If the Dallas Mavericks are serious about maximizing Cooper Flagg\u2019s career, they have to maximize their first round pick this season.<\/p>\n
This goes back to a longstanding belief that I hold, which is that tanking is an essential part of team building. There is quite a bit of nuance that comes with the argument for organizationally deciding to lose. Many of its detractors will point to teams like the Hornets, Wizards and Jazz as teams who have tried to quickly tank and have never pulled out of it. And while you would be correct that these teams are poster teams for \u201chey, tanking can be a never-ending cycle\u201d, those teams aren\u2019t in the Mavericks position.<\/p>\n
Dallas is perhaps the most uniquely qualified team to do a short-term tank than anyone in recent memory. This is due to the assets the Mavericks do not have into the future, and what they do have in the near term. Here is the complete list of draft picks the Mavericks own through 2030.<\/p>\n
For those of you keeping track, that means the Mavericks control exactly ONE of their own first round draft selections from now until Cooper Flagg is on his first max contract. I don\u2019t think people are aware of just how dire the Mavericks asset situation is.<\/p>\n
Most teams can afford to have a slow build around their number one pick. The Mavericks, thanks to Nico Harrison\u2019s \u201cvision\u201d, are not going to be afforded that luxury. Dallas is likely going to have one shot at drafting in the lottery to build around Flagg, and that chance is coming this year. All of which takes me back to the beginning.<\/p>\n
If the Dallas Mavericks are serious about maximizing Cooper Flagg\u2019s career, they have to maximize their first round pick this season.<\/p>\n
In having done some legwork on the upcoming 2026 NBA Draft Class, it\u2019s becoming increasingly clear that there is a core four of guards who teams will be lining up to take next summer. The obvious number one being Kansas\u2019 Darryn Peterson, followed by, in some order: Houston\u2019s Kingston Flemings, Louisville\u2019s Mikel Brown Jr., and Alabama\u2019s Labaron Philon. In Bleacher Report\u2019s most recent mock draft<\/a>, those four players each went in the top nine. If we held the lottery today, the Mavericks would have the tenth best odds at the number one selection. It doesn\u2019t take a rocket scientist to see the math problem in that scenario, and yet it doesn\u2019t have to be that way.<\/p>\n Dallas, as an organization, needs to ask itself tough questions to figure out where we\u2019re going here. Keep the team as is, win 32 games, and in all likelihood miss out on the best guards in the draft? Or sell off some veterans for some draft assets, set yourself up to have a step back this season and enhance your chance at acquiring Cooper Flagg\u2019s point guard of the future.<\/p>\n