The Dallas Mavericks traded back into the late second round and selected Russian guard Vsevolod Ishchenko with the 56th pick of the 2026 NBA Draft.
Dallas bought the pick from the Los Angeles Lakers, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Needless to say, Ishchenko is a very raw prospect. A 6’8 guard with a 7’0 wingspan born in Russia and brought up through their youth basketball development system, Ishchenko averaged 8.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, two assists, and 1.3 steals per game across 43 games during the 2025-2026 season for Lokomotiv Kuban, a pro team from the Russan VTB United League.
Some scouts love the potential Ishchenko has as a future two-way player, but he will obviously need a lot of seasoning and need to face better competition. This feels like either a draft-and-stash move, or a G-League addition, which Ishchenko will need to get used to NBA basketball. As a dart throw, it seems fun! The chances of Ishchenko ever stepping on an NBA court in a Mavericks jersey are very low, but you can never find a hidden gem if you never give yourself a chance, something the previous two Mavericks front office regimes never seemed to understand.
This marks the fourth Maverick drafted in the 2026 NBA Draft, after Dallas used their ninth overall pick for Morez Johnson Jr., traded up from 30 to 25 to grab Sergio de Larrea, then earlier in the second round drafted Tobi Lawal. While we have no idea how any of these guys will pan out, it’s clear this new Mavericks front office values the draft and wanting as many bites from the apple as possible.
