Mavericks can finally give Cooper Flagg what Luka Doncic never got

After making a momentous trade to move up from the fifth pick to the third overall selection in the 2018 NBA Draft, the Dallas Mavericks acquired generational superstar Luka Doncic.

Aside from that well-worth-it move, and their second-round steal of Jalen Brunson in the same draft, the Mavericks saw little draft success in the years that followed, until Cooper Flagg fell into their laps in 2025.

The Luka Doncic era and a missed co-star

Yet it could be argued that this was largely by design. The trade to acquire Doncic cost Dallas its 2019 first-round pick, and subsequent deals further depleted the team’s draft capital. Meanwhile, Doncic’s talent prevented the Mavericks from falling into the kind of poor records that produce top lottery selections. As a result, Dallas didn’t get another chance to draft a lottery prospect until 2023, when it selected Dereck Lively II 12th overall.

However, with the similarly generational talent of Flagg now in Dallas, the Mavericks’ previous strategy of building around their star primarily through trades and free agency may be a thing of the past. This time, Dallas is poised to give Flagg what it never gave Doncic—a prized, homegrown running mate.

Okay, okay, before the hooting and hollering begins: yes, Jalen Brunson, now a three-time All-Star, was a Maverick. But the former Villanova Wildcat entered the league as a far less-heralded prospect.

Despite an illustrious college career, concerns about his size and age led many to question how well his game would translate. And while he developed from a quality reserve into a capable starter in Dallas, he wasn’t the kind of All-Star-caliber running mate the Mavericks intentionally paired with Doncic. His true stardom, of course, came only after signing with the New York Knicks.

The 2026 NBA Draft could allow Dallas to almost handpick Flagg’s ideal running mate. I say almost because the Mavericks likely won’t land the first overall pick for the second year in a row. Still, a top-five-to-eight selection in what’s widely considered a loaded draft would be a pretty dandy consolation prize.

This is a rare opportunity for Dallas

Currently, Dallas sits in seventh place in the draft order, ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies and behind the New Orleans Pelicans, who do not own their first-round pick. Considering the Mavericks are also 2–8 over their last 10 games, there’s a very real chance they enter the draft lottery in the sixth spot, which offers a 37.2 percent chance of landing a top-four selection and a 9.0 percent chance of picking first overall.

Yet even if lottery luck doesn’t go Dallas’ way, the aforementioned loaded draft class should still provide a means to find Flagg’s partner in crime, no matter where the Mavericks land.

As it stands, versatile guards like Arkansas’ Darius Acuff Jr., Houston’s Kingston Flemings, Illinois’ Keaton Wagler, and Louisville’s Mikel Brown Jr. populate the 5–8 range. Any of these prospects would be an ideal running mate for Cooper Flagg and would provide the Mavericks with a foundational duo for years to come.