Cooper Flagg Won Rookie of the Year. The Mavericks Rebuild Around Him Is Already Working
Cooper Flagg averaged 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists across 70 games this season, which is borderline historic for an 18-year-old rookie. He just won Rookie of the Year going away. And the Mavericks rebuild around him is going so well that Mavs fans are starting to forget the Luka trade.
That last part is going to take time. But this part is real: Flagg is good, the Mavericks know it, and they have built the rest of the roster around him in a way that lets him grow into the franchise centerpiece role.
The Anthony Davis trade in February proved the team is committed. Dallas sent Davis, Jaden Hardy, D’Angelo Russell, and Dante Exum to Washington for Khris Middleton, AJ Johnson, Malaki Branham, Marvin Bagley III, two first-round picks, and three second-round picks. That is not a championship move. That is a “we are 100% building around Cooper Flagg” move.
The picks matter more than the players Dallas got back. The Mavericks now have a draft asset pile that resets the franchise timeline. Flagg is 18. The team can swing for upside in the 2026 and 2027 drafts without sacrificing any flexibility. Kyrie Irving is still a problem on the offensive end. And if a Klay Thompson type wants to take a minimum deal to come play with Flagg, Dallas can make that work too.
Flagg’s per-game numbers do not even tell the full story. He shot 35.4% from three on real volume as a rookie. He went from struggling with efficiency in November to looking like a future All-NBA player in February. His February alone was 24 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists on 47/38/82 shooting. That is the upward trajectory the Mavericks have been waiting for since the day Luka was traded.
The most encouraging thing about Flagg’s season is how well he closes games. The Mavericks ran 38 fourth-quarter plays through Flagg in the final two months of the season, and he shot 49% on those possessions. Nineteen-year-old rookies are not supposed to be allowed to close games. He is.
What this means for the Mavericks long term is they have a centerpiece player who is going to be 22 when his rookie deal runs out. They have draft capital. They have cap flexibility. They will probably be in the Western Conference play-in tournament next year and a real playoff team by year three. That is the timeline.
The fan base wanted blood after the Luka trade. They got Cooper Flagg, the second pick in the draft, and a rebuild that is already producing results. That is a better outcome than 80% of trades that send a face-of-the-franchise player out of town.
The Davis trade did not work because Davis could not stay healthy. The Doncic trade is still going to hurt for years. But Cooper Flagg is the bridge between those two regrets and whatever comes next. He is the reason the rebuild already feels like it has direction.
Dallas now turns to the 2026 NBA Draft with multiple picks and a chance to add another piece. Whoever they take is going to be playing alongside the Rookie of the Year. That is a much better selling point than the Mavericks have had since Dirk retired.
The Mavericks are not back yet. But Cooper Flagg is, and that is enough for now.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
