Mavericks should – After a miserable 2025-26 season, the Dallas Mavericks enter the 2026 NBA Draft with the No. 9 overall pick and a clear mandate: turn that asset into more long-term building blocks around Cooper Flagg.
The Dallas Mavericks walked into the offseason knowing one thing with uncomfortable clarity: 2025-26 didn’t just disappoint—it damaged the foundation. Injuries piled up. The inconsistency never stopped. And for a franchise that needs answers on demand. there wasn’t enough depth to reliably produce. especially on nights when Kyrie Irving was absent for the season.
When Cooper Flagg arrived, it changed the emotional temperature inside the building. He didn’t need time to establish himself as the franchise’s cornerstone. Whether scoring. facilitating. rebounding. or turning games over defensively. Flagg repeatedly showed the kind of multi-role impact that convinces organizations they’ve found the centerpiece of something bigger. Dallas can’t overstate that moment.
But even with Flagg in place, the Mavericks still need more. No player—no matter how complete—can carry a team alone. That’s why the No. 9 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft suddenly looks like more than a selection. It could be the start of solving the roster problem that lingered all season.
Dallas also has a constraint that makes this decision feel urgent. The Mavericks control their own first-round pick for the final time until 2031. In other words, this isn’t a draft where you can casually stand pat and hope the next move solves itself.
The simplest approach would be to stay at No. 9 and take the best prospect available in a top-heavy draft. Conventional wisdom points that way. But the Mavericks need a bigger swing—one that moves beyond accumulating talent for its own sake and toward building a supporting cast capable of surviving the grind.
That’s where the idea of trading down becomes central. Holding the No. 9 pick in a top-heavy draft class still gives Dallas a path to land another quality prospect. but the ideal night—at least in the way this plan is framed—would involve turning that single premium asset into multiple long-term contributors.
Dallas’ draft-night blueprint would be to explore dealing with a team ready to move up into the lottery. The Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers are explicitly mentioned as potential trade partners because each has multiple first-round selections and enough assets to make a deal possible.
A specific example puts the stakes into focus: a scenario where Dallas sends the No. 9 pick to Oklahoma City in exchange for selections No. 12 and No. 17. It’s a trade concept built around multiplication. Instead of relying on one player to cover several roster deficiencies. Dallas would suddenly gain flexibility—more shots at the different kinds of skill sets the team needs.
Flagg’s value is tied to his versatility, and the roster around him would need to mirror that idea rather than keep Dallas overly dependent on one type of solution. Multiple first-round picks create room to add complementary traits instead of forcing every hope into a single draft choice.
One possibility raised in this approach involves taking a perimeter marksman such as Christian Anderson with one of the new picks. Another selection would be used on an athletic, defensive-minded big—someone who can protect the rim and thrive in transition. The logic is direct: it targets Dallas’ biggest gaps by pairing space-making shooting with frontcourt defense and motion.
The offensive payoff envisioned here starts with spacing. Throughout the 2025-26 campaign, opponents often packed the paint, daring Dallas’ supporting cast to make perimeter shots. Without consistent shooting threats, driving lanes disappeared and possessions frequently stalled. That problem isn’t just tactical—it shapes how Flagg can operate, too. Elite shooters force defenses to adjust, which opens the floor. With more room, passing windows widen and secondary actions become more dangerous.
For Flagg specifically. the plan assumes his size. playmaking. and athleticism become exponentially more effective when stars can function in space instead of being trapped by crowded paint. The more draft capital Dallas gathers. the higher the chance they uncover immediate shooting contributors who can help from day one.
This argument also draws on a broader lesson from around the league: depth matters. and it’s hard to manufacture later once a season is already underway. The New York Knicks captured the 2026 championship behind a deep, versatile rotation. The San Antonio Spurs reached the Finals because they consistently received contributions across their roster.
Dallas didn’t get that kind of reliable bench production for much of the 2025-26 season. Trading down is presented as a way to correct that—diversifying investment across several players while preserving financial flexibility through cost-controlled contracts. The aim is twofold: strengthen the current roster and reduce the risk tied to future uncertainty.
Standing pat at No. 9 could still bring a talented player. But the pitch here is that Dallas should pursue something more complete. By converting one premium asset into multiple first-round selections, the Mavericks can add depth in a single evening rather than betting everything on one outcome.
This is, ultimately, about responsibility. Cooper Flagg is the type of player franchises spend decades searching for. Dallas has him now. The work ahead is making sure he doesn’t have to carry an entire era alone.
Dallas Mavericks 2026 NBA Draft Cooper Flagg No. 9 pick trade down Oklahoma City Thunder Indiana Pacers Kyrie Irving Christian Anderson