Cooper Flagg's greatness can't change truth Mavericks know too well

A 19 year-old should not impact an NBA game as much as Cooper Flagg did last night. He finished the game with 26 points, 10 rebounds (4 offensive), 8 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block. He was a plus-3, the only starter to have a positive plus-minus. He has made everyone rethink how impactful a rookie can be. Typically, even "good" rookies come with the disclaimer that they're good for rookies.

Flagg is a good NBA player, full stop. That's not the issue with the Mavericks right now. In fact it's the players around him aren't impacting winning as much as they should be. Before the season, Flagg appeared to be this team's swing factor. Now, he looks like the only sure thing.

As we approach the halfway point of this season, the truth of this Mavs team is emerging; it has a cornerstone in Flagg, and some solid complementary players around him, but there's less to build around than fans want to admit.

Cooper Flagg is impacting winning, but the team isn't winning

That's because Flagg's impact, no matter how big (and it's getting bigger by the week) can't compensate for the fact that this roster, especially without Kyrie Irving, was probably never talented enough to be a contender in the first place. They lost to the Jazz with both Flagg and Davis having good games and Klay Thompson shooting like it was 2016 again. That's rough. The on-court product looks better now than it did at the start of the year, but this team is still 10 games below .500 almost halfway through the season.

So, what next?

Well, I've warmed up to the idea of an Anthony Davis trade, for starters. I'm not saying that because I think Davis is washed or doesn't help this team (he's not, and he does), but if the combination of Flagg and Davis don't take this team to the level that fans hoped it would.

In fact, I've warmed up to the idea of leaning into a roster reset (that's the gentle version of a rebuild). If contending teams are willing to sacrifice real assets for win-now pieces, the Mavs should oblige them. This year already feels like a wash, so why not have a fire sale, clear up some wiggle room for a crazy free agency, get Kyrie back healthy next season, and see what Coop can do next to a high-level point guard?

Flagg's brilliance makes things feel less bleak in Dallas right now. But it might take some (big) maneuvering in the next month for the Mavericks to escape a future that looks too much like last night; elite play from Flagg that gets forgotten because of a loss.