The Plan to Make the Dallas Mavericks Good Again
It won't be easy, but with Cooper Flagg and a little common sense, there's a path back to relevance.
Nico Harrison was fired the other day, ending the nine-month reign of terror that had consumed the franchise in the most negative way possible. Luka Doncic had been traded, the fan base had revolted, and had it not been for the miraculous 1.8% chance of landing Cooper Flagg in this past year’s draft, this team would be in the absolute toilet.
But the good news is that there’s some sort of future — at least should the Mavericks decide to build around it. Because let’s face it — the roster as currently constructed stinks. The guard play is terrible; the three-point shooting lacks any sort of consistency; the defense is pretty good, but the main contributors to that stout resistance are oft-injured. That’s all led to a 3-9 start to the season that, while bad, at least got the bad man out of the building.
Now it’s time to turn the page (finally) and look toward the future, which, with Cooper Flagg, should be bright — should the new people in charge handle everything properly. There’s going to be a ton of debate about how to actually do that, though if they listen to me, then they’ll have no problem. Below is my super-duper really quick ten-step plan that’ll get the Mavericks back into contention.
I have no doubt that this will work. And if it doesn’t, it has to be better than what we all just experienced.
Step One: Trade Everybody (Well, Not Everybody) and Accumulate Draft Capital
Shop the market for veterans like Anthony Davis, Klay Thompson, D’Angelo Russell, Daniel Gafford, and pretty much anybody who doesn’t fit the long-term plan around Cooper Flagg.
Use those trades to accumulate draft capital that’s severely lacking over the next six seasons — the Mavericks don’t control their own first-round pick from 2027–2030.
Step Two: Continue the Healing Process With the Fans
Somehow, some way, continue to mend the relationship between the franchise and the fan base. Because while getting rid of the bad guy is all well and good, it doesn’t reverse the damage that’s been done. I don’t know what that would look like, but there has to be some sort of gesture or messaging that could help continue the healing process for so many who were hurt by what occurred that fateful night in February.
Step Three: Play the Young Guns
With all the veterans out of the way, play the young bucks. That means Brandon Williams is the starting point guard and that Flagg has the chance to shoot the ball anytime he wants (that’s a bit of an overexaggeration). The end-all, be-all is that anybody younger than 26 needs to get the opportunity to grow and shine.
Step Four: Lose a Bunch of Games
Lose basketball games. Lose as much as possible. This is the last year until 2031 that Dallas controls its first-round pick, and it needs to take advantage of that. So, lose. Just lose. It won’t be fun, but it’s for the best.
Step Five: Get a Good Pick in Next Year’s Draft
After they’ve become one of the worst teams in the NBA, the hope is that the lottery luck the Mavericks had this past summer pops up once again. Maybe if it’s all rigged, they’ll get the No. 1 overall pick again!
Step Six: Draft One of the Studs
This year’s draft is loaded at the top, with Kansas guard Darryn Peterson, BYU forward AJ Dybantsa, and Duke forward Cameron Boozer — the son of the great Carlos Boozer — leading the pack. Should Dallas get an opportunity to select any of those three, especially the first two, then all the losing will be worth it.
Step Seven: Craft the Roster Around Flagg and Whoever You Draft’s Style of Play
Now that the vision is starting to come together, it’s time to build around the pieces that have been acquired via either trade or the draft. Make Flagg and whoever the team selects in the 2026 draft the centerpieces and go from there. It’s actually really simple if you think about it. (I jest.)
Step Eight: Start Winning
Now that everything has come together, winning is the goal again. It might be hard at first to find consistent success with a young team, but every team has to get over that hump at some point.
Step Nine: Keep Winning
Just keep winning. Simple. Easy. Straightforward. Don’t lose.
Step Ten: Win the NBA Finals and Everything Is Good Again
Become the best team in the NBA, make a deep playoff run, and beat the Celtics or whoever in the Finals. Everybody in Dallas is happy, and the pain and suffering we all went through is finally over.