How Will Olivier-Maxence Prosper’s Development Shape Mavericks Role?

DALLAS — When the Dallas Mavericks moved on from Dāvis Bertāns’ contract using a draft night trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder to move back from the 10th overall pick to No. 12 in the order, it created flexibility that enabled a subsequent move. The team took on Richaun Holmes’ contract as a tax to add the 24th pick, which was used to select Olivier-Maxence Prosper. He’s become one of the Mavs’ developmental focuses since joining the organization.

The long-term ceiling of having a 6-foot-8 wing capable of guarding multiple positions with some ability to attack the paint is straightforward. If that type of player can knock down open shots and make quick read-and-react decisions in ways that take pressure off of Dončić and Irving, that’s a valuable player. Prosper’s development remains an intriguing element to monitor during his time in Dallas.

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Entering training camp last year before a 12-day international preseason excursion that spanned Abu Dhabi and Madrid, Dereck Lively II had significant momentum as a clear, immediate-impact player. While the narrative at the Las Vegas Summer League was the expectation that patience would be required, Prosper would be the more Day 1-ready player. It ultimately didn’t prove to be the case, but is worth keeping in mind.

Before departing for the United Arab Emirates, Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd told reporters during training camp that Lively and Prosper would start next to Luka Dončić, Kyrie Irving, and Grant Williams to “see how they handle it.” Lively’s work at the team’s facility between Summer League and the start of training camp earned him praise from Kidd, who described him as having “taken a big jump.” The Duke product ultimately remained a fixture in the team’s plans, solidifying himself as an essential contributor.

As for Prosper, he received his most significant action with the Texas Legends, the Mavs’ G League affiliate, averaging 18.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 24 games, with some spot opportunities to play rotation minutes amid injuries. It was a chance to play with the basketball in his hands a bit more, work on his jump shot, and continue to simply showcase progression he’s achieved through his work.

Prosper felt his experience playing with the Legends was beneficial while maintaining a focused mindset on the big picture as opposed to being frustrated by not receiving opportunity to get on the NBA floor with the Mavericks.

“It helped me a lot, as you guys can see now,” Prosper said in April. “It’s just like, being in the G… Don’t get me wrong, I would love to be up here and play here. This is the opportunity I had, and I took full advantage of it. I knew it was going to help me with my development and me getting more comfortable.”

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Coming off an ankle injury that left him on the injury report for much of the Mavericks’ run to the NBA Finals, Prosper had a subpar Summer League on a talent-deprived team—Lively earned a well-deserved rest after being a pivotal postseason contributor, depleting the talent on the roster. Jaden Hardy and A.J. Lawson had also graduated from being tasked with playing. It was mostly Prosper playing next to G League talents, two-way contract signees, and filler signings. He appeared in five games, averaging 14.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.4 steals in 28.6 minutes per game. However, he shot just 36.5% overall and 24.0% from deep on an average of 5.0 attempts each performance and turned it over 2.2 times per contest.

A significant share of Prosper’s role offensively featured him spotting up and he struggled in a limited 20 possession sample, producing only 0.7 points per possession. That was to be expected. He continued to be aggressive attacking downhill and playing off two feet with a shot fake as he showed throughout his collegiate career and rookie season. He showed a bit of pop taking off-the-dribble jumpers in isolation and pick-and-roll at times. Regardless, the need to improve as a finisher and become a more consistent catch-and-shoot threat were there.

Before Prosper competed in Las Vegas, Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison expressed confidence in his potential, leaving their exit interview feeling encouraged regarding how the Marquette product would attack his development in the summer.

“O-Max is gonna be good. We had his exit interview, and really for him, we just want him to have a really good summer, get confidence, because the kid can play,” Harrison said in June. “He can play on both sides of the ball. The goal for him is to come back in September in great shape with a lot of confidence and ready to compete for minutes.

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When speaking to the media earlier in the offseason, Harrison emphasized the value of patience with the development process for Prosper considering the talent that’s been ahead of him in the rotation, saying, “He’s a rookie playing with a team with a lot of good players in front of him, and so, I think if he attacks this summer like he will… He has a really hard work ethic, great kid… Then next year he comes back in great shape and confident enough to compete for minutes.”

