The Dallas Mavericks just waived Olivier-Maxence Prosper, as reported by Shams Charania of ESPN, and he could be a very interesting target for the final Los Angeles Lakers two-way spot. LA already has Christian Koloko and Chris Manon inked to two-ways, but at just 23 years old, Luka Doncic’s former Mavs teammate could be an option for the last one.
Though Prosper didn’t spend much time in the G League this past year, he put up solid numbers during his rookie campaign with the Texas Legends in 2023-24. In 25 appearances, Prosper put up 18.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.0 steals while shooting 49.8% from the floor and 41.6% from long range on 5.5 three-point attempts.
Now, he could be a very interesting buy-low option for the Lakers to target.
Why should Lakers sign Olivier-Maxence Prosper?
Prosper is 6-foot-7 and has shown glimpses of a solid three-point shot. In today’s NBA, that warrants a look. Just because he didn’t pan out in Dallas doesn’t mean there isn’t any talent there.
And if LA brought him on board, he could spend some serious time in the G League with the South Bay Lakers, giving him some more time to develop.
While in Dallas, Doncic spoke highly of Prosper after the Mavs selected him in the first round of the 2023 NBA Draft: "Both rookies, they're great so far," Doncic told Grant Afseth, then of SI. "We played two pickup games, and they were great.”
Former Lakers assistant coach and current Dallas head coach Jason Kidd also spoke highly of Prosper at the time: "I think the big thing is, O-Max and those guys and D-Live have worked extremely hard," Kidd said. "I think when we talk about starting them, one of them probably will be a starter. I want to see how they react to playing with Kai and Luka and Grant, and so far, so good.”
As it stands, the Lakers’ roster doesn’t have a ton of depth at the forward position. Rui Hachimura is the likely starter, but they lost Dorian Finney-Smith in free agency. They drafted Adou Thiero and signed Jake LaRavia in free agency, but they don’t have many dependable players at the four spot.
There’s no guarantee that Prosper will develop into someone they can trust, but he has NBA experience and knows Doncic. If the Lakers are searching for a guy to use their last two-way on, he could be an interesting option.