With training camp right around the corner, the Dallas Mavericks are bringing aboard a free agent former Western Conference rival.
Dallas' outlook is far sunnier now than it had been in the immediate aftermath of a transformative midseason blockbuster trade, when general manager Nico Harrison ditched then-25-year-old All-NBA First Team guard Luka Doncic to bring in then-32-year-old All-Star big man Anthony Davis, wing Max Christie, and a single first-round draft pick.
Without his offensive fulcrum in Doncic, Dallas head coach Jason Kidd played All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving major minutes, and eventually the future Hall of Famer tour his ACL. Davis, meanwhile, played in just nine games for Dallas last season, struggling through a left adductor strain for much of the year.
A troubling season for Dallas
The Mavericks fell into the play-in tournament, and sans Irving didn't advance to the playoffs proper. But Dallas' lucked turned when it stumbled into the No. 1 pick via the league's draft lottery. The Mavericks selected 18-year-old Duke phenom Cooper Flagg, who has reset their timeline to become true contenders.
Marc Stein of Substack's The Stein Line reports that Dallas is signing a deal with free agent power forward/center Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, most recently with the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Mavericks are finalizing an agreement to sign former Thunder and Pelicans big man Jeremiah Robinson-Earl to bring him to training camp, @TheSteinLine has learned.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) September 21, 2025
The New York Knicks, known to have a predilection for Villanova alums, selected the former Third-Team All-American Wildcat with the No. 32 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, but his draft rights were quickly traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for point guards Rokas Jokubaitis and Miles McBride.
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Robinson-Earl did receive some playing time with the then-rebuilding Thunder during his first two pro seasons. Across 92 total regular season bouts with Oklahoma City, the 6-foot-9 big man averaged 7.2 points while slashing .427/.344/.781, 4.9 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 0.6 swipes.
He and past-his-prime former All-Star shooting guard Victor Oladipo were traded from Oklahoma City to the Houston Rockets in a deal to acquire guard Kevin Porter Jr. and a pair of future second-round draft picks.
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Houston cut Robinson-Earl six days later. In November, he agreed to a two-way deal with the Pelicans, and was promoted to a standard contract in February of that same season.
Robinson-Earl appeared in 105 regular season bouts (10 starts) for New Orleans, averaging 5.1 points on .459/.340/.817 shooting splits, 3.7 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 0.5 steals per.
The agreement is likely to be an Exhibit 10 training camp deal, as he is set to compete with Moussa Cisse, Matthew Cleveland, D'Moi Hodge, and Jamarion Sharp for Dallas' third and final two-way slot.
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