Mavericks are learning a brutal Cooper Flagg lesson the hard way

Even with Cooper Flagg back in the lineup, the Dallas Mavericks are still playing like one of the worst teams in the league. Dallas went 2-6 over the eight games that Flagg missed with a midfoot sprain, and they're 0-3 since his return last week.

Regardless of whether Flagg plays or not, Dallas doesn't have the roster to win games this season — and they're learning this truth the hard way.

Cooper Flagg can't carry the Mavericks by himself

Losing games is never fun, regardless of the roster that's on the floor, and Dallas is in the middle of one of the most disappointing seasons in recent memory. No one expected the Mavericks to be one of the worst teams in the Western Conference just two seasons after reaching the NBA Finals for the third time in franchise history, but here we are.

Dallas' trajectory has taken a complete 180 over the last few years, and they've gone from the mountaintop to the bottom of a pit quickly.

The Mavs have lost 43 games on the season with 18 games to go, tying their loss total from last season. They're on pace to miss the playoffs for the third time in four seasons after losing 17 of the last 19 games, and even with Flagg back and healthy, the Mavericks unfortunately aren't a competitive team.

How Dallas' season became a nightmare

Dallas officially punted on the season to focus on the future by trading Anthony Davis to the Washington Wizards at the trade deadline. Shortly after, they shut down Kyrie Irving for the season as he recovers from a torn ACL.

Both of these moves helped accelerate their tank while simultaneously putting their full trust in Cooper Flagg, but they need to find him a co-star. Specifically through the 2026 NBA Draft.

Dallas must find someone on Flagg's timeline who brings out his strengths, as the Mavericks' current roster was not built to win with him.

The current iteration of the Dallas Mavericks was built to succeed with Anthony Davis, but this plan failed miserably. Quickly.

They expected to dominate with size, physicality, rebounding, defense, and strength, but they disregarded shooting, guard play, and shot creation. It didn't help that injuries plagued their season right away, but the roster construction was always questionable.

Dallas is not built to win with Cooper Flagg — yet

Dallas' backcourt has been one of their biggest weaknesses all season, and without Irving, they've lacked a steady playmaker to get Flagg the ball in his spots and run the show. Ryan Nembhard and Flagg had a great stretch together during the first half of the season, but Nembhard's role has shrunk considerably as of late.

On top of not having a consistently reliable floor general, the Mavericks' lack of shooting has been one of the season's biggest storylines. Flagg has paid for this as much as anyone.

His game heavily depends on paint touches and finishing around the bucket, but his playmaking has also grown as the season has progressed. He is getting more comfortable making reads at the first and second levels while driving, and his on-ball gravity while knifing toward the rim helps create open shots for his teammates.

Despite this, the roster as currently constructed doesn't have players who can cash in on these attempts.

Dallas has the third-worst 3-point percentage in the NBA at 33.9. Their ranking in 3-pointers attempted per game is also in the bottom three in the NBA, as they only shoot 31.2 threes per game.

The Mavericks aren't shooting or making enough threes to be a contender, and no matter how many big games Flagg has, Dallas will still struggle to pick up wins to finish the season.

Cooper Flagg is the truth, but the Mavericks must build around him

This isn't Flagg's fault by any means, as he has been even better than expected. He's averaging 20.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game while shooting 47.2 percent from field, showing that he is much more than just a generational two-way prospect.

Flagg has high-level offensive upside, and could even develop into an offensive engine one day. Mavericks fans should be ecstatic about his potential as the team's new franchise cornerstone, but the front office has to put the right team around him if they expect his upside to turn into deep playoff runs and NBA Championships.

One star player doesn't get it done in today's NBA, and the Mavericks may need to undergo some big changes if they want to get back in the win column next season.