Dallas Mavericks star guard Kyrie Irving tearing his ACL last March certainly did not do the team any favors, especially as they were still trying to process the mind-blowing trade that shipped Luka Doncic out and brought Anthony Davis in the month before.
But after the team drafted Duke superstar Cooper Flagg with the first overall pick in the 2025 draft, it might have been just what the team needed going forward.
According to Dave Jacoby of The Ringer in an appearance on The Mismatch podcast, this could still be a positive for the Mavericks, and especially for their next best thing in Flagg.
“Kyrie getting injured is a terrible, terrible, awful thing for all basketball fans, but for the development of Cooper Flagg, I think it actually is helpful,” Jacoby said. ” they’re going to give him a little bit of rope to have the ball, to be a lead ball handler. I think Kyrie being injured is obviously awful, but the silver lining on that dark cloud is that it gives Flagg a little bit of opportunity to sort of just find his way in the NBA offense.”
The Mavericks solidifying Flagg as an NBA talent will be an interesting balance between training the Blue Devil and also remaining a threat to their opposition, but as Flagg showed in his lone year in Durham, if there is anyone capable of making the adjustment, it’s him.
And whenever fellow Blue Devil no. 1 pick Irving rejoins the team, they can fully reap the benefits.
