With Kyrie Irving injured all season long and Anthony Davis traded to the Washington Wizards, the Dallas Mavericks handed Cooper Flagg the keys to the kingdom, and fans are beyond ready to see his sophomore leap.
One thing Dallas badly needed last season was secondary scorers who could hit from deep. The Mavs were in the bottom tier of three-point percentage, and they need to correct that next season. Most of this loaded freshman class is filled with playmakers who can shoot the ball, but if they can adjust to just getting open and knocking down deep shots, that's a huge win in the draft.
Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report wrote an article about every NBA team's worst fear this offseason. New Mavericks president Masai Ujiri has an early test to find Flagg's next running mate. But it can't be as simple as that, Hughes says Ujiri has to help draft the right guy and not depend on his Raptors' history to make decisions.
"What the Mavs and Flagg do not need, however, is a supporting cast that can't space the floor or intuitively move the ball. Dallas handed Flagg the keys to the offense as a rookie, and one of the reasons he struggled (besides the fact that he was a teenager playing a role in the NBA he'd never even tried in college) was the team's lack of reliable shooting and secondary creation."
'If Ujiri fails, it'll be because he builds a roster he's familiar with, rather than one that makes sense for Flagg."
Masai Ujiri has to build the Mavericks differently than he did with the Raptors
Hughes adds that Ujiri has a history of drafting athletic wings who don't prioritize shooting as their No. 1 option. With that said, Kawhi Leonard was more of a jack-of-all-trades player, but someone like Scottie Barnes isn't nearly the same superstar talent, and not as great a shooter either.
Illinois guard Keaton Wagler was one of the underrated walking buckets in college basketball last season, but is likely to be off the board before No. 9. The Mavs still have options to take a ball handler who can create his own shot and space the floor. For the Mavs, some players on the board fit the mold as talented athletes who don't prioritize spacing and shooting.
Houston guard Kingston Flemings is a guy who can stay in control while dribbling. One weakness is that he didn't test himself shooting many threes and loved his midrange shot.
Louisville guard Mikel Brown Jr. is a phenomenal passer in the pick-and-roll, but he's another player who doesn't prioritize deep-range shooting either.
Arizona guard Brayden Burries has an upside as a midrange shooter with plenty of quickness, but can he space the floor and help Flagg run the show on offense?
These are valid questions from Hughes' article, and the Mavs only have one golden chance here to get it right. We've never seen a freshman class like this one before, and Ujiri should know his assignment is to put Flagg in the best possible position.
There are plenty of fish in the sea, but the right one has to be drafted, and Ujiri needs to think about his vision for Flagg rather than try to repeat what he did in his Raptors tenure.
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