for guards, Prosper will likely be the odd man out.
In addition to Prosper likely being the odd man out in a trade scenario, the Mavericks already have plenty of forwards and bigs on their roster, which leaves no playing time available for Prosper. This current edition of the Mavericks roster is prone to plenty of injuries, but even factoring in games missed, Prosper wouldn't see the floor much in his third season with the team.
To make matters worse for Prosper, he wasn't added to the Dallas Summer League roster, which is the biggest indicator that he may not be a Maverick next season. It's unclear what Prosper's value is amongst other teams in the league, but there's a high possibility the Mavericks would need to attach draft capital in a trade to get off of the third-year pro's contract.
While there appear to be plenty of teams like the Washington Wizards, who are more than happy to acquire a young player with potential to make an impact at a winning level, Prosper has shown very little of what he can do on an NBA court. It may be hard to hear, but Prosper has likely played his last game as a member of the Mavericks.
