As exciting as the NBA season has been for several teams in the West, for the Dallas Mavericks, it has been close to a nightmare. A roster as exciting as theirs should not be down at the bottom of the Western Conference, but injuries have forced their hand. What makes things worse is that Anthony Davis is now out of action, while the Mavs wait for Kyrie Irving to return from his torn ACL. All the focus and burden currently seem to be on Cooper Flagg.
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The No. 1 draft pick of 2025 is trying his best, but at 18, there is only so much he can do for a franchise that has made catastrophic decisions over the last 365 days. It has been a tough start for Flagg, who was one of the most anticipated additions to the NBA, and it does not look like it will get better anytime soon.
One person who understands the Mavs’ ineptitude a bit too well is Brian Windhorst. The NBA insider spoke about the squad’s latest loss to the Pelicans, where he criticized head coach Jason Kidd and the staff for not running any offensive plays other than simply giving Flagg the ball.
“I’m here to tell you that Dallas ran nothing in the fourth quarter of that game. Nothing on offense in that game. I know AD is out and that he would be a leveraging point for their offense. I know. I know that their star point guard is recovering,” said Windy.
“They were giving the ball to Cooper Flagg and saying, ‘Cooper, see what you got.’ The only way the game got down to the last minute is Daniel Gafford had a couple of put-backs.”
The Pelicans and Mavs game was a wildly inconsistent matchup that did not feature the best of either team. But Windhorst then brought up something worse than just a loss: how Flagg is dealing with these setbacks worse than expected, considering his success in high school and at Duke.
“He got to the post-game press conference and was like, ‘I’ve never lost like this.’ I don’t know what’s going on. Dallas’s situation right now is unacceptable.”
Flagg is hardly the first big-name rookie to have to try and carry a team on his back. Windy compared Flagg’s situation in Dallas to what LeBron James had to endure in his rookie season with the Cavaliers in 2003.
“I keep comparing Cooper Flagg’s situation to LeBron’s situation when he was a rookie, where that team was just up a creek and they handed LeBron the reins and he was totally ill-equipped. That team started 4-15,” recalled Windy.
Windhorst then begged for the Mavericks to beef up their roster somehow. “Give him some help somewhere, somehow. Otherwise, you’re going to be 4-15.”
So, unless Dallas wakes up and gives this kid some real support, the season is going to keep spiraling the way it already has. Flagg clearly has the talent, but throwing an 18-year-old into the fire with no structure, no stars, and no stability is a recipe for burnout, not growth.
Kyrie and AD getting healthy will help, but the front office cannot sit around waiting for miracles. If the Mavs do not get serious about building a functional roster, they are going to waste a generational rookie before he ever gets a fair shot.
