The 2026 NBA Draft is just two short weeks away, which means it’s peak smoke screen season for your Dallas Mavericks. Information is coming fast and furious from all over the place, and it’s still very hard to decipher what’s real from what isn’t. One thing that can’t be denied is that there is a ton of smoke around the Mavericks and Arizona G Brayden Burries, with many reports saying that Burries is angling to get to Dallas.
Does that play out in the mocks? Let’s round ‘em up.
SB Nation
9) Brayden Burries (G, Arizona)
There are reports that
Burries is trying to land in Dallas to play next to Cooper Flagg. I like the vision even if I’m a bit skeptical Burries has the shot-creation upside to eventually be a star. The Arizona guard is a well-rounded player who defends and rebounds better than your average two-guard, and he’s a really good three-point shooter. Flagg would have to stay in more of a shot-creator role if Burries is the pick, but maybe that’s what Dallas wants. I personally wouldn’t have him as the best player available in this scenario, but Burries’ lack of a glaring weakness makes him a malleable guard who should be able to hang in the playoffs. It’s easy to understand the appeal of that with the No. 9 pick.
Read our profile of Brayden Burries here.
30) Isaiah Evans (G, Duke)
Evans is No. 24 on ESPN’s big board, and he’s already had a workout with Detroit picking at No. 21. The Mavs probably wouldn’t expect him to be on the board with this pick, but if he is, he would add volume three-point shooting around Cooper Flagg.
Read our profile of Isaiah Evans here.
The Athletic
9) Brayden Burries
The Mavericks are another team that has engendered a lot of speculation among sources, something that the new brain trust led by Masai Ujiri and Mike Schmitz will likely appreciate. They’ve explored trading this selection and are considering several different players and positions, from lead guards like Flemings, Wagler, Brown, Acuff and Christian Anderson to Ament to Yaxel Lendeborg.
Burries is the name I hear the most with Dallas, though, with sources around the lottery trying to determine why he’s not working out in as many places as you’d expect given his standing at the start of the process. There is a lot of enthusiasm for Burries among teams who want to try to win next season, as he’s seen as a tough guard who can dribble, pass and shoot who will also defend at a high level with physicality.
30) Isaiah Evans
Evans would represent a terrific floor-spacing and shooting option for the Mavericks, who need to continue accumulating players in that archetype around Cooper Flagg. It probably wouldn’t hurt that Evans played with Flagg last season at Duke and has a terrific understanding already of what the NBA’s Rookie of the Year requires around him.
Bleacher Report
9) Brayden Burries
Brayden Burries is being looked at as high as No. 6 by the Brooklyn Nets. He isn’t expected to fall outside the top 10, with nearly all scouts confident in his strong physical profile, three-level scoring and low-maintenance style.
In the late-lottery, he’ll enter the best-player-available conversation for his downhill attacking, shotmaking, strong defensive tools and knack for scoring without needing heavy usage.
30) Henri Veesaar (C, North Carolina)
Henri Veesaar became one of the draft’s top play-finishers who also hit 40 three-pointers.
He doesn’t block many shots for a 7-footer, but offensively, he has become incredibly productive and efficient with a translatable and coveted inside-out scoring package.
Yahoo!
9) Brayden Burries
Adam Finkelstein of CBS Sports reported that Burries hasn’t taken many workouts and there is speculation that he’s trying to angle his way to Dallas. I also have heard that same chatter, which is why he lands here. To add some more color to that reporting: Burries is represented by Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, who steered Dereck Lively to the Mavericks with the 12th pick in the 2023 draft, even though some teams picking higher wanted to select Lively. It would make perfect sense for Klutch to want Burries to be the guard paired with Cooper Flagg for many years to come. Burries is a physical, versatile scorer who can beat you from all three levels, rebounds like a forward and competes hard on defense. But he’s a methodical creator rather than an explosive one, and his shooting history before Arizona gives scouts reason to wonder whether the efficiency is real or a blip.
30) Jack Kayil (G, Alba Berlin)
Kayil is a combo guard with a strong frame, a feel for the game that exceeds his youth and the grit to become a high-level defender. He just became one of the youngest players to ever win the German League’s Under-22 Player of the Year, joining Franz Wagner and Dennis Schröder on a list that bodes well for his NBA prospects. He committed to Gonzaga in October, but has decided to stay in the draft — a decision that surprised some scouts since he has yet to prove he can shoot consistently or run an offense full time. The speculation around the NBA is Kayil received a first-round promise. If it’s Dallas, the fit makes perfect sense pairing Kayil next to Flagg given how they can share the ball. And his size would allow him to play next to Kyrie Irving early in his career. Maybe Kayil will end up going much higher, though, because there’s no denying his upside.
Sports Illustrated
9) Brayden Burries
The Mavericks and Brayden Burries have been a popular pairing of late due to both fit and reporting, and its hard to shake the fact he could be the odd man out of the top bunch, and fit perfect in the Dallas core.
Burries fills the combo guard role well, able to score off the ball in transition and as a shooter, as well as on the ball with handling and pick-and-roll play. He’d be the perfect pairing for Cooper Flagg, who should be able to do the same at a superstar level soon enough.
Even more, Burries should have more upside than it appears given his usage was lesser for an elite Arizona squad. The Mavericks could be a threat to move up or back if they’re unhappy with their range, putting this pairing in jeopardy, though it makes plenty of sense if they stick around.
30) Koa Peat (F, Arizona)
The Mavericks grabbed one Arizona product at No. 9, and cap the first round off with another at No. 30 in Koa Peat.
Peat saw an interesting season with the Wildcats, functioning as one of the team’s best players en route to the Final Four, and impacting the game at several levels. Despite that, he doesn’t yet project flawlessly to the NBA given a lack of 3-point shooting and elite defense, making for a flip-floppy draft case.
Now that he’s entered, a team is likely to bank on him in the first round, and the Mavericks would be happy to bet on pure upside. If Peat’s 3-point shooting comes around, his interior scoring, passing and defense would all be more manageable.
