The Dallas Mavericks‘ dreams and hopes were crushed when the franchise traded away its cornerstone, Luka Doncic, to the Los Angeles Lakers in February. It seemed like the team was on a trajectory to obscurity for the foreseeable future. However, despite the bleak period, their fortunes turned around quickly, mainly thanks to winning the lottery and getting one of the most hyped prospects ever in Cooper Flagg.
Now, with Flagg on board, they seem poised to compete right away and be competent for a long time. Former Mavs owner Mark Cuban recently expressed his optimism for Dallas fans regarding their future, which will mean a lot to them after those few months of a complete downward spiral.
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“Our optionality is big time; we got a lot of options available to us. There’s uncertainties for sure, but we’ve got just a potential superstar talent in Cooper who’s only just 18. We’ve got Hall-of-Famers who can educate him, tell what the game is all about, which is incredibly valuable,” Cuban explained.
Deep roster
While Flagg is the centerpiece of the conversation and the Maverick optimism, he is just an 18-year-old rookie with a lot to learn. However, when you look at the roster around him, you can’t help but think this will be a pretty good team right away.
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Kyrie Irving might be nursing an ACL injury that should allow him to return somewhere in the second part of the season, but they still have proven stars like Anthony Davis, Klay Thompson and D’Angelo Russell to hold the fort. With pretty good role players like P.J. Washington, Daniel Gafford, Dereck Lively II, Dante Exum, Jaden Hardy and Naji Marshall to round out the roster around Flagg, there is no reason Jason Kidd’s squad shouldn’t be able to compete right away.
“We got Kai hopefully coming back this year, but that gives us the opportunity to build around these guys. I think DLo is gonna do a good job because there’s not a lot of pressure. He’s not coming in to be a star; he’s just coming in to play his role. I think Klay, I just think we got a good foundation, where we can zig and zag depending on what happens, “Mark added.
Coop is the light in the dark
While the names on the paper seem great, the reality is that many of these big names are older players with injury histories. While they could be great, there is an equal chance of it all collapsing like last year. However, even if that happens, Flagg is still there to develop and take the mantle of the #1 guy whenever he shows readiness.
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“That doesn’t mean there’s no risk. There’s still going to be injury risk, there is risk in Kai coming back, we are not all 21 years old anymore. But if the injury bug hits us, we still got that one guy that’s 18, that we can turn to build around. I think that is a real good upside for Mavs fans,” the billionaire concluded.
That is a heavy burden to place on Cooper, but judging by how he has handled pressure all his life up to this point, it will be natural for him. For now, Flagg can fit into the system, help out the veterans, and become even better so he can transform into a superstar himself in a few years. That is a good spot for a franchise to be in, and Cuban simply wants Mavericks fans to be in a positive spirit because of it.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 10, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.