{"id":199502,"date":"2026-06-08T08:00:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T12:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=199502"},"modified":"2026-06-07T23:39:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T03:39:31","slug":"mavericks-must-retain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/06\/08\/mavericks-must-retain\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Critical Players the Dallas Mavericks Must Retain"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Dallas Mavericks are entering a new era. Led by Cooper Flagg<\/a> on the court and Masai Ujiri<\/a> off of it, it’s time to turn a new leaf. Things will change, but some things should stay the same. A reasonable turnover of players is a necessity, but there are some undeniable gems on the Mavericks roster. Setting aside the generational talent of Flagg and the legendary presence of Kyrie Irving<\/a>, here is the trio of Mavs contributors that they can’t afford to lose.<\/p>\n

3 Critical Players the Dallas Mavericks Must Retain<\/h2>\n

Daniel Gafford, Center<\/h3>\n

He’s rough, gruff, tough and the exact guy you want in a hardwood dogfight. Daniel Gafford<\/a> may be the most underrated big man in the NBA. He is, without a doubt, the finest center that the Mavericks have had since Tyson Chandler<\/a>. Gafford superbly leverages his physical talents on both ends of the floor. His explosive shot blocking, solid rebounding and formidable box-outs provide endless grief for even the league’s most versatile bigs. The stat sheet doesn’t always capture it, but his presence in the paint is felt around the league. On offence, Gafford is an irreplaceable weapon. Without a doubt, he is one of, if not the best, lob threat in the entire NBA.<\/p>\n

Gafford bows for no man. At 6’10” and 265 pounds, the landlord is going to collect his rent no matter what jersey he wears. It’s in the best interest of the Mavericks to ensure he is wearing royal blue and silver in 2026-27. If you want to steady the ship, you’re going to need a big anchor.<\/p>\n

<\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n

Ryan Nembhard, Point Guard<\/h3>\n

There is just something so endearing about an undersized point guard<\/a>. It’s even more endearing when they can sling the rock like their life depends on it. Ryan Nembhard<\/a> falls into the latter category. He led all rookies in assists per game last season and tied for total assists with ROTY Flagg. With 3.8 assists for every turnover, his production mixed with ball security is scraping elite levels. While he only played limited minutes, and his pass-first attitude restricted his scoring numbers, the ability is there. Nembhard could certainly prove himself to be the poor man’s Chris Paul<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A second option run by Nembhard has the potential to upset even the best NBA defenses. The contrast of a Nembhard-led offense and the anticipated Irving\/Flagg dynamic is star enough to change the rhythm in a slump. He’s patient, amazing off of the pick and roll, capable of dictating tempo, and his vision creates high percentage shots for his teammates. A healthy switch between high IQ and smash-mouth hoops will keep the Mavericks both dynamic and competitive.<\/p>\n

Max Christie, Shooting Guard<\/h3>\n

Max Christie<\/a>‘s reliable shot contesting, smart lateral movement, and intense work rate cement him as a high-quality glue guy in any starting lineup. His on-court impact is reminiscent of three-time NBA Champion Danny Green<\/a>, an elite 3-and-D side-man who puts in the grunt work and scores at a consistent rate. We saw flashes this season of Flagg and Christie combining in a matter not dissimilar from Green’s tandem with Kawhi Leonard<\/a> for the San Antonio Spurs and Toronto Raptors. Flagg has already established himself as an elite on-ball defender who can make explosive help defense plays, while Christie is an unshakeable off-ball pest who offers no reprieve for ball handlers off the switch.<\/p>\n

Offensively, Christie’s efficiency and positioning allow him to inflict punishment on disorganized defenses. He quietly impresses by being in the right place at the right time and making the shots that he is supposed to make. There’s no glitz, no glamour and no headlines with Christie, but his tenacity mixed with ability will allow the Mavericks to push into contention perhaps before they deserve to.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Dallas Mavericks are entering a new era. Led by Cooper Flagg on the court and Masai Ujiri off of it, it’s time to turn a new leaf. Things will change, but some things should stay the same. A reasonable turnover of players is a necessity, but there are some undeniable gems on the Mavericks […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5787,"featured_media":199534,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,30,2,62],"tags":[48964,1453,406,4916,50024],"class_list":["post-199502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-mavericks","category-featured","category-nba","tag-cooper-flagg","tag-daniel-gafford","tag-kyrie-irving","tag-max-christie","tag-ryan-nembhard"],"modified_by":"Jordan Pagkalinawan","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199502","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5787"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=199502"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199502\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":199535,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199502\/revisions\/199535"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/199534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=199502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=199502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=199502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}