Cooper Flagg's presence led to Mavs cutting young forward

The Dallas Mavericks are building their team around Cooper Flagg, which will shake things up on the depth chart and roster.

One of the changes made to the team was the waiving of Olivier-Maxence Prosper, a 2023 first-round pick. CBS Sports writer Jasmyn Wimbish highlighted the team's reasoning for cutting Prosper.

"If the Mavericks had more quality backcourt depth, they probably would have kept O-Max and waived Hardy, just for the simple fact that Maxence-Prosper's size makes him the more versatile player, specifically on defense. At 6-foot-8, he can slide between both forward positions, and while his offensive game is limited, if he had been given more opportunities, he surely would have developed that part of his game. Hardy is a liability defensively, but can score in bunches when he gets hot," Wimbish wrote.

"There's also the fact that the Mavericks now suddenly have an influx of forwards with the No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft, Cooper Flagg, being added to a rotation that already features P.J. Washington, Anthony Davis, Klay Thompson, Naji Marshall and Caleb Martin. O-Max is the odd man out, so this decision makes sense."

Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg passes the ball against San Antonio Spurs center Nathan Mensah. | Candice Ward-Imagn Images

Prosper didn't live long with Mavericks

In 92 appearances for the Mavs across two seasons, Prosper averaged 3.5 points per game while playing in just 10 minutes per contest.

The Mavs wanted to bring Prosper along slowly, but changing plans forced Dallas into a different direction. That's the unfortunate part of being on a team like the Mavs that went from a championship contender to a retooling one very quickly.

With Flagg in the mix, Prosper's playing time is going to be even more compromised than it already was, so the No. 1 overall pick must make an impact, otherwise Prosper's release would have been a mistake.

The Mavericks are inching closer to the start of training camp and the preseason opener on Oct. 6 against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

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