The Mavericks are now outside contenders to compete in the playoffs with Flagg, Anthony Davis, and Kyrie Irving, once the latter returns from injury. They find themselves in the rare position of being able to compete straight after selecting first overall. <\/p>\n
But an NBA expert says that Dallas faces some issues moving forward with Flagg. <\/p>\n
![\"Cooper](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2207275446-869x627.jpg\")
Photo by Patrick Smith\/Getty ImagesDallas Mavericks face \u2018major challenges\u2019 building around Cooper Flagg<\/p>\n
Dallas is now on two timelines. When they traded Doncic for Davis<\/a>, they declared that they are in a win-now window over the next few seasons. That clearly changed when Flagg fell in their lap<\/a>s. But they still need to make the most of what\u2019s left of Davis\u2019 prime.\u00a0<\/p>\n At some point, they need to transition to the Flagg era, however. And NBA reporter Tim MacMahon said the Mavericks are not in a good position to make that transition.\u00a0<\/p>\n He explained, \u201cThere\u2019s going to be major challenges building long-term around [Flagg], because of the picks and swap they gave up to successfully build a contender around Luka.\u201d<\/p>\n The Mavericks made big swings in an attempt to win a title with Doncic. They traded first-round picks for Irving and Kristaps Porzingis, who made sense at the time for Doncic\u2019s timeline, but now they have an 18-year-old star<\/a> and no draft picks moving forward.<\/p>\n That means they\u2019ll have difficulty adding youth around Flagg organically.<\/p>\n MacMahon continued, \u201cTypically, you get a generational talent overall, and there\u2019s going to be a couple more cracks at the early lottery\u2026 There\u2019s not going to be a lot of young talent added to the mix as Cooper Flagg is getting into his early 20s.\u201d<\/p>\n They have Dereck Lively, who is 21, and Max Christie, who is 22. Beyond that, they don\u2019t have an unprotected pick until 2029, which is the Lakers. If Doncic succeeds in LA, that won\u2019t be a lottery pick. <\/p>\n The ghost of Doncic is still haunting the Mavericks as they look to recoup the draft capital they gave away in order to win with him. <\/p>\n Dallas Mavericks can\u2019t compete in the West this season<\/p>\n While on the surface, the Mavericks are on two timelines, realistically, they\u2019re on one. The Western Conference is stacked and it\u2019s only getting more competitive. <\/p>\n