Cooper Flagg emerges as biggest winner from Mavericks' bold Kyrie Irving shutdown

The Dallas Mavericks made the painful decision to shut down Kyrie Irving for the remainder of the 2025-26 season on Wednesday morning as he rehabs from a torn ACL. Although this move hurts Dallas in the short term, it's exactly what Cooper Flagg needed as he finishes off his rookie year.

While playing with Irving at the end of this season would've helped them build some early chemistry, now Flagg has the chance to be the team's No. 1 option for the rest of the season. Flagg can shoot as many shots as he'd like while continuing to be the focal point of the offense, and this will help him prepare to develop into an offensive engine one day.

Flagg's offensive game is far more developed than anyone could've imagined as a 19-year-old rookie, and he is only poised to get better as he gets older. His finishing around the rim, decision-making, and confidence grow every single game, and his two-way ability is what has Mavericks fans so confident that he can help them return to the promised land.

Kyrie Irving not returning this season is a blessing in disguise

On top of the obvious growth that Flagg will experience by having the entire weight of the offense on his shoulders, sitting Irving for the rest of the season also ensures that Dallas' new star duo has a better chance of being healthy to start next season.

The Mavericks made Irving and Flagg untouchable at the trade deadline due to their belief that they'd be an incredible duo together. They haven't shared a single minute on the floor yet, but Dallas trusts that Irving and Flagg have what it takes to lead the franchise into this new era.

Even though Flagg doesn't have Irving by his side to finish off his rookie season, having them both available to begin next season is far more important. Irving will be more than a year and a half removed from tearing his ACL last March, and Dallas can entirely focus on the future with a Flagg-Irving duo at the head of the snake rather than having to worry about Irving getting re-injured this season.

Irving suffering another knee injury at the end of this season would be an absolute nightmare, and Dallas is avoiding this risk by allowing him to keep recovering on his own.

On top of the obvious benefit Dallas gets by making sure Irving doesn't get injured again by shutting him down, this move also helps speed up their rebuild around Flagg.

The Mavericks will naturally tank for the remainder of the season without Irving in the lineup, and this will give them better odds of moving up in the NBA Draft Lottery to find a co-star for Flagg. This is the last year that Dallas fully controls their first-round pick until 2031, and they have to make the most of this pick.

They're looking like a lock to select somewhere in the top 10 unless something drastically changes over the next two months, and they could even land in the top four if the ping pong balls bless them with some luck again. The 2026 draft class is one of the most talented classes we've seen in years, and pairing Flagg with another star freshman should be at the top of the team's priority list.

Irving returning to the floor would obviously lead to them winning more games, which is exactly what they don't want. Him resting for the rest of the season was the best decision for both sides, and Flagg should be thankful for this move this time next season.