Cooper Flagg's Duke teammate just sent Mavericks a draft message they can't ignore

Isaiah Evans and Cooper Flagg were both part of the 2025 Duke team that made the Final Four, and Evans made his case for why the Dallas Mavericks should draft him in the 2026 NBA Draft on Wednesday at the NBA Combine. The former Blue Devil opened up about his experience playing with Flagg and how that could translate to the Mavericks, and his answers to several Dallas-specific questions should have the team seriously considering him at the end of the first round.

"It would be awesome to play with Cooper (in Dallas)," Evans said. "I played with him for a year. I think I know where I can help him at, what spots I need to be at. He's a really good player, so I'd love to be able to complement him and help him on his journey."

Isaiah Evans just said what the Mavericks needed to hear

Bingo. This is the exact answer Dallas needed. This is Flagg's team now, and every player that gets brought in this summer should be someone who fits the way he likes to play. Evans' answer didn't portray that he wants to be a star right out of the gate. He seems to be self-aware about his role, and that's definitely a positive for a team trying to build around Flagg. This is the type of answer that the Mavs can't ignore.

On top of this, the Mavericks are one of the four teams that Evans had met with as of yesterday. Teams meet with countless players during the combine, but they're definitely intentional about who they bring in. Dallas wouldn't talk with Evans if they didn't have any interest in him, and he's definitely a name to keep an eye on as the pre-draft process progresses.

The Mavs need to find players in the draft who can fit well around Flagg, and Evans has already proven that he can do this during their one season together. His off-ball movement and strong 3-point shooting made Evans and Flagg a deadly duo when they shared the court, as Evans understood exactly where he needed to be to get open shots while also making life easier on Flagg.

Flagg's downhill game needs good shooters around him to pull defenders out of the paint, and this is one of the things that made his on-court pairing with Evans successful. Evans shot 41.6 percent from three as a freshman at Duke, and his hot shooting off the bench was one of the many reasons that the Blue Devils were so dominant during his freshman season.

His movement without the ball and Flagg's underrated passing allowed them to connect for some nice plays as teammates, and they could replicate this dynamic in Dallas. Jon Scheyer loved to run off-ball screens for Evans to get him open looks from three, and all Flagg had to do was put the ball in Evans' shooting pocket. The rest was history. Swish.

Now, a year later, he has the chance to reunite with that Duke team's No. 1 player, who was the straw that stirred the drink. The Mavericks own the No. 30 overall pick (along with their lottery pick), and if Evans falls to that range at the very end of the first round, it would be a no-brainer for Dallas to draft him. They clearly need more shooting around Flagg after being one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the NBA last season, and that just happens to be Evans' specialty.

Evans would fix a problem that hurt Dallas all season

The 6-foot-6 guard/wing shot 36.1 percent from three on a whopping 7.1 attempts per game in his sophomore season, significantly upping his volume from the season before. He started in all 38 games that he played in and averaged 15.0 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.4 stocks (steals and blocks combined) per game. His improvement from his freshman to sophomore seasons was undeniable, and he helped Duke make the Elite Eight.

Dallas already has a strong Duke presence on the roster with Flagg, Kyrie Irving, and Dereck Lively II, and if Evans gets drafted here, he'd join "The Brotherhood" that's already running strong. On top of why he believes he'd be a good fit with Flagg, he also talked about the chance to potentially play with Irving.

"It would be cool, man," Evans said. "Kyrie's one of those guys that I definitely watched for sure. And then him and Cooper both being from Duke, I feel like it would just be a cool experience."

Evans' strong answers to a few of these questions about the Mavericks are just the start of the reasons they should consider drafting him next month, and his connection with Flagg is one of the many. On-court chemistry is important to build a contender, and with Flagg and Evans having real success together as freshmen at Duke, it only makes sense to reunite them in Dallas if they have the chance.

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