Subscribe
Follow Us
The Dallas Mavericks have recovered as well as one could hope from their disastrous Luka Doncic trade, lucking into the chance to draft Cooper Flagg with the number one pick, which Nico Harrison thankfully did not try to overthink. Still, unless the team wins multiple championships over the coming years, it will be very difficult for Mavericks fans to ever get past the Doncic trade.
Recently, Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving took to Twitch, where he spoke about a story involving Doncic during a Mavericks practice before the trade that left even one of the most talented scorers of all time bewildered.
“He's giving you probably like 60, 18, and 18. I witnessed him give somebody 24 points in 3 minutes,” said Irving, via Fullcourtpass on X, formerly Twitter.
It was just one example of Doncic's scoring brilliance, which culminated with a 73-point performance against the Atlanta Hawks in January of 2024.
Just over a year later, the Mavericks would make the baffling decision to trade him, despite having made the Finals with Doncic leading the way just months earlier.
Can the Mavericks rebound?
If Kyrie Irving were healthy to open up the season, it's possible that the Mavericks could be viewed as legitimate contenders in the crowded Western Conference to open up the 2025-26 campaign.
Unfortunately, Irving tore his ACL in March and will likely miss a sizable chunk of next season, which figures to put a hard ceiling on just how high the Mavericks can climb in the standings.
Still, the vibes in Dallas are undoubtedly as high as they've been since that fateful February night, thanks in large part to the presence of Cooper Flagg, who only needed two Summer League games to prove that he is ready to play at the NBA level.
While there will be some growing pains for Flagg, and both Anthony Davis and Klay Thompson are significant injury risks at this stage of their careers, Dallas has something to work with moving forward, which should at least soften the blow of the Doncic trade for now.
In any case, the Mavericks' schedule for the 2025-26 season is slated to be released next month.
