DALLAS — Dereck Lively II worked with a trainer on non-basketball activities during the open portion of the Dallas Mavericks’ first training camp practice Saturday.
Elsewhere on the floor, Kyrie Irving was in a shooting group with rookie Sergio de Larrea. Naji Marshall and Caleb Martin worked closely on their shooting mechanics with assistant coach Rob Fodor, and rookie Morez Johnson Jr. joined that group. Dallas was intentional about contesting shots during its spot-shooting groups.
Dusty May’s First Practice As Mavericks Coach
Saturday was the first practice for Mavericks coach Dusty May, whom Dallas hired from Michigan the day before the draft after he won the 2026 national championship there. It came one day after the team held media day at American Airlines Center. Dallas opened camp ahead of the league-wide Sept. 29 start because it plays two preseason games in Macao as part of the NBA China Games.
May described the group as attentive and very connected, with a good spirit about it on the first day.
“We’re very intentional with what our identity is going to be,” May said. “We want to play with great pace, speed and pace. We want to start introducing all of our concepts on both sides of the ball slowly, just building and layering as we go.”
The intensity and effort were excellent in May’s view, and he thought Dallas played well.
“I had a blast,” May said. “You forget how much fun it is to go to practice.”
Dereck Lively II And Santi Aldama Availability
Lively has not played since December. He appeared in seven games last season, averaging 4.3 points and 5.3 rebounds, before season-ending surgery on his right foot. Mavericks president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri said Friday that the organization’s approach would be to stay patient with Lively.
Santi Aldama was limited Saturday with a nagging injury, and May said he did not know the details. Dallas acquired Aldama from Memphis on July 8 in a six-team trade. Beyond Lively, the rest of the roster took part in some capacity.
“There were some guys that were limited this drill or that drill, but we had a good number,” May said.
Kyrie Irving Opens Camp Without Restrictions
Irving said Friday that he has no restrictions heading into camp, 18 months after he tore the ACL in his left knee. The first day was about chemistry, communication, and getting in better shape for the preseason, according to Irving.
“I guess you could say that. I don’t know if I necessarily would say old times, but it definitely feels familiar being out there,” Irving said. “Like I said yesterday, just like riding a bike and just the more possessions that I play, the better I feel. And that’s all I’m really banking on in this training camp and also the first two games of the season is just trying to get better at every single possession.”
“My body is used to kind of sit on the couch every once in a while, but I’m so elated to be back on the court and just being out there with my teammates, having a great time,” Irving continued. “Dusty did a great job of implementing some things and just letting [us] play off the fly and just be basketball players.”
May had never seen Irving in a practice before Saturday.
“He played well. He was engaged,” May said. “He’s just so intelligent as a basketball player. So to see him find solutions, figure things out, communicate with his teammates, very, very encouraging.”
The younger players hang on to every word from Irving, according to May, who said Irving models the right behaviors and communicates well with coaches and players.
“Extremely important, but I don’t waste time thinking about those things,” May explained. “It’s whatever hand is dealt, we’re going to make the best of that situation. And so him being cleared to go obviously makes my and our job much easier because he’s seen a lot and knows a lot.”
May pointed to Irving’s place among the NBA’s 50-40-90 shooters when listing what makes him great. Irving shot 50.6% from the field, 40.2% from three, and 92.2% from the free-throw line during the 2020-21 season.
“And then you factor in his ability to get wherever he wants to get to on the floor, make any pass, the creativity he plays with. I could go on and on,” May said. “He got flipped a couple days ago trying to block a shot and actually landed and maintained position in a handstand. I’m not sure many of you guys could do that in this situation. I’ve never seen it. So I don’t think we have enough time to talk about all the things that Ky brings to the table.”
Sergio de Larrea In Kyrie Irving’s Shooting Group
De Larrea, a 6-foot-6 guard from Valencia in Spain, joined Dallas when the Mavericks acquired his draft rights from the Lakers on June 24 in a four-team trade. Irving said de Larrea can always lean on him and the rest of Dallas’ guards and wings.
“Well, he’s a high-IQ player already. He’s a winner, comes from winning a franchise overseas, and you can tell that he’s thirsty for knowledge, and that’s what you want in a young guy,” Irving said. “And he was very tall for his size. And when you come into this league and you’re playing against guys like me, six-two and below, we’re going to get up underneath.”
“So I think part of him is just adjusting to the physicality, adjusting to the pace, the quickness, and I think he’ll be fine,” Irving continued. “He’s going to be learning on the fly just like a lot of our young guys, but he could always lean on me, lean on a lot of the other guards, a lot of the other wings. We have tons of them right now, which I’m so grateful for. But we all share in the same sentiments that we want to see each other do well. So we’re rooting for him, and he works his butt off, and that’s all you got to do. You want to be known for your work ethic and really prove to your guys you’ve earned your respect in practice and on the floor.”
