Dallas infamously traded away Luka Doncic in February 2025 without a clear answer for who would define the franchise next. 

Lucky for them, that question was answered a few months later when the lottery balls fell in their favor, allowing them to draft Cooper Flagg first overall in the 2025 NBA Draft. Flagg lived up to expectations, winning the 2026 Rookie of the Year award, and is indisputably going to be the face of this franchise for the foreseeable future. 

The 19-year-old Flagg averaged 21.0  points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.2 steals as a rookie, a stat line that places him alongside only Larry Bird, Michael Jordan and Doncic himself as the only rookies to reach those marks. With that kind of statistical company, it is clear what Flagg’s trajectory is and Dallas is now focused on building around him.

For this season, the return of Kyrie Irving from a torn ACL will be crucial and should help take some pressure off Flagg in the meantime. Irving tore his ACL on March 3, 2025, and missed all of last season recovering from it, but he now says he is fully healthy and entering training camp without restrictions for the first time in three years. Having a shot creator of his caliber back on the floor gives Flagg a partner who can shoulder scoring possessions and shift creation duties which should help them improve on last season’s 26-56 regular season record.

Dallas’ front office has been overhauled too. 

Masai Ujiri now runs the organization with Mike Schmitz serving as their general manager, and Dusty May taking over as head coach. Schmitz used the offseason to shore up the frontcourt around Flagg and Irving, bringing in forwards Santi Aldama, Morez Johnson Jr., Zaccharie Risacher, and Tarik Biberovic to reinforce PJ Washington and their center duo of Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II. 

Still, none of this fully repairs what the Doncic trade cost the franchise. The goodwill lost in that move hasn’t returned, and Dallas is still working to rebuild an identity after letting go of a generational player. But eighteen months later, there’s a plan in place, one that is, crucially, set by a new front office.

The Mavericks will be a team worth watching this season, with Flagg continuing to establish himself as one of the best young players in the league. Whether this supporting cast is enough to push Dallas back into the postseason hunt remains to be seen — but a healthy Irving alone can steal them games. For as long as they can stay healthy, Dallas should improve on last year’s finish. If they do, it will likely be because Cooper Flagg continues to blossom into the bona fide superstar that everyone knows he can become.