What is the Mavericks' Biggest Remaining Need Entering the 2026-27 Season?

The Dallas Mavericks look like an entirely new franchise, as they have a new president of basketball operations, a new general manager, a new head coach, and a lot of new players.

Masai Ujiri and Mike Schmitz went to work to fix arguably the biggest issue on the roster, which was three-point shooting.

They traded for Santi Aldama, Marcus Sasser, Zaccharie Risacher, and the draft rights to Tarik Biberovic, who signed an NBA contract soon after. They'll also be getting Kyrie Irving back from injury.

All of those players are above-average shooters for their position. Biberovic was one of the world's best shooters while playing in Turkey last year, and the Mavericks feel pretty confident that it will translate to the NBA.

Getting Irving back will also help with their playmaking and ball-handling issues from last year. Trading for Sasser and drafting Sergio De Larrea will help in those departments, too, but there's nothing like adding arguably the greatest 1-on-1 playmaker ever.

However, there is one big need that remains unaddressed, and it feels unlikely that they'll be able to make that change before the start of the season.

Jun 29, 2026; Dallas, TX, USA; Masai Ujiri, Dallas Mavericks’ President of Basketball Operations, provides an opening statement during an introductory press conference for new head coach Dusty May at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Who is the Mavericks' Point-of-Attack Defender?

The Mavericks have a lot of versatile defenders with their forwards. Cooper Flagg, Naji Marshall, P.J. Washington, and the newly drafted Morez Johnson Jr. are all good defenders, but none are quite quick enough to keep up with some of the greatest guards in the game today.

Marcus Sasser came from a great defensive system in college at Houston, but if he was an elite 3&D player with ball-handling abilities, he would've gotten more playing time than he did with the Detroit Pistons.

Klay Thompson isn't the defender he used to be because of an ACL and Achilles tear in 2019 and 2020, and there's a good chance he won't even be on the team in a month. Max Christie is fine, but he also isn't quite quick or strong enough.

So, who does that leave for them to guard players like Tyrese Maxey, Jamal Murray, Donovan Mitchell, or Trae Young?

Caleb Martin is a decent defender, but Mavs fans will be upset if he gets meaningful playing time because of how horrific he's been since arriving in Dallas in the Quentin Grimes trade.

Dusty May, the Mavericks' new coach, could design a defensive system to funnel those guards into the length of their wings, and they may have better success with that than trying to find someone to defend those elite guards 1-on-1.

If the Mavericks let the quick guard go 1-on-1, it's going to be a long season. Players like Washington and Marshall can at least give the bigger guards like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luka Doncic some fits, but they're still going to get their 30 points because they're simply that good.

This is why a popular trade idea was to combine the salaries of players like PJ Washington and Klay Thompson to send to the Portland Trail Blazers for Jrue Holiday, who is still one of the best defenders in the NBA. There is a lot of familiarity, as Mike Schmitz was an assistant GM in Portland for the last few years.

However, the Trail Blazers don't seem interested in moving Holiday right now, even though they're planning on starting a backcourt of Ja Morant and Damian Lillard. That might be an option for the Mavs to explore at the trade deadline, though.

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