OFFICIAL: Mavs Trade for Kings' Richaun Holmes, OMax Prosper; Details
DALLAS — After officially moving Davis Bertans' contract to the Oklahoma City Thunder in part of a trade down from the 10th pick to 12th overall on Thursday, the Dallas Mavericks created a $17 million trade exception. After the Mavs selected Dereck Lively II in their updated position, the expectation of further trade activity remained.
That indeed was the case, as the Mavs acquired Richaun Holmes and the 24th pick from the Sacramento Kings on draft night, and that deal, like the OKC deal, was officially completed on Thursday. The Mavs absorbed Holmes' salary — who has a $12.9 million player option for 2023-24 — using the trade exception created by the Thunder trade.
Holmes appeared in 42 games with the Kings last season, averaging just 3.1 points and 1.9 rebounds in 8.3 minutes per game. He had fallen out of the team's rotation after being a fixture in the frontcourt with the team in his previous three seasons.
The 24th pick was used to select Olivier-Maxence Prosper, meaning that the Mavs acquired his rights. Prosper, who just turned 21 years old, is a 6-foot-8 versatile wing. He became a riser as a result of his performance at the NBA Scouting Combine, and he brings more athleticism and youth to a team that lacked both last season.
Prosper began his three-year collegiate career with Clemson in 2020-21, then played his final two campaigns with Marquette. In 2022-23, he averaged 12.5 points and 4.7 rebounds in 29.1 minutes per game.
The Mavs have to added a lot of additional talent around Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, who re-signed with Dallas on a three-year, $126 million deal, after a 38-44 finish to the season, and adding youth into the mix was especially needed. Dallas set out to "remake" the center position this offseason with Christian Wood and Dwight Powell being free agents.
The Mavs re-signed Powell, but Wood is not expected to return. Unless another trade is made, it looks like Dallas’ center bullpen will consist of Holmes, Powell and Lively.
In terms of specific areas of emphasis for the Mavs include defense and rebounding. However, it remains to be seen how immediately impactful adding a rookie big into the mix will be along with an undersized center who wasn't a rotation player last season.
"It's art and science, so it's going to be tough depending on the players available when we pick because we don't choose who picks in front of us," Mavs general manager Nico Harrison said of fixing defense and rebounding before the draft. "If it's not addressed tonight properly, it will be addressed during free agency."
Grant Afseth is a Dallas Mavericks reporter for DallasBasketball.com and an NBA reporter for NBA Analysis Network. He previously covered the Indiana Pacers and NBA for CNHI's Kokomo Tribune and various NBA teams for USA TODAY Sports Media Group. Follow him on Twitter (@grantafseth), Facebook (@grantgafseth), and YouTube (@grantafseth).
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