2025 draft thread: THE MAVS SELECT COOPER FLAGG

[michaeltex]

That was my thought until the interviewer pressed him on playing with AD and he stayed vague and very non-committal about anything specific to Dallas.  I just found it odd.

I would suggest that DAL was not on any of his radar screens prior to last night, so he probably doesn't know what to say. He may not even know what the roster looks like, other than there is no more Luka.

Watching the highlights, I see CF as a higher energy, more athletic version of LD. Maybe not the "holy sh!t did you see that" moves, but with certifiable court vision and passing skills. He seems to score well enough from outside in and should, eventually, create enough gravity to help other shooters. Seems to play faster than the current LD version, but has the same ability to be successful at his own pace and not get hurried by defensive pressure. Performs well in traffic and finishes extremely well through contact. And he won't even be able to (legally) buy a beer in TX for 2.5 more years.

Two years ago, DAL made the WCF, but was exposed for a big hole in the middle that was fixed with DLive, Gaff and PJW acquisitions that made the NBA Finals. A lot of last year's finals team is still here (as of today), less LD of course. But now DAL has added AD and CF (and a couple of interesting end of bench players) to that core, so there are possibilities for success with this team. IMO, the pressure is now squarely on the coaching and medical staff to find schemes to maximize the talent her and keep said talent functioning on the court.

Nico's not trading CF. Doing that, on top of the Luka trade, would kill any legacy he now has a chance to build in DAL.