There is less than two months left before the start of the 2026-27 season. Even though the Dallas Mavericks don't have serious postseason aspirations, there is plenty to look forward to. There are a lot of new faces in Dallas. Mavericks fans will get a chance to see which of these young players can be a part of the future in the Cooper Flagg era.
For a team that's not expected to make the playoffs, the Mavs have a ton of talent and depth. New head coach Dusty May will have plenty of different buttons to push. This includes different lineup combinations.
Among the endless and fascinating five-man combinations, there is one that is particularly intriguing:
1 underrated lineup for the Mavericks next season
PG: Sergio de Larrea
SG: Kyrie Irving
SF: Tarik Biberovic
PF: Cooper Flagg
C: Dereck Lively
It's hard to say "small-ball," but when you have players like P.J. Washington, Santi Aldama and Zaccharie Risacher, Flagg is in perfect position to play the three.
The Mavs hope to see the Flagg-Lively II duo together more next season. When Lively II will be able to return to action remains unclear, but when he is back, he needs to play as many minutes as Flagg. It behooves the Mavs to gather as many data points as possible about the pairing before they commit to Lively II and his future in Dallas.
Flagg also desperately needs more playmaking and shooting around him, so the Mavs should prioritize lineups with Flagg at the four. This will be difficult since Dallas has a ton of capable power forwards on the roster. But since Flagg's best position going forward might be the four, surrounding him with as much shooting, passing, and ball-handling as possible should help optimize his skill set.
That is why a perimeter trio of De Larrea, Irving, and Biberovic is the most enticing option. How good De Larrea and Biberovic will be right away remains to be seen. The transition from the EuroLeague to the NBA is not always easy, but the Mavs have to let the two rookies explore the studio space.
Biberovic has a chance to be an elite shooter, and De Larrea has a shot at being a starting-caliber traditional point guard for a long time. It will be important for the Mavs to see what they have in the two European prospects. It's still a lot of work to insert Biberovic as a regular rotation piece, but if he can be the shooter we expect, he's going to light it up.
Playing this young group alongside Kyrie Irving makes a lot of sense. Irving can take on the playmaking and shot creation duties. He can also provide valuable shooting, making things easier on the rest of the group. His experience and veteran competence should help the Mavs. In return, the younger, dynamic quartet around Irving will allow him to ease back into game shape after missing significant time due to an ACL tear.
This will almost certainly not be the Mavs' best lineup. It may not even be that good of a lineup. It will take time for Irving and Lively II to get back to their pre-injury selves, and Biberovic and De Larrea need to learn the ins and outs of the NBA game.
In terms of skill set, however, this is the group that complements Flagg the best. It will help Flagg develop while allowing the Mavs to evaluate their most important players.
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