Cooper Flagg just named a surprise Mavericks sharpshooter for All-Star Weekend

Roughly a month away from All-Star weekend, the Dallas Mavericks don't project to have nearly as much representation in Los Angeles as they potentially could have, but it seems more than likely Cooper Flagg will play in the Rising Stars event. Flagg may not be the only teammate at the event, though, as he recently threw out fellow teammate Max Christie as someone who is deserving of being a candidate in the 3-Point Contest.

At shootaround ahead of Dallas' game against the Utah Jazz on Thursday, Flagg was asked if he planned on competing for the Dunk Contest, and while he didn't rule out the possibility, he made it seem unlikely he'd enter the contest anytime soon due to being more of an in-game dunker. However, after jokingly being asked about entering the 3-point contest, Flagg said there were far more deserving candidates on the roster, such as Christie and Klay Thompson.

Thompson won the 3-Point Contest back in 2016 and has competed in it multiple times, so while it would be cool to see him suit up in a Mavericks jersey for the contest, fans couldn't blame him for taking the time to relax on a beach somewhere with Megan Thee Stallion if that's what he ends up doing. Christie, on the other hand, though, has never been a part of any All-Star festivities and is definitely deserving of some buzz to be in the 3-point contest.

Cooper Flagg believes Max Christie deserves to be in the 3-Point Contest

While he still needs to increase his volume and get better at shooting off movement to be close to the same level of shooter as Thompson once was, Christie is shooting 45.5 percent from outside on 5.3 attempts per game this season. He's undoubtedly etched himself into one of the best shooters in the league as well as someone Dallas has full confidence in being able to replace Thompson one day, so Flagg isn't off kilter throwing him out there as a candidate to join him in Los Angeles.

While fans justifiably assumed Dereck Lively II to be Dallas' best building block for the future alongside Flagg, it may honestly be Christie, given Lively II's health woes up to this point in his career. Flagg is obviously a stud, but he still just turned 19 years old, so having a close teammate and fellow young player like Christie join him for All-Star Weekend would probably make the hectic weekend a little less burdensome for him.

Christie is just outside the top five in terms of the league leaders in 3-point percentage, and while he may not be shooting it from deep at some absurd volume, he's definitely still shooting enough and has had enough tough makes from downtown to where the league should undoubtedly invite him to the 3-Point Contest.

Similar to Thompson, Christie has a very fluid shooting motion, but not quite as lightning-quick a release compared to Thompson, so it would be interesting to see how he paces himself if he were to be in the 3-Point Contest. While Mavericks fans can vote for any of their players to be All-Star starters, fan input doesn't dictate any of the selections for the Dunk Contest or 3-Point Contest, so Mavericks fans will have to wait and see if Christie makes the cut for the weekend.