Cooper Flagg’s Shooting And His Fit With Kyrie Irving
Cooper Flagg won Rookie of the Year last season after averaging 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists in 70 games. He shot 46.8% from the field and 29.5% from three, going 72-of-244 from beyond the arc. May said Flagg shot it well Saturday and is shooting with confidence.
“Well, first and foremost, he’s put in the work, which when you put in the work, you have the confidence to do it in the games,” May said. “We believe in him as a shooter. It’s not uncommon for a guy to shoot a lower percentage when he’s tasked with doing so much more. I think the players he’s playing with this year, assuming we stay healthy, are going to allow him to get even better shots and then, like he said, just being decisive.”
“We want him to shoot it. He’s [always] shot it well,” May continued. “I think last year was a simple aberration based on a lot of other circumstances. So we anticipate Coop making a big jump as far as the shooting.”
Irving and Flagg took a step forward Saturday toward being proficient together, May said, calling them two elite offensive players with great defensive instincts. Irving said May has told him he will depend on him for communication as well as leadership.
“He knows that I like to play off the ball and on the ball,” Irving said. “I think that’s a skill that we added to our offense this year, especially with Coop handling the ball as often as he did last year.”
Rob Fodor Works With Naji Marshall And Caleb Martin
Fodor spent the past 10 seasons as Miami’s shooting and player development coach and was the first full-time shooting coach in Heat history. Dallas hired him as one of seven assistants on May’s staff. May’s aim for the role is incremental improvement from each player.
“Well, we’ve devoted a full-time position for that,” May said. “And so our mindset was that if a shooting coach could help each of our players improve incrementally, then those type of gains add up into a significant difference within the team.”
Marshall signed a multi-year contract extension on Aug. 2. He averaged 15.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 3.3 assists in 74 games last season while shooting 29.1% from three. In 2023-24 with New Orleans, Marshall shot 38.7% from three on 58-of-150 shooting. May expects the quality of Dallas’ shots to lift the whole roster’s 3-point percentage.
“Naji is a playmaker. He’s tough. He’s got a high basketball IQ as well,” May said. “He’s a different type of player because the ball in his hands, he has floaters. He’s a good finisher. He’s a good corner three-point shooter. He had a couple of years in New Orleans where he shot the ball much better from three than he did last year.”
“So we think with the quality of shots and us being a very unselfish team and a very good passing team, they’ll all make a jump with the three-point percentage,” May continued. “But we certainly believe in Naji. He’s a good player.”
Zaccharie Risacher’s First Practice In Dallas
Dallas acquired Zaccharie Risacher, the first overall pick in the 2024 draft, from Atlanta on July 19 in a three-team trade that sent Ryan Nembhard to the Hawks. As a rookie in 2024-25, Risacher averaged 12.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 75 games and finished second in Rookie of the Year voting. May studied his game before and after the trade and spent a lot of time with him this summer.
“Zac has a lot of unique qualities that are going to help our team,” May said. “He’s one of the faster guys in the NBA. He has a great nose for the basketball when it comes to rebounding, running the lanes. And then defensively, he’s much more physical than a guy his size typically is as far as weight and stature. I think he adds a lot to our group.”
Dallas wants to guard and play fast, according to Risacher, and May has asked him to push in transition.
“I feel like that’s going to be one of our focus. We can tell from now that we want to guard and we want to play fast,” Risacher said. “That’s one of my strengths, too. I feel like that’s going to be a good fit. We talked about it with Coach Dusty. I know he wants me to push in transition and be effective on that part of the game too. I’ve got a special focus on this when it comes to practice. Get reps in and just be able to play fast.”
The coaches have been easy to talk to so far, Risacher said.
“It was great. It was great,” Risacher said of his first practice in Dallas. “It’s good to, like I said, that’s the first day at school, and I feel like it was great being around those guys and being able to put them working. I think that’s going to be a great season, and I’m super excited about it. Can’t wait to get on the court again.”
Garrett Temple And Dwight Powell
May also discussed assistant coach Garrett Temple, a former NBA player he has known of for years. Temple has been a sounding board while May plans practices.
“He’s someone that especially as we’re planning practices and we’re planning these things, he’s been a great sounding board for me because of how recently he wore the jersey,” May said.
Dwight Powell re-signed with Dallas on Friday. He has spent his entire career with the Mavericks since joining them during the 2014-15 season, and May said Powell could be a coach himself.
“He makes everyone around him better,” May said. “He’s exactly what we need as far as him being able to connect, screen, do the dirty work, the winning plays that every team needs.”
Dallas opens the preseason against the Houston Rockets on Oct. 9 in Macao and plays its second China Games meeting with Houston on Oct. 11.
