A Joel Embiid trade is the last thing the Mavericks need for Cooper Flagg

NBA Twitter was buzzing on Monday surrounding the possibility of the Dallas Mavericks trading for Philadelphia 76ers star center Joel Embiid. NBA Central, the famous account that aggregates NBA news, took a questionable report and ran with it, throwing Dallas Mavericks fans into a frenzy about the future of their team.

Does Dallas really want Joel Embiid? Would he be a good fit next to Cooper Flagg?

The answer to both of those questions is no, and it's easy to see why.

Joel Embiid is the opposite of what Masai Ujiri wants to build in Dallas

Ever since Masai Ujiri took over as president of the Mavericks, he has made it clear they aren't going to rush the rebuild. They know that they have a generational prospect in Flagg, and trading for a player like Embiid would be the last thing that the Mavs need right now.

They need youth, availability, and high upside to put a future contender around Flagg, and Embiid doesn't necessarily fit any of those. He's 32 years old, has only played 96 games over the last three seasons, and has already exited his prime. Dallas needs players who are on the way to their prime to play with Flagg and the rest of the young core, not ones who are already declining.

The Mavericks shouldn't be looking for another star in their 30s to carry the franchise. They need players who can grow alongside Flagg for the next decade, and trading major assets for an aging player at the start of their rebuild would not be wise.

Embiid was once one of the most dominant big men in the NBA, and even won an MVP in 2023, but those days are far behind him. He has struggled with injuries for his entire career, and while he's great when he's on the floor, he's injured more often than not. Especially lately.

The Mavericks already learned how challenging leaning on an injury-prone player can be with Anthony Davis, and there's no chance they want to experience this again. Availability is the best ability, and Davis and Embiid are two of the more injury-riddled star big men in the league.

Like Davis, Embiid is on a hefty contract that would be extremely difficult to justify.

Embiid's three-year, $187 million extension kicks in next season, and Dallas would be stuck paying him an average value of over $60 million annually for the next three years. This would be an accident waiting to happen for a team that just created significant future financial flexibility by offloading Davis in February, and they'd be starting from square one again.

An Embiid trade would set the Mavericks back for years

An Embiid trade would completely stray away from the types of moves that Mike Schmitz and Ujiri are looking to make, and it would make no sense to bring in a player who has only played 57 games over the last two seasons to be a co-star for Flagg and Kyrie Irving.

Dallas' checkbook is finally looking positive after the Davis trade, and they don't need to lock up any more long-term money to a player who can't stay on the court. The Mavericks' offseason focus should be signing young players and hitting a home run in the draft, not starchasing.

Dallas is in a position to return to being contenders if they start slow, bring in young talent that complements Flagg's game, and trust the process. Bringing in "The Process" from Philadelphia would destroy that vision.

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