The NBA Draft is always a high-stakes chess match, with teams maneuvering silently, bluffing, and occasionally slipping up in ways that reveal their true intentions. This year, the Dallas Mavericks may have committed one of those rare, telling blunders—one that could hint at their plans for the future. The subject of their potential misstep? None other than Cooper Flagg, the generational talent who has taken the basketball world by storm. While Flagg isn’t even eligible for the 2024 draft, the Mavericks’ recent actions—or rather, their curious inaction—might have inadvertently exposed their long-term strategy in a way that could reshape their franchise trajectory.
Cooper Flagg, the 6’9” phenom out of Montverde Academy, is widely regarded as the best high school prospect since LeBron James. His combination of size, skill, basketball IQ, and defensive versatility has scouts and executives salivating at the thought of landing him in the 2025 NBA Draft. Given that he’s still a year away from being draft-eligible, most teams have been careful not to show their cards too early when it comes to Flagg. However, the Mavericks’ recent approach—or lack thereof—may have tipped their hand in a major way.
The intrigue began when reports surfaced that the Mavericks had not been among the most aggressive teams in gathering intel on Flagg. While franchises like the San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Detroit Pistons have been heavily scouting him, Dallas has been conspicuously quiet. On the surface, this might seem like a non-story—after all, why would a team invest significant resources in a player they can’t draft for another year? But in the context of the Mavericks’ current roster construction and future draft capital, their apparent disinterest in Flagg could actually be a smokescreen—or worse, a missed opportunity that reveals their lack of flexibility to pursue him.
Here’s where the blunder comes into play. The Mavericks, as currently constructed, are in win-now mode. With Luka Dončić entering his prime and Kyrie Irving still playing at an All-Star level, Dallas is focused on contending for championships in the immediate future. This mindset has led them to trade away multiple future first-round picks to bolster their roster, leaving them with limited assets to make a big swing in the 2025 draft. If Flagg declares—which he almost certainly will—the Mavericks may not have the necessary draft capital to move up and select him, even if they wanted to. Their lack of overt interest in Flagg could simply be because they know they won’t be in a position to draft him, which is a sobering reality for a franchise that should always be looking to secure the next superstar.
But there’s another, more intriguing possibility: the Mavericks’ quiet approach to Flagg could be a deliberate strategy to downplay their interest, keeping their true intentions hidden. In the NBA, misinformation is a common tactic. Teams often leak false interest in certain players to throw others off their scent. If Dallas is secretly enamored with Flagg, their apparent indifference could be a way to avoid drawing attention to their plans. Perhaps they’re quietly positioning themselves to acquire additional draft picks or trade into a favorable spot next year without alerting the competition. If that’s the case, their “blunder” might actually be a masterstroke in disguise.
However, the more likely scenario is that the Mavericks have indeed painted themselves into a corner where landing a player like Flagg is nearly impossible. Over the past few years, Dallas has traded away multiple future first-round picks in deals for Kristaps Porziņģis, Christian Wood, and most recently, P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford. While these moves have strengthened their roster, they’ve also left them with little flexibility to make a major draft-night splash in 2025. Unless they somehow acquire a high pick via trade or luck into a top selection despite their expected playoff positioning, Flagg will be out of reach.
This raises a bigger question about the Mavericks’ long-term strategy. While going all-in around Luka is the right move, failing to keep at least one eye on the future could backfire spectacularly. The NBA’s landscape changes rapidly, and dynasties are often built by teams that balance immediate contention with future asset accumulation. The Golden State Warriors, for example, struck gold by drafting James Wiseman (a move that didn’t pan out) while still competing for titles, showing that it’s possible to do both. The Mavericks, by contrast, have gone all-in on the present without leaving themselves a clear path to secure the next franchise-altering talent.
Cooper Flagg represents the kind of player who can define a franchise for a decade. His potential arrival in the NBA is already being compared to the hype surrounding Zion Williamson, Victor Wembanyama, and even LeBron himself. For the Mavericks to not even be in the conversation for him—whether by design or by circumstance—is a troubling sign. It suggests that their front office either doesn’t see him as a priority (which would be a mistake) or that they’ve backed themselves into a corner where they can’t realistically pursue him (which would be a failure of long-term planning).
Of course, there’s always the possibility that the Mavericks are playing a deeper game. Maybe they’re confident that Luka’s brilliance alone will keep them in title contention for years to come, reducing the need to chase another young star. Or perhaps they believe they can land a disgruntled superstar via trade down the line, using what few assets they have left to make a big move. But in a league where having a cost-controlled young talent like Flagg can be the difference between sustained success and a fleeting window, Dallas’ apparent lack of a plan for him is concerning.
The irony is that the Mavericks’ current success might be what prevents them from ever having a shot at Flagg. If they continue to win at a high level, their 2025 draft pick will be in the late 20s—nowhere near the range needed to select him. Even if they wanted to trade up, they’d likely need to part with a key piece of their current core, which would undermine their win-now approach. It’s a catch-22 that highlights the delicate balance teams must strike between chasing championships and planning for the future.
In the end, the Mavericks’ Cooper Flagg “blunder” may not be a blunder at all—just the natural consequence of their aggressive roster-building strategy. But if Flagg becomes the once-in-a-generation player many believe he will be, Dallas’ inability to position themselves for him could go down as a massive missed opportunity. The NBA is a league where fortunes change overnight, and the teams that thrive are the ones that plan multiple steps ahead. Right now, the Mavericks seem focused solely on the present. Whether that costs them a chance at Cooper Flagg remains to be seen—but their quiet approach to him so far suggests they may already know the answer.
