- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,208,154
- Reaction score
- 59
DALLAS - There was plenty of speculation surrounding Sergio de Larrea when the Dallas Mavericks acquired the Spanish standout in the 2026 NBA Draft.
The initial thought was that de Larrea could be a "draft and stash" for Dallas, meaning the Mavericks would allow him to continue developing overseas before eventually bringing him stateside.
But that's changed ... starting with this week's contract signing.
The 20-year-old, who will wear No. 55 for Dallas, has inked his four-year rookie deal that figures to total $16.3 million.
Also signed entering the weekend is Tobi Lawal, who gets a two-way contract.
Dallas selected Lawal with the No. 48 overall pick in the second round of the 2026 NBA Draft, one of four rookies the Mavericks added during draft weekend. The 6-foot-9, 213-pound forward finished his college career at Virginia Tech after beginning it at VCU.
In 2025-26, Lawal averaged 12.3 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting .542 from the field.
Earlier this week, Dallas signed the No. 9 overall pick, Michigan's Morez Johnson Jr., to his $30 million deal.
De Larrea, born Sergio de Larrea Asenjo on Dec. 4, 2005, in Valladolid, Spain, comes here after Dallas moved up in a four-team trade on draft night to acquire De Larrea’s rights, sending the draft rights to Koa Peat to the Phoenix Suns and the draft rights to 2024 second-round pick Melvin Ajinça, along with two future second-round picks, to the New York Knicks, who'd picked him at No. 25.
READ MORE: Dallas Mavericks 2026 NBA Free Agent Tracker
When Dallas begins summer league competition in Las Vegas, de Larrea will be with them. And he should be here in the fall as well.
The day after de Larrea was selected, GM Mike Schmitz provided some insight into the decision-making process.
"We are still working through all of that with Sergio," Schmitz said. "Whether it is next year or the following, to have that level of size and IQ in our program is huge for us. I think we got bigger across all of these different archetypes of players, added more positional size, got tougher and added some IQ as well, and Sergio is a huge part of that."
READ MORE: Mavs Are 'Leading Suitor' for Pistons Combo Guard in Free Agency
De Larrea isn't the type of prospect who's going to wow you with highlight dunks or elite athleticism.
Instead, he wins with feel and decision-making. At 6-foot-6, he's comfortable running an offense. He consistently makes the right read out of the pick-and-roll and has developed into a dependable perimeter shooter.
"[De Larrea] is super excited," Schmitz said. "(He is) very excited about the opportunity (to join) the organization. He is actually a Mavs fan at different points of his life growing up, so he shared some of those stories and how thankful he is to be a part of the organization."
Regardless of whether de Larrea cracks Dallas' rotation immediately or spends time developing, the Mavericks ... and Schmitz ... clearly believe they found another intriguing young piece to grow alongside Cooper Flagg.
Continue reading...
The initial thought was that de Larrea could be a "draft and stash" for Dallas, meaning the Mavericks would allow him to continue developing overseas before eventually bringing him stateside.
But that's changed ... starting with this week's contract signing.
The 20-year-old, who will wear No. 55 for Dallas, has inked his four-year rookie deal that figures to total $16.3 million.
Also signed entering the weekend is Tobi Lawal, who gets a two-way contract.
Dallas selected Lawal with the No. 48 overall pick in the second round of the 2026 NBA Draft, one of four rookies the Mavericks added during draft weekend. The 6-foot-9, 213-pound forward finished his college career at Virginia Tech after beginning it at VCU.
In 2025-26, Lawal averaged 12.3 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting .542 from the field.
Earlier this week, Dallas signed the No. 9 overall pick, Michigan's Morez Johnson Jr., to his $30 million deal.
De Larrea, born Sergio de Larrea Asenjo on Dec. 4, 2005, in Valladolid, Spain, comes here after Dallas moved up in a four-team trade on draft night to acquire De Larrea’s rights, sending the draft rights to Koa Peat to the Phoenix Suns and the draft rights to 2024 second-round pick Melvin Ajinça, along with two future second-round picks, to the New York Knicks, who'd picked him at No. 25.
READ MORE: Dallas Mavericks 2026 NBA Free Agent Tracker
When Dallas begins summer league competition in Las Vegas, de Larrea will be with them. And he should be here in the fall as well.
The day after de Larrea was selected, GM Mike Schmitz provided some insight into the decision-making process.
"We are still working through all of that with Sergio," Schmitz said. "Whether it is next year or the following, to have that level of size and IQ in our program is huge for us. I think we got bigger across all of these different archetypes of players, added more positional size, got tougher and added some IQ as well, and Sergio is a huge part of that."
READ MORE: Mavs Are 'Leading Suitor' for Pistons Combo Guard in Free Agency
De Larrea isn't the type of prospect who's going to wow you with highlight dunks or elite athleticism.
Instead, he wins with feel and decision-making. At 6-foot-6, he's comfortable running an offense. He consistently makes the right read out of the pick-and-roll and has developed into a dependable perimeter shooter.
"[De Larrea] is super excited," Schmitz said. "(He is) very excited about the opportunity (to join) the organization. He is actually a Mavs fan at different points of his life growing up, so he shared some of those stories and how thankful he is to be a part of the organization."
Regardless of whether de Larrea cracks Dallas' rotation immediately or spends time developing, the Mavericks ... and Schmitz ... clearly believe they found another intriguing young piece to grow alongside Cooper Flagg.
Continue reading...
