In the space of one big year, the Mavericks changed drivers three times. Until February 2025, everything revolved around Luka Doncic, superstar and face of the franchise. Then, the unthinkable happened, with this surprise transfer to Los Angeles. The bosses then were Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving. Finally, a year after the earthquake, the Texans decided to turn the page with their interior, too fragile to influence the debates, and thus give the keys to the truck to Cooper Flagg.
Without forgetting that, in the meantime and if we keep the automobile metaphor, they also changed engineers for their car with the departure of Nico Harrison, the GM responsible for this exchange which was never accepted by the fans at the American Airlines Center.
Forced to “take a little detour” towards the title?
“We have an incredible player in Cooper Flagg”indicates Michael Finley, interim GM with Matt Riccardi. “So it’s up to us to do the work, to surround him with the right pieces. Draft choices obtained (two first round of Draft, three second round) are good. With such capital in the Draft, we have the ability to put the right elements around him to make this team a candidate for the title. With these tools, we can do that. »
In addition to the Draft choices arriving, this transfer also allows the Mavericks to save money and go under the “luxury tax”, which is always interesting to maneuver in the future. This future, we understand, has a name.
“His start to his career is crazy. We’re going to go a long way with him and with some in this locker room.”announces Jason Kidd. “He has shown us his talent for two or three weeks and if he continues in this direction… This transfer gives us flexibility to take different directions and move forward. »
Rebuilding a team with a rookie and focusing on the Draft, isn’t that, ultimately, a reconstruction? “We can think of a reset but we think there is only one guideline: progress and win. Nothing has changed »assures the Dallas coach. “Sometimes the path is not direct and you have to take a small detour to get where you want to go”adds Matt Riccardi. “But our goal remains the same. We want to win titles and have a squad for that. »
“We want players who embody what Flagg embodies”
There remains the regret of not having seen Cooper Flagg, Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving play together, even if only in one meeting this season… “The fans would probably have wanted to see that,” concedes Michael Finley, who hopes to seduce them with this February 2026 choice.“When I played here, there was always a certain excitement. At the beginning, we didn’t always win but the enthusiasm was there and the fans saw what it could be like. We’re in the same situation now: with a guy like Cooper Flagg, if we surround him well, we can bring back the excitement. »
This is one of the objectives of the GM, which considers that “Dallas fans deserve it”. There remains a fundamental question: if the talented rookie is to be surrounded in the right way, then what should these players look like?
“We want players who embody what Flagg embodies: that is to say toughness, intelligent, collective players, tough defenders, who think first of the team rather than themselves,” lists Matt Riccardi. “These are the players who win in the league. It’s our job to get as many as possible and put them on the field. What can take us to the next level are not technical qualities, but more character qualities. »
| Shots | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | LF | Off | Def | To | Pd | Bp | Int | Ct | Fte | Pts |
| Anthony Davis | 20 | 31:18 | 50.6 | 27.0 | 72.8 | 3.1 | 8.0 | 11.1 | 2.8 | 2.1 | 1.1 | 1.7 | 2.1 | 20.4 |
| Cooper Flagg | 47 | 34:11 | 48.5 | 29.8 | 80.4 | 1.1 | 5.5 | 6.6 | 4.2 | 2.2 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 2.2 | 20.4 |
| Nazi Marshall | 50 | 29:32 | 53.1 | 31.3 | 77.7 | 0.9 | 4.1 | 5.0 | 2.9 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 2.0 | 14.8 |
| P.j. Washington | 36 | 30:57 | 44.7 | 30.1 | 66.4 | 1.5 | 5.7 | 7.2 | 1.9 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 2.3 | 14.2 |
| Max Christie | 47 | 29:42 | 46.6 | 42.9 | 87.0 | 0.2 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 2.2 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 1.4 | 13.2 |
| Brandon Williams | 43 | 21:53 | 46.2 | 21.0 | 78.4 | 0.5 | 2.3 | 2.9 | 3.6 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 1.7 | 12.6 |
| Klay Thompson | 47 | 22:09 | 38.5 | 37.5 | 70.6 | 0.3 | 2.1 | 2.4 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 11.5 |
| D’angelo Russell | 26 | 19:02 | 40.5 | 29.5 | 71.7 | 0.3 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 4.0 | 1.9 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 1.2 | 10.2 |
| Daniel Gafford | 35 | 21:26 | 63.1 | 0 | 75.6 | 2.2 | 4.4 | 6.7 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 1.3 | 2.5 | 8.3 |
| Jaden Hardy | 34 | 12:35 | 40.2 | 37.1 | 77.5 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 6.9 |
| Ryan Nembhard | 38 | 18:46 | 42.9 | 37.9 | 76.9 | 0.2 | 1.6 | 1.8 | 4.9 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 1.4 | 6.7 |
| Jeremiah Robinson-earl | 5 | 12:12 | 47.1 | 25.0 | 100.0 | 0.8 | 2.2 | 3.0 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 4.4 |
| Dereck Lively Ii | 7 | 16:26 | 61.1 | 0 | 80.0 | 2.0 | 3.3 | 5.3 | 1.9 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 1.6 | 3.0 | 4.3 |
| Moussa Cisse | 30 | 11:58 | 60.9 | 0 | 48.2 | 1.8 | 2.6 | 4.5 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 3.7 |
| Caleb Martin | 44 | 13:52 | 44.1 | 36.1 | 60.6 | 0.5 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 3.3 |
| Dwight Powell | 37 | 14:18 | 63.2 | 0.0 | 65.0 | 1.4 | 2.4 | 3.8 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 1.9 | 3.0 |
| Miles Kelly | 12 | 8:30 | 39.4 | 30.8 | 0 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.9 | 2.8 |
