Dallas Mavericks Are Working Both Ends of the NBA Draft and Nobody Knows Their Plan Yet

The Dallas Mavericks hold two first-round picks in the 2026 NBA Draft, picks No. 9 and No. 30. That sounds like a pretty clear position until you hear the rumors. The front office is reportedly talking to other teams about moving up from No. 30 and simultaneously fielding calls about moving down from No. 9. So the only thing that’s clear is that nothing is clear.

NBA insider Jake Fischer reported that the Mavs have been asking around about what it would take to climb from the end of the first round. There’s a catch there. Dallas has already traded away control of its top pick in the next four drafts, a move made by the previous front office before Masai Ujiri took over in May. So the team’s ability to sweeten a deal with future first-rounders is basically shot.

“Sources say that the Mavericks, meanwhile, have been talking to other teams about what it would take to move up from No. 30,” Fischer wrote. He noted that Dallas holds pick No. 9 plus the final pick of the opening round, but beyond that, their draft capital is thin for the foreseeable future.

The No. 9 pick is generating its own buzz. Brett Siegel reported that multiple teams have reached out to the Mavs about that spot. And instead of hanging up, Dallas is apparently listening. Siegel wrote that the pick “is viewed as a prime trade spot inside the top 10 with less than a week before the NBA Draft.” He added that the Mavs have signaled they are very open to moving down if they can get multiple first-round picks in return.

So they want to trade up. They also want to trade down. They might just stay put. It’s the kind of pre-draft chaos that happens when a team has a young star in Cooper Flagg, the No. 1 pick from 2025, and is trying to figure out how to build around him without knowing exactly what the roster will look like a year from now.

In his latest mock draft, Siegel actually laid out a specific path for Dallas. He has the Mavs trading for Boston’s No. 27 pick first, then bundling picks 27 and 30 to move up to No. 22 with Philadelphia. The target there is Stanford point guard Ebuka Okorie. Siegel said Okorie “thrives as an offensive playmaker who can get to his spots and attack multiple defenders with his unique ball-handling skills.” He also noted that Okorie is not afraid to shoot from deep, even if his shot selection draws some criticism, and that his draft range is all over the first round.

That’s a lot of moving parts for one team in a single draft. But the Mavs are clearly operating without a fixed strategy right now. They’re calling around. They’re taking calls. And they’re keeping their options open until something makes sense.