To be a proper fit next to Dončić, Prosper must not hesitate to take catch-and-shoot jump shots and be ready to make the simple play attacking closeouts. That’s the starting place. A perfect microcosm of this was a noticeable instance when Dončić made the right basketball play by passing to Prosper right at the end of a quarter with a window to let it fly, but he didn’t get the shot off before the horn sounded. The Slovenian superstar made a gesture adamantly communicating that opportunity had to be taken, which is what is needed from an on-court leader.

As a spot-up option, there is plenty of room for growth as Prosper generated just 0.980 points per possession, ranking 246th among 360 players that logged 50 or more of these sequences last season. If this area improves in the near future, it becomes easier to consider a 3-and-D role. Part of this process will require finding that balance between taking the open look and establishing respect from the defense to open up closeout attacks, then reading how the defense is rotating before the approach deep on the drive as opposed to possibly predetermining playing off two feet looking to score.

In April, following a performance against the Detroit Pistons, Prosper detailed his current development focuses, including slowing down and decision-making, saying, “The biggest thing is just slowing down. Slowing down out there, seeing what’s in front of me, taking the right shots, and just learning how to play with my teammates,” he explained.

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As the development journey continues, Prosper remains intent on improving his offensive efficiency while cementing himself as a strong contributor defensively. He understands that if he’ll enter the rotation and never look back after doing so, it’ll be partly due to him setting the tone defensively. He wants the challenge of guarding the toughest assignment and to be an asset as an off-ball defender. The Mavericks remain intrigued by that potential considering he has all of the tools necessary to do so.

“I didn’t play as much with them this year, but just keep learning how to play with them and just keep working on my efficiency and my defense,” Prosper said in April. “Defense is a big key of my game, and I take a lot of pride in that… I’m going to end up guarding the best wings in the world. I got to keep working on that, and that’s what I focus on.”

Throughout the season, it wasn’t uncommon to see Prosper putting in work that you don’t tend to see from other NBA players midseason. For example, one day I vividly recall included him doing cone work working on lateral slides and flying around the half-court. With his willingness and ability to crash the offensive boards and cut, he’s clearly wired to do the dirty work that some players may not embrace. Those are attributes that will carry him far if his offensive skill-set can refine to a needed level.

While the most recent sample size was Summer League to reference, the final two regular season games the Mavericks had that featured the opportunity to rest key players after clinching the fifth seed in the West still serves as a positive example of what Prosper can achieve. During this stretch, he averaged 15.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.0 assists in 33.2 minutes per game, shooting 42.3% from the floor, 40.0% from beyond the arc, and 71.4% on free throws.

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“For O-Max to buy into the plan and to be able to execute the plan, you can see the results in the last two games,” Kidd said after the team’s regular season finale. “He’s played at a very high level for us. … He stacked another good day from the other night. I thought maybe fatigue caught up to him, but overall, there were a lot of positives to get us to score. But I think he is just showing his ability to shoot the three and put the ball on the floor.”

Regarding a big-picture ceiling, a comparison made by Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd late in the regular season was an interesting one, revealing he sees similarities between Prosper and P.J. Washington. The attributes highlighted were the size, shooting, and ability to make plays off the dribble.

“Just understanding what the future holds for him is very bright. When you look at his size and his ability to shoot the three and put it on the floor, I’m not saying he’s [P.J. Washington] but there are some similarities there,” Kidd said of Prosper.

NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Olivier-Maxence Prosper, Dallas Mavericks Updates

It won’t be easy for Prosper to step into the rotation with the Mavericks having added Klay Thompson, Naji Marshall, and Quentin Grimes into the mix, along with already having Washington. However, could we see Prosper be the type of player that’s talked about as having made a Lively-like-leap behind-the-scenes in the summer months?

While we clearly must wait to find out, if it was to happen, the Mavericks would have an intriguing situation with tough decisions about doling out minutes.

This article first appeared on Dallas Hoops Journal and was syndicated with permission.

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