The Dallas Mavericks look to be a big team next season. They already had a large frontcourt with Anthony Davis at power forward and the rotating center combo of Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford, but that was only emphasized when they won the Draft Lottery and selected Cooper Flagg, the consensus top player in the class.
Flagg projects to start at small forward, or maybe even a point forward, until Kyrie Irving returns from ACL surgery. That might be a little out of position for Flagg, as most draft evaluators expected him to play power forward in the NBA.
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Dallas Mavericks first overall pick Cooper Flagg
Jun 27, 2025; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks first overall pick Cooper Flagg speaks to the media during a press conference at the Dallas Mavericks Practice Facility. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Another person who thinks he might be playing out of position is Lonzo Ball, the former second overall pick by the Los Angeles Lakers, who was just traded from the Chicago Bulls to the Cleveland Cavaliers. He talked about Flagg's fit in Dallas on a recent episode of the "What an Experience" podcast.
"In today’s NBA, I would play him at the four. [Cooper at the three] it would depend. It’s all a matchup. Like whoever they are playing against. Because if I play him at the three and then I got Gafford or Lively in, with Davis too, like we better get every rebound. And defense. Like, hit the glass hard. But then if I want to play small ball, I’ll push him to the four. Put AD at the five."
Dallas' best lineup, especially late in the season after Irving returns, will likely be some combination of Irving, Klay Thompson, Cooper Flagg, P.J. Washington, and Anthony Davis. That's an extremely versatile lineup with plenty of shooting, especially if Washington's shooting carries over from last season. However, Davis wants to spend the majority of his time at power forward, which could make the spacing tricky unless he's a much better shooter this year.
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