The Dallas Mavericks have decided to waive-and-stretch the contract of Olivier-Maxence Prosper, league sources told ClutchPoints on Friday afternoon.
After recently exploring the trade market for Prosper and discussing scenarios with a couple of teams, the Mavericks ultimately decided to waive the former first-round pick before training camp.
Over the last week, the Mavs had been searching for an avenue to trade Prosper in order to free up a roster spot for Dante Exum, whom the team agreed to re-sign this offseason. However, trading Prosper would have cost the Mavericks one of their two tradeable second-round picks, sources said.
As a result, the organization decided it was in its best interest to seek the waive-and-stretch option since the forward did not have much money on his contract.
The deadline for teams around the NBA to waive-and-stretch a player is on Friday at 5 pm ET. That is why Dallas parted ways with Prosper and will take on his remaining contract as dead money over the next few seasons.
Dallas will be declining the $5.2 million team option on OMax's contract for the 2026-27 season and stretching the remaining $3 million he was set to earn this season through 2027. The Mavericks will take on a dead cap hit of $1 million each of the next three seasons after waiving and stretching Prosper's contract.
Prosper, 23, was originally drafted 24th overall in 2023 by the Sacramento Kings before starting his career with the Mavericks. On the same night, the Mavs also drafted starting center Derek Lively II.
In a total of 92 games over the last two seasons, Prosper averaged 3.5 points and 2.2 rebounds while playing an average of 10.0 minutes per game.
Although the organization worked with the lengthy forward behind the scenes, he was never able to elevate himself to the point where he would be a main rotation player for head coach Jason Kidd.
The main reason why Dallas decided to waive Prosper was that they needed a roster spot to make their Exum signing official. Exum will now fill the Mavericks' 15th roster spot before training camp.
As for Prosper, he will become an unrestricted free agent after clearing waivers on Sunday afternoon. Several teams will likely express interest in the 23-year-old forward, especially given his size and athleticism.
