Mavs Notes: Flagg, Kyrie, Washington, Poulakidas
Kyrie Irving won’t play for the Mavericks this season as he continues his recovery from a torn ACL, but he has been a valuable mentor off the court to Cooper Flagg, the rookie forward said in an interview with ESPN’s Malika Andrews (YouTube link).
“[Irving] was that top pick and was kind of thrown into the fire. He stepped in as a great vet for me and was there kind of giving me guidance,” Flagg said of Irving (hat tip to The Dallas Morning News). “There was definitely times where I was shaken up. I never lost that much in my life. Just to hear him say that and tell me that I’m doing everything I need to be doing, just to stay with it and stay positive, it definitely helped me out a lot.”
Here’s more on the Mavericks:
- After the Cavaliers dominated the Mavericks in Dallas on Friday, the Mavs surprisingly returned the favor in Sunday’s rematch in Cleveland, writes Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News. Head coach Jason Kidd made an adjustment to the starting lineup, with P.J. Washington sliding up to center in a small-ball lineup in part because Daniel Gafford was out because of an illness. Washington had an excellent performance, becoming the third player in Mavs history to record at least 20 points, 10 rebounds (he had 11), five steals and a block in a game. “He’s willing to do whatever it takes out there and he’s so strong,” said Flagg, who had 27 points, 10 assists, six rebounds and two blocks. “It helps our coverages and flying around the court and speeding up on both sides of the floor. I thought that was huge for us…It just gave us a different look and different way to attack their bigs.“
- Washington explained why he thought the lineup change was so effective after the game, per Grant Afseth of DallasHoopsJournal.com. “I think I’m a mismatch. I can create for others, I can pass, I can set screens and pop. It’s not really what happens every day in the NBA — it’s a lot of rolling centers,” he said. “Me at the five popping opened up a lot of space on the floor for us to get some closeouts and ball reversals to get some good shots. I think it was good for us.” Kidd stuck with the same starting five for Monday’s back-to-back in New Orleans, Afseth tweets.
- Two-way player John Poulakidas provided a spark off the bench in Sunday’s win, according to Curtis. The undrafted rookie out of Yale scored his first career points during the victory, finishing with 10, including eight in a span of 60 seconds late in the third quarter. “I’ve been dreaming about having this type of opportunity since I was very little and to be living it right now is just very surreal to me,” Poulakidas said. “I’m just trying to be grateful for every opportunity I get every single day.”
Southwest Notes: Barnes, Flagg, Poulakidas, Finney-Smith
Spurs forward Harrison Barnes saw his ironman streak end on Tuesday. He missed his first game since 2021 because he woke up from a pregame nap with a sore left ankle, according to The Associated Press.
Barnes had a streak of 364 consecutive games played before sitting out against the Sixers. He missed his first game since Dec. 4, 2021, when he was a member of the Kings.
Knicks wing Mikal Bridges has the longest active consecutive games streak at 616. Barnes also trailed only Bridges for most total games played since 2021 with 382.
Here’s more from the Southwest Division:
- Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said Cooper Flagg should make his first appearance since the All-Star break during the team’s current trip, Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com tweets. Flagg has been out since Feb. 10 due to a midfoot sprain. “He’s ramping up. Everything is going well,” Kidd said. “Today was to kind of get back in his routine and hopefully as we go on this road trip he can get in and play a game or two.” Dallas opened the six-game road swing with a loss to Charlotte on Tuesday.
- Both of the two-way contracts that the Mavericks gave to John Poulakidas and Tyler Smith this week are two-year deals, Spotrac contributor Keith Smith tweets. Poulakidas, an undrafted rookie guard out of Yale, made his NBA debut on Tuesday. He went scoreless in 14 minutes but had five rebounds and two assists.
- Rockets forward Dorian Finney-Smith is still dealing with left ankle pain after undergoing offseason surgery, Varun Shankar of the Houston Chronicle reports. “Of course, me being me, I expect more but I’m just happy to be back out there on the court,” he said. “Got great teammates who [have had] my back even though I haven’t been shooting the ball as well as I want to. But you got to take your wins and my win is that I’ve been back on the court.” It’s been a struggle since he returned to action. He’s averaging a career-low 3.0 points and 2.6 rebounds in 16.7 minutes while coming off the bench in 26 games.
