The Dallas Mavericks signaled their intent to hit a full-fledged rebuild around Cooper Flagg after trading superstar big man Anthony Davis to the Washington Wizards. It has not been a pretty season for the Mavericks despite the rookie sensation’s brilliance.
Former NBA All-Star Questions Kyrie Irving’s Fit After Mavericks’ Plans for a Rebuild
Heading into the All-Star break, Dallas was 12th in the Western Conference standings with a dismal 19-35 record. To add, they will miss Kyrie Irving’s services for the rest of the season as the guard continues to recover from his torn ACL.
Former three-time NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas believes that the Mavericks must trade Irving in the offseason.
“Because is Cooper Flagg and Kyrie a championship caliber team? If it’s not a championship caliber team, what are you holding on to that kind of money for?” he said on his Gil’s Arena podcast. “You might as well blow the whole team up. You have last year’s number 1 pick.”
“Knowing the way the basketball Gods work, you’re going to get a top 3 pick,” he added. “Worst case scenario, you’re going to get the 4th pick. Most likely, you are going to get Caleb Willam’s from UNC. So you are going to have a nice young group. There is no point in holding on to Kyrie’s contract if you are not going to win a championship.”
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While both Irving and Flagg can be the players the Mavericks can build around, they will need a set of perfect role players who build to the duo’s skillset. While Irving is a mercurial guard and an elite shotmaker, Flagg brings in more versatility by being the perfect point-forward prototype.
Facilitating the offense becomes the key ask for Dallas this offseason. Should they indeed hold on to Irving, the plan then is to rope in a point guard that can help make the plays while the two stars go about keeping the offense humming.
Irving’s extended time off the game to fully recover is good news for the Mavericks. Should he remain healthy for a major part of the next season, the Mavericks will at least be playoff contenders if they make the right moves around the former NBA champion and Flagg.
If they decide to blow up the roster this summer, then the Mavericks will enter a complete rebuild. This would mean sitting out of the postseason for an extended period of time. For now, the working theory is that Irving laces up for Dallas next season, and they will look to complete. It remains to be seen if they can do that in a stacked West.
