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Last week’s survey centered around the upcoming NBA Draft, which takes place over two days this week, Tuesday and Wednesday. Dallas picks 9th in the draft, a maddening position considering how bad the team was this year.

The first question was a simple yes/no question about your concern level about the availability of players in the draft for the Mavericks when they select in the first round.

A slight majority says yes, they are concerned. That’s the group I fall in, but if you’re hopeful and like the quality of players available in the range Dallas picks in, I get it. There’s a lot of interesting players, so maybe I need to relax.

The second question asked if you want the Mavericks to try to trade up.

A slight majority said no to this question which tracks with the first question. If you believe in Dallas and the players in the range, there’s no need to trade up. Hint, I want them to trade up but know they don’t have the assets to do so.

The third question asked whether you wanted Dallas to trade down (and, theoretically, acquire more assets).

Only two in five fans want Dallas to trade down. The majority of fans seem to want Dallas to stay put and draft whoever is there. Man I get it but this is the last time Dallas has a lottery pick they control maybe for the decade. If you want to place a bet on who the Mavericks might draft, or anyone else in the NBA, you can do so via our partners at FanDuel. It’s fun, I recommend it.

The national poll asked questions about the NBA Finals.

2 out of 3 fans enjoyed the Knicks title fun; count me as one of them. But begrudgingly.

This question is stupid and heavily influenced by Knicks fans. Brunson shouldn’t have beeb allowed to walk, but trading Luka is worse. Come on now.

Most fans think the Thunder come back with a fury and I have to agree.

Look forward to another poll later this week!

It turns out Trae Young won’t be going anywhere.

Just days after he reportedly declined his $49 million player option, Young reportedly plans to sign a four-year, $212 million contract to remain with the Wizards, as the team looks to elevate itself into contention.

The Wizards also hold the No. 1 overall selection in the 2026 NBA Draft, whose first round is set for Tuesday, June 23.

Young, 27, played just 15 games last season and averaged 17.9 points and 8.0 assists per game. The Hawks traded him in early January, and Young played just five games for Washington, as he dealt with a quad injury. The Wizards, who were in a race for the bottom, also didn’t press the issue and were happy to let Young and Anthony Davis, another acquisition, recover from their injuries.

Now, the Wizards can pair Young with Davis, 2024 No. 2 overall pick Alexandre Sarr and whoever the franchise ends up with Tuesday night.

Young also has the chance to establish himself as the clear leader in the locker room, as the Wizards do have a trio of younger guards who could look to him as a model: Kyshawn George, Tre Johnson and Bub Carrington.

That could be magnified further if the Wizards opt to select Darryn Peterson out of Kansas with the top selection Tuesday night.

On the other hand, if Washington chooses to select AJ Dybantsa from BYU, Young’s play-making ability could free up Dybantsa to play off the ball more as a slasher.

Either way, the Wizards, who finished with the NBA’s worst record at 17-65, suddenly appear like a team that’s poised to make a leap in 2026-27.

Young, a four-time All-Star, led the NBA in assists two seasons ago with 11.6 per game.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trae Young lands four-year, $212M Wizards deal after opting out

As far as all-time fumbles by a franchise go, the Mavericks going from having a young backcourt pairing of Luka Dončić and Jalen Brunson to having neither and nothing to show for it is near the top of the list.

It’s two of the more inexplicable moves in recent NBA history. Dallas watched Brunson excel throughout the 2021-22 season, including the playoffs, and let him walk. Then, two-and-a-half years later, they handed Luka on a silver platter to the Lakers.

Despite both being done dirty by the Mavs — or maybe even because of it — Brunson and Luka have kept a friendship throughout the years. So, when Brunson was on the verge of an NBA title in the Finals, Luka reached out to him, as he recently confirmed in a Spanish interview with the YouTube channel DrafteadosNBA.

Given how close he is with so many past and current teammates, it really seems like Luka is one of the best guys in the league. From Brunson to Dorian Finney-Smith to Kyrie Irving to Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves, Luka has so many teammates he’s close with.

