After consecutive sub-.500 seasons, the Mavericks have retooled around second-year cornerstone Cooper Flagg and veteran star Kyrie Irving, and new general manager Mike Schmitz is excited about the state of the roster, Grant Afseth writes for the Dallas Hoops Journal.

“We definitely feel like we’ve upgraded in a variety of ways with the size and the length and the skill level,” Schmitz said. “We’ve got almost two months to opening night, and … we’re constantly evaluating ways to get better. To this point, we feel like we’ve added to our talent base, added some skill sets that help complement several of our players. And I’m so excited about where we’re at and the direction we’re heading.“

Schmitz specifically pointed to the team adding players with both size and skill, with the additions of rookie Morez Johnson Jr. and 6’6″ guard Sergio De Larrea, along with Santi Aldama and Zaccharie Risacher.

“We’ve gotten bigger. We’ve gotten longer. We’ve gotten taller. We’ve gotten rangier,” Schmitz said. “We feel we’ve gotten more athletic and more skilled, creating more space for our primary ball handlers and creators to operate.”

We have more from around the Southwest Division:

• The Mavs also brought in head coach Dusty May for his first NBA coaching gig, a move that Schmitz has high hopes for, according to Afseth. “He’s been around the game for a long, long time, and has expertise in various roles — whether that was as a video guy coming up, whether that was as an assistant coach, a head coach, a national champion,” Schmitz said. “So I think his experience, although it may not be as an NBA head coach, has really prepared him for this. My job is to best support him and be there to help with any of the challenges that arise, and continue to collaborate with him, with obviously Masai leading the ship here.” May is the first coach to jump from the NCAA to the NBA since John Beilein went to the Cavaliers in 2019. He is focused on not just making the Mavs more competitive, but also more enjoyable to watch, Schmitz said.
• Despite back-to-back seasons with fewer than 30 wins, the Pelicans made few changes to their roster this summer, outside of adding head coach Jamahl Mosely. They will rely on Zion Williamson staying healthy along with internal development from second-year players Derik Queen and Jeremiah Fears, neither of whom played at Summer League, and will bank on Mosely to figure out how to get more out of the team than previous coaches have been able to, the ESPN insiders crew writes. Look at Herbert Jones to be something of an X-factor this season.
• Former Spurs grassroots scouting director Charlie Stevens is joining UCONN as the team’s general manager, Forbes’ Adam Zagoria confirms (via Twitter) after Hardwood Intel had the first report (Twitter link). Stevens worked his way up the Spurs’ scouting hierarchy over his five years with the team and will now join the Huskies and continue the success they’ve experienced in recent years.