The Mavericks invested heavily in international talent this summer as new president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri rebuilt the roster with a strong “overseas flavor.” A rival team’s lead overseas scout told Keith Smith of Spotrac during Summer League conversations that much of the credit should go to general manager Mike Schmitz, who has a wealth of knowledge on worldwide talent after serving as a DraftExpress scout and ESPN draft analyst.
“Santi (Aldama) is going to help them,” the scout said. “Sergio de Larrea could have been drafted higher. Tarik Biberovic was a straight-up steal. He was the best volume shooter in Europe the last few years. They got (Zaccharie) Risacher basically for free and he’s good too. And (Vsevolod) Ishchenko might end up being a really good player too.”
Aldama was acquired in a six-team trade after five productive years in Memphis, while Dallas only had to part with Ryan Nembhard and a second-round pick to add Risacher, the first player taken in the 2024 draft. The Mavs moved up five spots to select de Larrea at No. 25 last month, landed the rights to Biberovic from Memphis in the Aldama trade, and swung a deal with the Lakers for the 56th pick to add Ishchenko.
There’s more from Dallas:
- The Mavericks believe Risacher can rejuvenate his career with a change of scenery, Smith states in the same piece. After finishing second in the 2025 Rookie of the Year race, he took a step backward last season, becoming a part-time starter as his minutes and scoring numbers dropped. “We’re thrilled to add him to our mix. Big lineups with Dereck (Lively II), Morez (Johnson Jr.), Cooper (Flagg), Risacher and someone like Sergio could be a real thing for us,” a Mavs assistant coach said. “It’s also really exciting to have Risacher to work with. There’s a ton of talent there and we didn’t give up much to get him.”
- A member of Dallas’ front office told Smith that there’s no truth to any reports suggesting that the team has considered trading Kyrie Irving. “He keeps getting put in all kinds of rumors, but we’re not looking to move Kyrie, and Kyrie isn’t looking to be moved either,” the executive said. “We didn’t get to see him with Cooper last year, but we’re very excited to see that pairing this year.”
- That executive also assessed the Mavericks’ draft haul, saying the team is very happy with the collection of players it was able to add, even though everything didn’t go exactly as expected. “We went in with a plan, but you always end up having to deviate some based on the board. The good news is that we feel like Morez is going to be an awesome frontcourt partner for Cooper and Dereck,” he said. “And getting Sergio late in the first (round) is huge. He can really, really play. And don’t sleep on Seva (Ishchenko). It might be a year or so, but he’s a player too.”