NBA Notes: Mavericks, Cooper Flagg, Pelicans, Cavs, Saliou Niang

Mavericks

The Mavericks didn’t tear apart their roster this summer, but just about everything else changed.

Dallas hired former Raptors executive Masai Ujiri to run basketball operations, then replaced Jason Kidd with Dusty May, fresh off winning the national championship at Michigan.

The obvious goal is building something sustainable around reigning Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg.

Dallas added Zaccharie Risacher, Santi Aldama, Marcus Sasser and first-round pick Morez Johnson Jr., among others. ESPN’s Zach Kram gave the Mavericks’ offseason a B-minus, noting they’ve accumulated plenty of size and versatility in the frontcourt but remain thin in the backcourt.

That makes Kyrie Irving particularly important. Irving hasn’t played since tearing his ACL in March 2025 and is now 34, but ESPN’s Tim MacMahon wrote that the new regime is intrigued by pairing him with Flagg.

ESPN’s Basketball Power Index ranks Dallas 21st, while Eric Moody recommends the under on 34.5 wins. So expectations aren’t exactly soaring yet.

But after winning 26 games last season, Dallas finally appears to have something resembling a direction again. Flagg is the centerpiece, and Ujiri has begun reshaping the organization around him.

Pelicans

Meanwhile, somebody might want to check whether the Pelicans know free agency happened.

That’s essentially the tone of ESPN’s review of New Orleans’ summer after the team won just 26 games last season and 47 over the past two years.

The Pelicans brought back 14 of 15 players, with their biggest change coming on the sideline, where former Magic coach Jamahl Mosley takes over.

ESPN’s Kram gave New Orleans a D for its offseason, while Ben Golliver suggested the organization is placing a sizable bet on Mosley and internal improvement.

There are reasons for at least some optimism. Trey Murphy III is coming off a breakout season, Zion Williamson topped 60 appearances for only the third time in his career, and youngsters Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen showed promise.

Still, ESPN’s BPI has New Orleans ranked 27th.

Continuity can be a wonderful thing. Usually it’s more appealing when the team being kept together didn’t just go 26-56.

Cavaliers

The Cavaliers haven’t forgotten about Saliou Niang.

Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com said on the Wine and Gold Talk podcast that Cleveland remains high on the 22-year-old forward, despite Niang’s decision to play at LSU this season.

The Cavs selected the Senegalese forward with the 58th overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.

According to Fedor, bringing Niang to Cleveland for 2026-27 was probably never under serious consideration. But he remains very much on the organization’s radar for the following season.

So consider this one a longer-term project.

The Cavs will get another year to watch Niang develop at LSU before deciding whether it’s time to bring him into the NBA picture.