Answer to the Mavericks' biggest problem is staring at them in March Madness

March Madness is a massive reminder to Dallas Mavericks fans of the endless freshman talent that will be available in the 2026 NBA Draft. Freshman guard Keaton Wagler has been one of the surprises of the college basketball season, and Dallas should be eyeing him with their projected lottery pick.

Illinois is a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and Mavericks fans should have plenty of chances to watch Wagler over the next few weeks to see if they believe he is a good future fit in Dallas. The Mavericks need all of the backcourt help they can get heading into the 2026-27 season, and Wagler could provide all of that and more.

Keaton Wagler is making his case as a perfect Mavericks fit

With Cooper Flagg's biggest weakness being his 3-point shooting, at least so far in his short NBA career, Wagler has the skill set to minimize this weakness and form an incredible duo with the Mavs' star rookie. Dallas needs to put much more shooting around their star rookie, and Wagler is one of the better shooters in this year's draft class.

Wagler has been one of the unsung heroes in college basketball all season long for the Illinois Fighting Illini. Kylan Boswell was supposed to be the veteran leader playing the floor general role for them, but Wagler has stolen his thunder to become a freshman leader and show NBA scouts why he deserves to be a high-end lottery pick.

Wagler can easily develop a one-two punch with Flagg as a guard-forward combo, and he's proved that he can one day develop into a sparkplug that all Mavs fans can enjoy.

His size may look skinny on the court, but Wagler is still a tremendous ball handler at 6-foot-6 who can get to the basket with ease. Dallas is in desperate need of more positional size in their backcourt, and Wagler would give them a jumbo-sized point guard ready to take the NBA by storm.

Even though Max Christie has done everything he can to prove that he is starting material for the Mavs (if the Mavericks wanted to play him off the ball), Wagler is an inch taller than Christie and is poised to become an effective shooter at the NBA level.

Wagler is shooting 44 percent from the field and 40 percent from deep this season for Illinois. He looks NBA-ready with this deep range shooting, and these are NBA threes that he's already hitting. Wagler has made shooting from the college logo look like clockwork, which makes him a perfect fit for the Mavs.

Without Kyrie Irving, the 3-point shooting for Dallas has been nonexistent. Dallas has been one of the laughingstocks of the league in 3-point shooting, and getting Wagler could solve that problem in an instant. He's an NBA-ready shooter, and Dallas could really use him to help shore up their backcourt.

Wagler's weaknesses are there

Wagler's physicality has been questioned as a legitimate liability, and it's easy to see. On some of the weaker teams in the Big Ten, Wagler has struggled to buy a bucket. Against Maryland, one of the bottom feeders in the Big Ten, Wagler had to overcome a scoreless first half to end up finishing with 11 points in a game Illinois barely won.

Wagler's defense will also be tested in the NBA. He will be looked at as a 3-and-D player if he ends up primarily playing off the ball, but he's got to be able to adjust as soon as he gets in.

Of course, even the best players have an off game every once in a while, but some of the other freshman sensations like Cam Boozer, AJ Dybantsa, and Darius Acuff Jr. have balled out against their weakest opponents.

In a perfect world, Wagler and Flagg form a dominant long-term duo

As it stands, Flagg doesn't need another dominant big man around him. He already has Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II.

All Flagg needs is another ball handler who can shoot the ball and handle. Guys like Christie and Klay Thompson are great shooters, but another ball handler like Wagler, who could shoot from deep, could make a big difference.