Mavericks can't afford to repeat this Luka Doncic mistake with Cooper Flagg

The Dallas Mavericks struggled to build around Luka Doncic at the beginning of his career. They didn't have much draft capital to play with, so they decided to roll the dice and trade for Kristaps Porzingis in an attempt to form one of the best young tandems in the NBA. This idea failed miserably, as Doncic and Porzingis didn't have the chemistry needed to take the Mavs on a deep playoff run together, and they were ultimately forced to trade Porzingis ahead of the trade deadline in 2022.

This decision paid off massively for them, as they made the Western Conference Finals that season. The only time that Doncic had a proper co-star in Dallas (outside of Jalen Brunson, but he wasn't the same player he is today as a Maverick anyway) was the two years he spent with Kyrie Irving. The Mavs were able to reach the NBA Finals in the one full season that Irving and Doncic played together, and a lesson can be learned from the way that the Mavs built around Doncic.

Dallas can't ignore building through the draft this time around, and the Mavericks have one shot at drafting Cooper Flagg's future co-star. They fully control their pick this summer, but after this year, they don't fully control their pick until 2031. This is a dangerous spot to be in, and Dallas has to take the 2026 NBA Draft seriously.

The 2026 NBA Draft is Dallas' best shot at finding Flagg a sidekick

This season already looks like a lost cause, as Anthony Davis has only played in 20 games, and they are nine games back from the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference. The most logical blueprint for the rest of the year would be to tank.

If they don't trade Davis, they should shut him down, and Dallas should prepare for the future by giving themselves the best possible odds to land a star this summer. These types of opportunities don't come around often, and since the Mavericks don't own their pick next summer, they'll be forced to contend next season. The draft this year gives them the chance to do that if they can strike gold.

Top to bottom, the 2026 draft class is one of the better classes that we've seen in some time. The top three is loaded with three future stars with Darryn Peterson, Cam Boozer, and AJ Dybantsa, but there are plenty of other great prospects outside of that top group as well.

The Mavericks could walk out of this summer's draft with a future star on their hands, but it'll all depend on where they land in the lottery. Teams can sometimes still find diamonds in the rough outside of the top five or even the top 10, but if the Mavs can land in the top three, they'll be set.

Adding another player that is on the same timeline as Flagg through the draft is something that Dallas needs badly, and it could change everything moving forward. Imagine how scary the Mavericks would've been if they could've drafted a co-star for Doncic rather than having to trade for one. It would've made things much easier from the jump, but instead, they never escaped the first round of the playoffs until his fourth season in the NBA.

Dallas definitely wants a different fortune as they begin the Cooper Flagg era, and they can't overlook how important hitting on their 2026 pick is. It would probably be smart for them to sell off pieces and fully punt on this season with the hope it pays off in the NBA Draft Lottery, and if one thing is for sure, it's that Dallas shouldn't wait around.

Cooper Flagg is the future, and every move should be made with that in mind.