Dallas Mavericks Summer League Roster: Morez Johnson Jr., Sergio De Larrea Headline Las Vegas Debut

The NBA’s annual Las Vegas Summer League is scheduled to tip off on Thursday, July 9. At 6 p.m., the Dallas Mavericks’ summer will begin with a matchup with the Golden State Warriors.

With games in the near future, Dallas will roll out its new rookies from the 2026 NBA Draft, some current players and a handful of players hopeful to turn this summer into a two-way or G League contract. 

Dallas Mavericks Rookies

Morez Johnson Jr., the Mavericks’ ninth pick in the draft, headlines the team. In college, Johnson Jr. was hailed for his work on the defensive end. He showed the ability to guard up against larger centers and was more than capable of switching onto smaller players. 

As a rebounder, Johnson Jr. was tremendous. Offensively, he knows how to play off other players without the ball in his hands, screening and cutting effectively. His jumper, which was a question at the college level, has shown improvement since the end of Michigan’s season. Dallas’ coaching staff and fans will be watching to see if that shooting translates to Summer League.

The Mavericks’ other first-round selection, Sergio De Larrea, will be another player to watch.

After speculation about whether De Larrea will come to the NBA immediately or be a draft-and-stash player, he and Dallas agreed on a deal to bring De Larrea to North Texas next season.

At 6-foot-6, De Larrea is a jumbo playmaking guard who plays at his own pace, using his size to make reads and find open teammates. He can also play off the ball, using his jumper to threaten defenses. 

Summer League will serve as a nice litmus test to see how far along De Larrea is, especially with questions about his readiness for NBA ball. 

Tobi Lawal and Vsevolod Ishchenko are the Mavericks’ two second-round rookies. Lawal, taken with the 48th pick and signed to a two-way contract, is a jump-out-of-the-gym athlete who can make spectacular highlight plays. Outside of his athleticism, Lawal has plenty of room for improvement, particularly in the shooting department.

It will be worth watching to see if Lawal can add more to his game in Summer League that scouts didn’t get to see in his last two years at Virginia Tech, where he averaged 12.3 points and 7.6 rebounds.

Ishchenko, picked 56th overall, was acquired from the Los Angeles Lakers for cash considerations. The Russian guard is another specialist on the court, shooting a blistering 45.1 percent from three last season with Lokomotiv Kuban, standing at 6-foot-8 as a deadeye shooter.

Familiar Faces

Dallas’ roster also features four players with NBA experience. Ryan Nembhard, John Poulakidas and Tyler Smith all played with the Mavericks last season and should be familiar to fans.

At 5-foot-11, Nembhard is an undersized playmaker who led the nation in assists in his final year at Gonzaga. He appeared in 60 games as a rookie for Dallas last year, recording a franchise rookie record with 23 assists in the season finale against the Chicago Bulls.

Poulakidas played 13 games with the Mavericks, averaging 8.8 points on 40.3% shooting from three-point range. Smith joined Dallas after being waived by the Milwaukee Bucks and Houston Rockets, averaging 4.7 points and 2.8 rebounds in 12 games.

The last player with NBA experience on the Mavericks’ Summer League roster is Jaden Springer, who last played in the league in the 2024-25 season. In 110 career games, the 6-foot-4 guard has averaged 2.9 points and 1.4 rebounds in stints with the Philadelphia 76ers, Boston Celtics and Utah Jazz.

Two-Way and G League Hopefuls

Five players who haven’t played in the NBA will be looking to make a name for themselves with Dallas.

Ja’Vier Francis is definitely familiar with the Lone Star State. Francis played high school basketball at Westbury Christian in Houston before transferring to Montverde Academy for his senior season.

Francis ended up playing four years at the University of Houston, using his 6-foot-8 frame to carve out a role on one of the best teams in college basketball. As a senior, he averaged 5.1 points and 4.4 rebounds.

Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu is another player with Texas roots. Born in Nigeria, Akobundu-Ehiogu moved to the United States in 2012 and played for Mesquite Poteet High School before playing college ball at Southwestern Assemblies of God University in Waxahachie and then UT Arlington. 

Akobundu-Ehiogu finished his college career at Memphis, where the big man averaged 2.6 points and 1.7 rebounds in 30 games.

6-foot-4 guard Darin Green Jr. played five seasons of college basketball, his final year coming with Florida State in 2023-24. Green holds career averages of 11.9 points and 2.7 rebounds on 38% three-point shooting with the Seminoles and UCF.

Big men Guillermo and Jorge Diaz Graham round out the Mavericks’ Summer League roster. The twin brothers began their careers at Pitt before going their separate ways; Guillermo went to San Francisco and Jorge went to Oregon State.

As a senior, Guillermo averaged 5.2 points and 3.2 rebounds. Jorge finished his senior season with averages of 6 points, 3.6 rebounds and a block per game. 

The only thing left is to see how all of these players come together once Dallas heads to Las Vegas for its opener on Thursday.

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• Sergio De Larrea Signs Rookie Contract, Won’t Be Draft-And-Stash For Dallas Mavericks
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