Mavericks' once-hyped Cooper Flagg pairing raises serious concern

There’s no shortage of questions facing the Dallas Mavericks this offseason. While the search for a new general manager headlines the agenda, identifying the right pieces to place around Rookie of the Year finalist Cooper Flagg isn’t far behind. And based on a full season of evidence, one player who initially appeared to be the perfect complement may not be the long-term fit the Mavericks envisioned.

That player is Max Christie. He impressed in his first full season as a starter, averaging 12.3 points while shooting 40.4 percent from three and knocking down 2.3 triples per game. But next to Flagg, the fit hasn’t translated. Dallas posted a -6.7 net rating with both on the floor, getting outscored by nearly seven points per 100 possessions.

Max Christie and Cooper Flagg's high-usage partnership

While the Christie-Flagg duo wasn’t the worst high-usage pairing on the roster, it stands out as the most notable, both because it logged the most minutes and because it was once viewed as Dallas’ most promising partnership.

Christie and Flagg appeared in 77 and 70 games, respectively, ranking first and third on the team, and shared the court for a team-high 1,584 minutes. In total, they spent more than two-thirds of the season playing alongside one another.

As a result, Dallas has gotten an extended look at Christie and Flagg together, and that isn’t likely to change anytime soon. Christie is under contract for two more seasons and, at 23, remains one of the youngest players on the roster. Flagg, meanwhile, is presumably viewed as a long-term cornerstone for the franchise.

The numbers don’t fully support the fit

Barring any trades, the pairing is here to stay. But the real question is whether it should be. A -6.7 net rating isn’t especially alarming in a vacuum, particularly for a Mavericks team that won just 26 games. Their most-used duo wasn’t expected to dominate. What is concerning, however, is that among the league’s 40 most-played duos, Christie and Flagg were the only pairing with a negative net rating.

That context, combined with the prior belief that Christie and Flagg could be a cornerstone pairing, makes the situation more complicated. Just months ago, ahead of the trade deadline, Dallas reportedly viewed Christie as untouchable, which is a label that, in hindsight, may have been premature. Christie has proven his individual value, but on a 26-win team, can anyone besides Flagg truly be considered untouchable?

Probably not. Even though Christie appears to be a tailor-made fit next to Flagg as a knockdown three-point marksman and a relatively versatile perimeter defender, the statistical evidence doesn’t fully support the partnership… at least not yet.

Another season of the Christie-Flagg pairing should help answer more long-term questions about their fit. While the combination looks strong on paper, Flagg posted better net ratings alongside several other teammates, including Ryan Nembhard, Klay Thompson, and Brandon Williams, than he did with Christie. An unlikely outcome, to say the least.

Lineup context clouds the Christie-Flagg evaluation

Moreover, Christie posted even worse net ratings when paired with other key rotation players such as Daniel Gafford, Naji Marshall, and P.J. Washington. That raises a larger question: was Christie simply not a particularly impactful contributor, or are there other variables complicating the picture?

To some extent, the numbers suggest the latter. Christie posted stronger net ratings alongside reserves, but so did Flagg. Still, the broader trend is difficult to ignore: Dallas’ starting group struggled to generate a positive impact.

That brings the discussion full circle. If Christie and Flagg cannot generate even an average net rating, should Dallas continue to lean on the pairing so heavily? With Flagg expected to anchor the franchise for years to come, the focus inevitably shifts to Christie and whether he can establish himself as a long-term starting two-guard next to Dallas' building block.

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