The Unthinkable? As players start pulling out of the draft, Cooper Flagg has an interesting case to do the same
piece on Tuesday morning titled “The Mavericks, like the Warriors in 2020, will attempt a two-timeline approach”. The article highlighted the Warriors’ pitfalls after drafting James Wiseman in 2020, and how that relates to the situation Dallas is in. The Warriors failed the attempt at a seamless transition mainly because the players they drafted to do it were not very good. Cooper Flagg is not James Wiseman or Jonathan Kuminga. Still, Clark’s observation leads to an important question nonetheless: it is hard to juggle building two different teams, so why would Flagg, who does not turn 19 until later this year, want to come into a situation that is not 100% committed to his development?
I am not saying Flagg will or should withdraw from the NBA draft and return to Duke. But, first-round talents have already done just that, with the implication being that they were not guaranteed the situation they wanted. Flagg has as much incentive to play another college season as anyone. First of all, with the emergence of NIL allowing players to earn a lot of money in college, Flagg will not lose out on as much money as he previously would have if he decides to pull out, especially with how popular he already is. Secondly, all reporting has indicated that Flagg cares deeply about winning and is a competitive freak. The Blue Devils fell short this year in the Final Four, and returning for a sophomore season would give him a chance at redemption while still being 19 at the time of next year’s draft. Lastly, and the most important point in my opinion, the Mavericks have made it clear that their goal is to win now. This will likely result in Flagg playing out of position, not getting the reps he needs to grow, and dealing with frustration when the organization prioritizes two players in their mid-30s over him for the next few years. Not to mention the dysfunction that has surrounded the Mavericks for the better part of three months, constantly looming like a dark cloud.
The Mavericks’ insistence on doing two things at once creates the case for Flagg to withdraw from the draft. From a fan’s perspective, the choice is clear: rebuilding around Cooper Flagg and tailoring your off-season decisions around him is the way to go. But that is not how the organization thinks. They still insist that a championship will fix all of the wrongdoings and have the hubris to believe they can manage a win-now timeline and a build-for-the-future timeline simultaneously. And maybe they can! Once again, Cooper Flagg is leaps and bounds better than any of the players Golden State has taken in the last five years. He will be able to contribute to winning in many ways, even if he is not the star that he projects to be right away. That makes this endeavor much easier. But if you look at the situation from Flagg’s point of view, the opportunity in Dallas doesn’t look that much better than the one back in Durham.