Luka did an interview in Slovenia where he revealed he did not watch the Finals, but mainly because the games came on in the middle of the night. He was clearly paying attention to the scores and cheering on his former teammate.

The hope is that, next spring, it’s Brunson sending texts to Luka encouraging him to finish off a Finals win and congratulating him on his first title.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.

Washington Wizards guard Trae Young intends to sign a maximum contract extension to remain in the nation’s capital, ESPN’s Shams Charania reportedMonday.

The reported four-year, $212 million max contract comes days after Young declined his $48.97 million player option for the 2026-27 season.

Young’s cap hit will rise by roughly 5% in each season of his four-year, $212M contract extension with the Wizards, sources tell Bullets Forever. The contract culminates with a player option in Year 4.

ESPN reported that Young’s contract was “equal to the max he could’ve signed elsewhere,” which signals Young had a solid free agent market that forced Washington’s front office to offer more money than some originally expected.

Young’s market changed following the league’s updated lottery rules, which brought other teams into the mix. The Wizards signed Young at a comparative league value, giving him the maximum amount opposing teams could’ve offered in free agency.

Washington could’ve offered Young an additional $75 million but signed him for one less year and significantly less money.

Young, 27, was acquired by Washington in a January trade that sent CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert to the Atlanta Hawks. The nine-year veteran averaged 15.2 points and 6.2 assists while shooting 59.5% from the field across five appearances with the Wizards last season.

Young missed 67 games due to several injuries, most notably a quad contusion and an MCL sprain that forced him to miss nearly two months following the trade. Back irritation and another quad contusion caused Young to miss the team’s final 15 contests.

The Oklahoma product was selected with the No. 5 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft and led the Hawks to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021. His best season came in 2021-22 when he averaged 28.4 points and 9.7 assists en route to All-NBA Third Team honors.

Michael Winger revealed on the Ryen Russillo Show that Washington’s front office ranked Young as the top 2026 free agent. Rather than wait for Young to decline his player option and test free agency, the Wizards used their abundance of cap space to acquire him via trade.

Wizards general manager Will Dawkins applauded Young’s court vision and said the organization acquired him to serve as the team’s floor general. With an extension inked, Young’s role is now official as the team’s PG of the future.

“You just see the playmaking, the scoring, the presence that he has for naturally moving and sharing the ball,” Dawkins said in March.

The four-time All-Star guard has averaged at least 25 points and nine assists per game five times in his career. There have only been 16 such seasons in NBA history.

Young led the league in assists three times and is the league’s current active leader in assists per game. He ranks third all time in that category behind Magic Johnson and John Stockton.

Dawkins also praised Young’s desire to be in Washington — a feeling Young shared during a recent appearance on “The Pivot” podcast.

“I wanted to go [to Washington],” Young said. “It’s not like [Atlanta] just shipped me to Washington. Because that wasn’t the case.”

Young projects as Washington’s starting point guard alongside Anthony Davis and Alex Sarr. That leaves openings in the team’s starting unit for two of the following players: Kyshawn George, Bilal Coulibaly, Tre Johnson and whoever Washington selects with the No. 1 pick.

No matter the starting lineup, Young believes the Wizards are ready to ascend behind their young core and group of veterans poised for a better season.

“I know our team is gonna be ready,” Young said on The Pivot. “We have young guys who have been through the rebuilding stage. They went through a lot of losing the last few years, and they’re tired of losing. I want to be there with them when we’re winning.”

The Dallas Mavericks have officially hired Dusty May out of the college ranks to guide the team and young star Cooper Flagg into the future. Merely two-and-half months after leading Michigan to the National Championship, May departs Ann Arbor to continue his meteoric rise through the basketball world.

Tyler Edsel has a must-read piece that will tell you all you need to know (and then some) about the Mavs’ new head coach. The tangibles and pedigree are objectively digestible. May is a winner who catapulted Florida Atlantic to heights previously unseen, then helped Michigan cut down the nets for the first time in over 30 years. There are, of course, some fears that go along with a college coach jumping to the NBA, as David Trink articulates by way of the historical track record of such occurrences.

