Mavericks have suddenly become what no one thought was possible

Just over five months ago, the Dallas Mavericks made the most shocking trade in NBA history when they traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and one first-round pick less than an hour before midnight. No one expected Dallas to ever trade Doncic, as they had just led them to the NBA Finals and finished third in MVP voting the season prior, but they did the unthinkable and traded him halfway through his seventh season in the NBA.

Immediately after that trade went down, fans immediately counted out the Mavericks and their entire future. They thought that Dallas needed to enter a rebuild immediately, as everything that could have gone wrong after the Doncic trade did, but a four-number combination changed everything.

10-14-11-7.

Cooper Flagg just changed everything for the Dallas Mavericks

This was the winning combination of ping pong balls from the NBA Draft Lottery on May 12, as the Mavericks officially won the right to draft Cooper Flagg. This was frankly the one and only way that the Mavericks could somehow bounce back from the Doncic trade, and fans got a glimpse of how special Flagg can be on Thursday evening.

Dallas battled the Los Angeles Lakers in the opening game of Las Vegas Summer League, and Flagg did not disappoint. While he struggled from the floor, shooting 5-21 from the field and scoring just 10 points, he flashed his potential with his defense, ball handling, and athleticism, and his block late in the fourth quarter ultimately helped lead to the win, as he pushed the ball in transition right after and found Ryan Nembhard for an open three.

Flagg looked comfortable as Dallas' lead ball handler, and him carrying a heavy offensive load could carry into the regular season as Kyrie Irving is set to miss multiple months with an ACL tear. His athleticism was also on full display, and while Flagg had some great moments, Nembhard stole the show.

Nembhard's performance was one of the biggest stories of the night, as he and Flagg continued the on-court chemistry that they built in practice against the Lakers. He finished with 21 points and five assists while shooting 8-14 from the field, proving that he was one of the biggest steals of the offseason.

Nembhard's poise when the ball was in his hands was evident, as he was comfortable running the show and consistently made all of the right reads. His mid-range jumper was also automatic, as he was getting to his spots whenever he wanted and shooting with efficiency.

On top of Nembhard and Flagg's strong performances, Miles Kelly, Dallas' new sharpshooter who is on a two-way deal, was also excellent as he finished with 17 points and four rebounds. He showed great signs that his jumper is going to translate to the next level, and his simple 3-and-D style will fit nicely into Jason Kidd's system.

With Flagg, and potentially Nembhard, poised to shoulder major roles right away, they could end up being key reasons that Dallas turns things around after a disastrtous 2024-25 season. No one thought that the Mavericks could turn things around after all of the misfortune that they were hit with last season, and they have done the impossible of turning into a contender once again.

Mavericks fans can finally slowly begin to move on from the Doncic trade (and everything that came along with it), Irving's ACL tear, the Quentin Grimes trade, and all of the injuries of last season, and it's truly unbelievable how much has changed over the last few months.