Dallas Mavericks

Morez Johnson Jr.

F

Johnson is under the weather and was unable to suit up Monday after totaling 37 points, 13 rebounds, six blocks, five steals and three assists in Dallas' first two Las Vegas Summer League outings. His next chance to play will come against the Thunder on Thursday.

Santi Aldama

F

After spending the first five years of his career with Memphis, Aldama will head to Dallas, where he figures to provide frontcourt depth while competing for playing time with Morez Johnson and Daniel Gafford. Aldama's 2025-26 campaign was cut short due to a right knee injury, and he underwent an arthroscopic procedure in mid-March. Over 43 regular-season games (11 starts) last season, he averaged a career-high 14.0 points along with 6.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.6 combined steals-plus-blocks in 27.9 minutes per contest.

Dereck Lively II

C

Lively is walking and lifting weights, though he's not quite ready to enter the next phase of his rehab. The 22-year-old big man is recovering from right foot surgery, which cut his season short in December of last yar, and it remains uncertain if he'll be a full participant in training camp this fall. The Mavericks did take Morez Johnson with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft to improve its frontcourt, but Lively remains the most likely candidate to open next season as Dallas' starting center.

Naji Marshall

F

Marshall was one of the bigger fantasy beneficiaries of the various injuries to Dallas' frontcourt in 2025-26, averaging a career-high 15.2 points per game to go with 4.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.1 steals in 29.5 minutes per game over 74 regular-season appearances (47 starts). Dallas could lose Khris Middleton in unrestricted free agency this offseason, and Klay Thompson is also a rumored trade candidate, so Marshall still has a chance to battle with Max Christie for the top spot at shooting guard next year even though Johnson could create a crunch for minutes in the frontcourt.

Cooper Flagg

F

P.J. Washington and either Dereck Lively (foot) or Daniel Gafford remain the early favorites to comprise the Mavericks' starting frontcourt in 2026-27, but Johnson certainly poses a significant risk to that projection. Dallas is set to finally have Kyrie Irving back in the fold next year following his knee surgery, and the star guard's presence might have more of an impact on Flagg's performance than Johnson's. That in mind, Flagg is in jeopardy of seeing a downtick in usage, but he shot just 29.5 percent from deep during his rookie campaign and could see more open looks from downtown with Irving in the lineup.