The Dallas Mavericks found a lifeline in Cooper Flagg, and Klay Thompson knows it.
That wasn’t supposed to be the storyline for a team that had been staring at a bleak stretch after the stunning trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis. Davis arrived in Dallas and was quickly sidelined by injury, a stretch that ended with the Mavericks essentially salary-dumping him to the Washington Wizards. Then Kyrie Irving tore his ACL a month after the Doncic deal, after a period in which he was logging more minutes than anyone else in the NBA.
By the time the 2025 offseason arrived, Dallas was stuck with aging, injured stars and not much optimism. Then the lottery bounced their way. The Mavericks won the draft lottery on a 1.8% chance, and the reaction was immediate - plenty of fans called it rigged and joked that Adam Silver had made them trade Doncic in exchange for the top pick.
That pick turned into Cooper Flagg, and he looked every bit like the kind of prospect that can change a franchise’s direction. Flagg put together a sensational rookie season, averaging 21.0 PPG, 6.7 RPG, and 4.5 APG.
In the process, he became just the second rookie in the last 50 years to lead his team in points, rebounds, assists, and steals. Michael Jordan was the only other rookie to do it.
Thompson, a future Hall-of-Famer and one of Dallas’ sharpshooters, was asked about Flagg during a recent Twitch stream, and he didn’t hold back on how special the 19-year-old has been.
"Cooper is amazing. Sometimes I forget when I'm out there with him, 'I cannot believe this guy is 19 years old...'
He's got a demeanor like he's been in the league already for a decade, so Cooper, God, we were so lucky for Dallas to get him," Thompson admitted. "What a stroke of luck.
He's gonna be a perennial All-Star, he's going to be franchise, First-Team All-NBA, I believe. He does things you can't teach.
He's 6'10" now, be jumping over people; he's long, he plays both sides of the ball."
The praise fits the moment Dallas is in. Flagg gives the Mavericks a fresh centerpiece, and with that comes a different kind of roster question.
Thompson has been mentioned in trade and buyout rumors all offseason, and while there has been no buyout talk, the trade market has been quiet for him. He’s in the final year of his contract, which is worth nearly $17.5 million.
Dallas also has to clear room after matching the offer sheet Moussa Cisse signed with the New York Knicks to bring him back. With the roster needing a move, Thompson looks like the most obvious name to go.
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