Flagg as 1st Selection Avenges Luka Trade for Mavericks

The Basketball Gods gave the Mavericks a second chance at life with the lottery shifting their way in late May after the disastrous Luka Doncic trade in February. The Mavericks wanted to shift their focus to the defensive side of the ball as Nico Harrison preached the old trope “Defense wins Championships” when he made the Doncic trade to the Lakers for Anthony Davis. Now, thanks to the basketball gods, the Mavericks were able to land the best prospect to replace Luka Doncic, with the selection of Duke forward Cooper Flagg. Here’s the layout of Cooper Flagg’s Duke career and how Flagg fits the Mavericks’ plans. 

Cooper Flagg’s Stats and Fit with Mavericks

Flagg averaged 19.2 points per game, 7.5 rebounds per game, 4.2 assists per game, 1.4 blocks per game, and 1.4 steals per game in his lone season with the Blue Devils in the 2024-25 season. Flagg was the best player in the country for a Final Four team, as he was just turning 18 during the season. The most impressive part was his poise throughout the season as just a 17/18-year-old Freshman. 

Flagg is the best prospect by far in this draft on both sides of the ball, which fits the Mavericks’ metrics perfectly at the wing position, especially with how the Mavericks need now and want now with the departure of Doncic, and how the philosophy has shifted with how the team wants to play down the road now going forward. Cooper Flagg will be the main attraction piece of this new philosophy going forward, and this is the perfect fit for the Mavericks.

Final Thoughts

The Dallas Mavericks and Cooper Flagg are going to be the best fit together, and this will make the Mavericks a top contender once Kyrie Irving comes back from his ACL injury. The Duke Phenom is going to make the situation in Dallas 10x better going forward, to fit Nico Harrison’s vision of going forward, and will relieve pressure from Anthony Davis and Irving in the long run.  The Dallas Mavericks were blessed with this pick and will probably take the most advantage of the pick as possible to be a legit title contender in the 2025-26 season.