The last time the Dallas Mavericks were in the top five of an NBA Draft was 2018. They’d just endured a 24-win season, their worst since the 90’s, and bad lottery luck found them at five in the order — just beyond the reach of Luka Doncic. The Mavericks made their own luck that night, if you could call it that, and convinced the Atlanta Hawks to make a deal that sent Doncic to Dallas and changed the trajectory of a franchise looking for new life post-Dirk Nowitzki.
Seven years later the Mavericks don’t need to make their luck. Somehow, for reasons that defy all karmic law, an organization that not only traded their superstar before his prime but besmirched him on his way out, leapt in historic fashion to the top of the lottery and will be gifted a generational talent in Cooper Flagg. A fact that I still have to remind myself of every day.
But before the Mavericks get to June 25 and can officially welcome Flagg to Dallas, there are lessons to be learned from that 2018-19 season, in building a new era that suddenly feels a little more bright.
When Doncic arrived in Dallas the team just survived a collection of cobbled rosters in Dirk’s twilight years, a desperate attempt at never letting the bottom fall completely out. An endless saga of will-they-won’t-they free agency and trade deals, mostly failed. But in the two years prior to Luka’s arrival the organization had accepted some reality. A semi-poor season that netted them Dennis Smith Jr. in the summer of 2017, their first step into the next era. The second led them to Luka.
NBA: Sacramento Kings at Dallas Mavericks Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
It’s hard to recall now the tug-of-war in Doncic analysis as a prospect. In retrospect, that he could even drop to three in that draft is ludicrous. But in the fall of 2018 there was plenty of doubt...externally. Internally, Dirk Nowitzki and his teammates knew before training camp even started.
“You could already see it. This kid has got something about him,” Nowitzki reflected in 2023 on that offseason while scrimmaging with Doncic. It was that readiness, his swagger, that didn’t just convince his new teammates. The Mavericks front office saw opportunity with Doncic to be a generational talent, and they wanted the future now.
And that brings us to Flagg. Only now among draft experts and scouts, the analysis is unanimous. His versatility, his drive, his rapid growth shows generational talent, and a generational response. The Mavericks finding themselves here while their spoken intentions were to build for contention next season around two aging, ailing, stars in Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis leaves questions. Can the team be among the competitive elite while their rookie develops? How do you prioritize the development of your team’s future, while being greedy for the present?
Development among players, from elite talent to the eventual role player, never take the same trajectory. Some move rapidly and some take years. It’s worth remembering as we watch the NBA Finals that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, selected 11th in Doncic’s draft and now the reigning MVP, scoring champion, and leading his team to the doorstep of an NBA Championship, was once a 10 point-per-game scorer as a rookie. Development requires patience and an intuitive sense for what needs to be around them. This is something that the Oklahoma City Thunder — who also had the benefit of an entire generation’s worth of picks to explore different development strategies — did well, both in their patience and in identifying complimentary pieces to surround their superstar.
NCAA Basketball: Final Four National Semifinal-Houston at Duke Scott Wachter-Imagn Images
For the Mavericks back in 2018, seeing the potential of Luka in front of them, they not only felt they could compete immediately but were not interested in patience by developing Luka and Dennis Smith Jr. together. Before the 2019 trade deadline they sent Smith, two first round picks, and veterans to the New York Knicks for Kristaps Porzingis and other supporting players to accelerate that timeline.
We know now that Porzingis didn’t work. The red flags that existed before the deal remained through his tenure in Dallas. And if you were to poll those around the league few would say it’s wrong to try pairing your young superstar with another star. But where you should be careful is how much of your future you mortgage with your first swing, especially when those assets convey nearer your superstar’s prime. The Mavericks giving up a 2021 and 2024 first round pick hampered future roster development around Luka. Never mind who was selected with those picks — those are assets to be managed to better prepare yourself for your superstar’s timeline.
This isn’t to say that Dennis Smith Jr. would have developed alongside Doncic to put them where they needed to be. But patience with your star’s development, and the pieces you put around them will matter later.
The Mavericks will face similar questions this summer and next season. For now, there isn’t a young running mate alongside Flagg that they could send off to skip steps in the timeline. Rather, the team is full of veterans who were brought to Dallas to compete now. This new leadership group, who were not around for those 2018 decisions, would be wise to learn from those mistakes and practice patience in building a very bright future around Flagg.