Mavericks guard Klay Thompson hosted the annual Mavericks “vet camp” and new acquisition D’Angelo Russell was among those in attendance. As Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal writes, the experience helped Russell break the ice with his new teammates and gain familiarity ahead of the season.
“But when you have that bet and you have that camaraderie to start the season, all the ice is broken,” Russell said. “You don’t wait until preseason or until media day to feel like you know these guys. You develop that relationship and camaraderie ASAP. So, I’m excited, man.”
The Mavericks kick off training camp on Sept. 30.
We have more from the Southwest Division:
- One of the biggest questions surrounding the Mavericks entering the season is how they’ll deploy offensively without Kyrie Irving (ACL), Christian Clark of The Athletic writes. Dallas signed Russell to help offset the loss of Irving, but seeing Cooper Flagg take on some creation ability is not out of the question.
- Grizzlies big man Brandon Clarke suffered a high grade PCL strain in March that caused him to miss the remainder of the 2024/25 season. According to Damichael Cole of Memphis Commercial Appeal, Clarke said he feels good and expects to be ready for day one of the season. “I’m ramping up right now,” Clarke said. “I feel great. I’m doing everything. Ramping up to play with my team on Day 1. I’ll be there.”
- The Thunder and Spurs‘ G League affiliates made a trade, swapping the returning player rights of Malachi Flynn (to the Oklahoma City Blue) and Adam Flagler (to the Austin Spurs), per Rylan Stiles of Thunder on SI (Twitter link). The Blue also obtained a 2025 first-round pick and 2026 second-round pick. Flynn is joining a Turkish club, so this trade does not mean that he will suit up for Oklahoma City’s G League affiliate, just that they obtained his rights if he does play in the G League in the future. Flagler signed with the Spurs on an Exhibit 10 deal that entitles him to a bonus if he spends 60 days with Austin, so this deal secures that he’ll end up there this season.