Simply put, May is an unknown quantity in the NBA, despite his impressive track record. Despite that, I would strongly contend that it doesn’t matter. Putting aside the successes of his past and any speculation as to how his future in the NBA will play out, there is an entirely different perspective I can’t help but think about – this is a massive win for the Dallas Mavericks no matter what.

The Mavericks continue to announce their new world order

Weeks ago it was reported that Dallas touched base with both May and Duke’s Jon Scheyer, with both being deemed longshots. From there, news broke about a variety of NBA assistants that were in the running and it appeared likely that would be the direction the Mavs took. Dallas would not be getting a big name ready to make the jump. Then, out of nowhere, May was hired.

This is a massive get for the Mavericks and it comes at a perfect time. Virtually no one expected May to make a move to the NBA. He had it made for at least a few more seasons in Michigan after coming off the National Championship. Dallas’ pursuit of him (and Scheyer) were reported and then almost simultaneously dismissed as a pipe dream. Actually landing May is a statement by the organization.

Masai Ujiri was a breath of fresh air – a first step toward the Mavericks having a professional basketball front office for the first time in years. The immediate follow up was expected to be the always-controversial results of the Draft. No matter the selection, there would be both supporters and detractors. However, Dallas swerved everyone with what I personally view as an indisputable win as the follow-up to the hirings of Ujiri and GM Mike Schmitz. Dallas got their guy despite him being such a longshot, and as intangible as “the get” is, it comes with juice that indicates the new regime in Dallas can make waves. Yes, the production needs to be there on the court, but May has plenty of time to find success as the Mavs rebuild around Flagg. For now, Dallas’ newly minted front office getting “their guy,” who just so happens to be the biggest coaching name in basketball outside the NBA (until a few hours ago), is a huge win for the Mavs. If nothing else, it puts the Mavs in a favorable spotlight and continues to scrub the stain of the past regime as the Mavs further build good will with the fan base. If May’s talents translate to the NBA level (which personally, I feel they will), this hiring could be paying dividends for years to come.

I invite you to follow me @_80MPH on X, and check back often at Mavs Moneyball for all the latest on the Dallas Mavericks.

The Los Angeles Lakers are scrambling for ways to improve a roster that was overwhelmed by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the playoffs, and one of the players who helped eliminate them may now be on their radar.

According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Lakers have reached out to Oklahoma City about the availability of veteran wing Lu Dort as they explore potential offseason upgrades.

“I’m also told that the Lakers have called the Thunder about swingman Lu Dort’s availability,” Stein reported on his Substack.

The inquiry comes at a fascinating time for the reigning Western Conference powerhouse. Oklahoma City is facing a roster crunch with 15 players already under contract and two first-round picks in the upcoming draft. That situation has fueled speculation that the Thunder could consider moving Dort after exercising his $17.2 million team option.

The 27-year-old has long been viewed as one of the NBA’s premier perimeter defenders. He earned First Team All-Defense honors during Oklahoma City’s championship run in 2025 and has built a reputation as one of the league’s toughest assignments for opposing stars.

For a Lakers team that finished near the bottom half of the league defensively and struggled to contain Oklahoma City’s athletic wings during the postseason, Dort’s skill set is an obvious fit.

The challenge, however, is convincing the Thunder to move him.

While Dort’s offensive production dipped last season to 8.3 points and 3.6 rebounds per game, his defensive value remains significant. Oklahoma City still views him as a key contributor, and any trade would likely require meaningful assets from a Lakers team that is already limited in draft capital.

There are also questions about whether Dort’s offense would complement a roster built around Luka Dončić. After shooting better than 41 percent from three during Oklahoma City’s title season, Dort’s efficiency slipped considerably in 2025-26, raising concerns about spacing alongside the Lakers’ stars.

Still, the reported interest reveals Los Angeles’ priorities this offseason. The Lakers are expected to pursue defensive-minded wings and frontcourt help, with veteran centers Walker Kessler, Mitchell Robinson and Robert Williams III also reportedly on their radar.

Whether a deal ultimately materializes remains uncertain, but the Lakers have clearly identified the type of player that is on their radar.