Trade & Free Agency 2026/2027

[KillerLeft]

Fit is matter of perspective and the nice thing about Flagg being a 2-way stud is that he should fit with any and everyone.  No disrespect to Luka or Dirk, but that's a nice change of pace.

I agree that it will be easier to build a complete, two-way team around a star player who actually loves the defensive side of the ball. No argument there. I'll stop short of agreeing that it means he should fit with any and everyone. The thing about Dirk and Luka is that while their impact was felt mostly on one side of the ball, it was a MASSIVE impact, and created space for others. Even with them, players had to be chosen based on their ability to create space for them, and in Flagg's case I think that need is even more glaring. Whether he's starting plays or not, it's clear he wants to get downhill, and in order to do that he needs shooting around him. 

But again, once the offense looks like something that belongs in the NBA, and not at LA fitness, your excellent point about the other end of the floor will very quickly rise to the forefront of the conversation. I'd argue that the long, two-way types everyone is pining over right now in the draft are scratches to an itch left over from those Dirk/Luka eras and not taking into account just how differently the Mavs are positioned this time around. They could be good defensively THIS SEASON, but they won't be because even they know their offense can't hang, so what's the point of exerting all the effort?