Quiet Cooper Flagg injury update is the last thing Mavericks fans wanted

Cooper Flagg was unable to participate in the NBA's Rising Stars Game at All-Star Weekend after suffering a left midfoot sprain earlier this week, and Dallas Mavericks fans aren't going to be thrilled about seeing him in a boot over the weekend. Fans have gone through the wringer over the last season and a half with nonstop injuries to key players, and Dallas can't afford for Flagg to consistently be on the injury report.

Flagg attended the Duke-Clemson game in Durham on Saturday, and he was in a walking boot. This was a bit unexpected, as Flagg wasn't in a boot earlier this weekend when he was in Los Angeles, but it's likely just precautionary as he recovers from this injury.

Flagg has had a couple of ankle/foot injuries recently, and fans are hoping that this ailment is nothing serious. Foot injuries are no joke, as fellow Mavericks teammate and former Duke Blue Devil Dereck Lively II has only played 98 games through his first three seasons in the NBA, and the Mavericks have to be hoping that lower-body injuries don't become normal for the 19-year-old superstar.

Cooper Flagg showed up to the Duke game in a walking boot

He has only missed five games in his young NBA career so far, but as Mavericks fans know better than any fan base in the league, these types of things can snowball if they aren't handled correctly. Dallas needs to be as careful as they can before bringing Flagg back, as the playoffs are out of the picture for this season.

Rushing Flagg back is the last thing that they need to do, as they aren't competitive right now anyway. The Mavericks will always play hard, but they've lost nine games in a row. They should be prioritizing lottery standings rather than rushing their rookie star back, and they'll likely do just this.

Flagg's current injury is likely a bit more serious than some of his previous ankle sprains, as he underwent an MRI that revealed this midfoot sprain, and now fans will just have to wait to hear where he is in his recovery process. Flagg has plenty of time to recover ahead of Dallas' next game, as they don't play until next Friday against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Heading into that game, Flagg will have had nine full days of rest, and he should be ready to go by that point. If not, they can just rest him for a couple more games.

Dallas is currently 19-35 on the season and has the seventh-best odds to receive the No. 1 overall pick in this summer's draft, and losing some games down the final stretch of the season won't be the worst thing in the world.

They desperately need to find Cooper Flagg's co-star of the future, and there's no better place to do this than through the 2026 NBA Draft. Before any of this, though, they have to ensure that Flagg is extremely cautious with his return process from arguably the most severe injury of his NBA career.