Mavericks fans feel heartbreak again as Cooper Flagg comped to GOAT wingman

The Dallas Mavericks may very well have just drafted the next superstar in the NBA in Cooper Flagg. The Duke phenom has already drawn comparisons to Scottie Pippen, but there's just one problem with that comparison: The Mavs no longer have their version of Michael Jordan.

I don't need to remind Dallas fans of what incident occurred back in February. When the Mavericks dealt Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, it was unfathomable. Fresh off carrying the Mavs to the NBA Finals, number 77 found himself wearing a new uniform out of seemingly nowhere.

Now, Dallas has acquired a guy in Flagg who would ironically be an excellent fit alongside Doncic. Of course, there's still a ton to like about Cooper's game, and his potential to pan out as one of the league's best two-way players. Many think he's among the best draft prospects of this century, and that's not a crazy assessment by any stretch of the imagination.

In many ways, the Mavericks landing the top pick in May's Draft Lottery did a lot to quell the pain and sting of losing Luka. Make no mistake about it, Flagg going to Dallas didn't simply erase Nico Harrison's move. But if anything was going to begin to remedy a circumstance like that, it would be immediately getting the top pick and a potentially generational prospect in the process.

Flagg was compared to Scottie Pippen — But he's missing his Jordan

There's a lot of reasons for Mavs optimism to be back in style, just in a far different way from before. Before, the thought was of Doncic carrying Dallas to another deep playoff run. Now, it's more so centered around an increasingly balanced roster, and the immense ceiling that Cooper Flagg brings to the table with him.

With all of that in mind, it's admittedly hard to imagine Flagg doing what he does in a Mavericks uniform and not immediately think of what he would look like alongside Luka. There's certainly a glass-half-empty and glass-half-full approach you can take to viewing this situation.

The thought of Doncic tearing up defenses with his pick-and-roll mastery while hitting Flagg with lobs or setting him up for open threes is a tantalizing thought in the heads of Mavs fans. It could have been the greatest pairing in Mavs history.

At the same time, there's also a much lesser chance Dallas even ends up in the lottery if Luka is never traded, isn't there? The reality is that 77 isn't in the building anymore, and that's okay. There's real reason to fans in Dallas to be excited — Even if some are still always going to have that "what if" in the back of their heads. And in the end, that's a natural feeling to have.