John Poulakidas Signs Two-Way Deal With Mavericks
11:31 am: Poulakidas’ two-way deal is official, per the Mavs (Twitter link).
7:42 am: Free agent wing John Poulakidas will sign a two-way contract with the Mavericks, reports Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (via Twitter).
Poulakidas went undrafted in 2025 after playing four years of college basketball for Yale. He averaged 19.4 points and 3.3 rebounds in 27 games as a senior last season and shot 40.2% from three-point range during his college career.
A 6’6″ shooting guard, Poulakidas signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Clippers in the fall, was waived before the regular season began, and has spent the 2025/26 campaign in the G League with the San Diego Clippers.
The 22-year-old got off to a relatively slow start in the NBAGL, making 13 Tip-Off Tournament appearances and averaging 8.4 points and 2.2 rebounds in 19.8 minutes per game while shooting 38.5% from deep. Poulakidas has played a larger role for San Diego since the regular season began, averaging 14.7 PPG and 3.8 RPG in 27 games (30.9 MPG) and shooting 47.3% from long distance on high volume.
Dallas will have an open two-way spot once the team officially converts Ryan Nembhard to a two-year standard contract. Assuming his deal is finalized in the next three days, Poulakidas will be eligible to be active for up to 12 regular season games for the Mavericks.
Clippers, Cavaliers Make Changes To Preseason Rosters
The Clippers have officially re-signed TyTy Washington Jr. and waived John Poulakidas, per Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter links).
It’s unclear why Los Angeles brought back Washington — perhaps the team wants to give him an opportunity to play in preseason. The former first-round pick was signed in August and waived in late September, so he was already eligible for his Exhibit 10 bonus, which is worth $85,300, the maximum allowable.
Former Yale sharpshooter Poulakidas was signed to an Exhibit 10 deal as well. The 6’5″ shooting guard averaged 19.4 points and 3.3 rebounds on .451/.408/.897 shooting in 27 games (31.6 minutes per contest) as a senior with the Bulldogs last season. He went undrafted in June.
The Cavaliers also made a change their preseason roster on Monday, waiving forwards Miller Kopp and Chaney Johnson, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.
Cleveland signed Kopp and Johnson to Exhibit 10 contracts on September 26. Both players spent training camp with the Cavaliers — Kopp appeared in two preseason contests, while Johnson played one.
Kopp, 26, went undrafted out of Indiana in 2023. He has spent the past two seasons in the G League with the Thunder’s affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue. In 48 games (29.6 MPG) with the Blue in 2024/25, Kopp averaged 12.3 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 1.9 APG and 1.1 SPG while shooting 41.8% from three-point range.
As for Johnson, his Exhibit 10 deal with the Cavs was first reported shortly after he went undrafted earlier this year. The 6’7″ wing was a key reserve for an Auburn team that reached the Final Four last season, averaging 9.1 PPG, 4.9 RPG and 0.9 BPG in 38 games (23.5 MPG).
Clippers Sign Telfort, Poulakidas To Exhibit 10s
September 27: The Clippers’ training camp deals with Telford and Poulakidas are now official, according to Paul Garcia of The Spot Up Shot (Twitter link).
June 27: The Clippers have agreed to a deal with Butler guard Jahmyl Telfort, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony reports (Twitter link).
Law Murray of The Athletic adds (via Twitter) that Telfort, along with Yale shooting guard John Poulakidas, will be on the Clippers’ Summer League roster, with both undrafted rookies likely to sign Exhibit 10 contracts.
After testing the waters during the 2024 draft process, the 6’7″ Telfort returned to school as a super-senior and averaged 16 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 3.4 assists while shooting a college career-high 36.1% on three-point attempts. He reportedly had a strong Portsmouth Invitational Tournament as part of his pre-draft process.
Poulakidas is a 6’5″ senior who shot over 40% from three on 604 attempts throughout his college career. He averaged 19.4 points per game for the Bulldogs this season.