CHICAGO – Dallas didn’t land in the top four, but they still left Sunday’s NBA Draft Lottery happy.
The Mavericks landed the No. 9 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, securing another top-10 selection as Dallas continues to build around Cooper Flagg, Kyrie Irving and a revamped front office featuring Masai Ujiri and new GM Mike Schmitz.
“We’ll take nine,” Ujiri said. “We’ll be fine.”
Dallas has not selected in the top 10 in consecutive drafts since 2017 and 2018. The Mavericks have selected ninth overall four times in franchise history. Dallas drafted Dennis Smith Jr. with the ninth pick in 2017. They also selected Rolando Blackman ninth overall in 1981, Dale Ellis in 1983 and Samaki Walker in 1996.
Blackman, who was representing the Mavericks at the lottery, was at the Barclays Center when Dallas won the No. 9 pick. He offered his simple reaction after Dallas got back up to ninth.
“My immediate reaction was that, hey, I was number 9,” Blackman said. “It’s not bad.”
Blackman followed that up by saying the Mavericks should not view this pick as a disappointment.
“And the important factor for us, as you well know, is all going to be about being healthy and really having the opportunity for our guys to have developed from this year that they’ve had,” Blackman said. “So the health and development are going to put the Mavs exactly where they need to be.”
Ujiri agreed that health and development will play big roles this upcoming season. But he also defended the value of this draft pick, referencing the depth of this class.
“This is one of the deepest drafts in recent years,” Ujiri said.
Ujiri then pivoted to Schmitz, who was hired just days ago to work alongside Ujiri as GM. Dallas secured this pick for Schmitz, who Ujiri continues to praise publicly.
“This is his time,” Ujiri said.
Ujiri raved about Schmitz’ scouting background, leadership skills and ability to keep an organization and staff organized.
“I’ve known him for many, many years,” Ujiri said. “Incredible scout, incredible leader.”
Schmitz excels at “digging deep into work, data” and studying everything from scouting players to team building, staff organization and people management.
“It’s a whole package,” Ujiri said. “It’s very important that we set a tone now. We’re leading this organization because the fans, the organization, you guys, everybody deserves that. We’re going to grind through the cracks and really, really pound in on how we build this team the right way.”
Schmitz backed up Ujiri’s confidence in himself. He believes Dallas can find a rotation player with the ninth pick in what should be a deep draft class.
“We’re very confident,” Schmitz said. “I think we want someone who can bring a variety of different skills and bring [the] kind of a mentality that we’re looking for.”
He later added: “Very confident. Very confident.”
Schmitz will work alongside Ujiri as Dallas looks for a new player. Schmitz said Dallas plans on leaning into the evaluation process before making their pick.
“The beauty is in the process,” Schmitz said. “You want to bring guys in, you want to watch your film, you want to gather the intel, all those things. And we’re going to go through the right process.”
Sunday was a quick turnaround for Schmitz, who was introduced as Dallas’ new GM just days ago. But he knows what he and Ujiri are here to do.
“To win,” Schmitz said of Ujiri’s primary motivation. “He’s as competitive of a human being as I’ve ever been around. I trust fully in his vision, and that’s to win at a high level.”
Dallas will look to start that pursuit with Flagg and Irving.
Schmitz praised Flagg’s feel, IQ, versatility and poise. He also said Flagg and Irving could be “a match made in heaven.”
“It’s having a magician with the ball like that who can pass, dribble, shoot,” Schmitz said. “And someone with the connective qualities of Coop.”
Blackman believes Dallas has some pieces if Irving can stay healthy and Dereck Lively II can stay on the floor.
“You got Cooper Flagg, who can hoop, period,” Blackman said. “Kyrie is coming back, one of the top players in all the land.”
He also spoke highly of P.J. Washington, Naji Marshall, Brandon Williams and Max Christie as players who can help Dallas if they take steps forward in development.
“This number 9 pick, we’ve got players to choose from that are actually going to be able to play,” Blackman said. “If the guys coming back from last year keep developing, with the veterans coming back, we’re going to have a team that’s going to be very, very formidable.”
Dallas will have another opportunity to add a young player with the No. 30 overall pick. Dallas holds two first-round picks in this draft, Ujiri’s first with the franchise. The Mavericks are also in possession of pick No. 48.
The 2026 NBA Draft is scheduled to take place June 23-24 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.