This idea comes with a caveat: The Dallas Mavericks may have not had the same NBA Draft Lottery odds if Luka Doncic had never been traded away.
But they won the lottery with a 1.8 percent chance at the top pick, anyway, so let’s venture into the realm of a Cooper Flagg “What if?” anyways.
The Mavericks had one of the NBA’s rising, transcendent superstars in Doncic. They’d managed to snag him without even needing the top pick because somehow, the NBA didn’t trust that an 18-year old who was MVP of the second-best basketball league in the world would translate to the game here.
And now, after a bumpy season, the Mavs just landed one of the best draft prospects of this generation, Duke’s Cooper Flagg.
Technically, they still have to get his name announced at the NBA Draft in late June. But there will be no surprises here. Flagg is as good as a Dallas Maverick already.
Now imagine, just for a moment, if Doncic was still in town, and if the Mavericks got the No. 1 pick anyway.
Doncic and Flagg? Oh my.
They’re two position-less, do-everything superstars.
Flagg’s supreme defensive talents would make up for Doncic’s one shortcoming. And if Flagg didn’t turn out to be a good enough lead ballhandler in the NBA, it wouldn’t be a big deal, because he’d have Doncic to do that part.
The Mavericks made the NBA Finals in 2024 with Doncic carrying the team on his back.
If Doncic and Flagg could’ve put the team on their backs together, that’d be a title waiting to happen.
Flagg might still have a title future in Dallas, but he might have to go through the purple-and-gold Doncic to make it happen. They set up for fun Western Conference battles for years to come.
And barring another Nico Harrison special, we’ll never know what they would’ve been like as teammates. Even if it’s a farfetched thought, it’s still too bad.
