The Mavericks are entering an important offseason as they look to build their team around star rookie Cooper Flagg.
They have picks No. 9, 30, and 48 in the 2026 Draft, along with a new front office headlined by new president Masai Ujiri and first-time general manager Mike Schmitz.
NBA draft scout James Barlowe spoke recently about the options facing Dallas this summer as they look to add another team cornerstone alongside Flagg, per Grant Afseth of the Dallas Hoops Journal.
Barlowe points to more consistent outside shooting as a need for the team moving forward. He highlights Mikel Brown Jr. (Louisville), Kingston Flemings (Houston), Brayden Burries (Arizona), and Nate Ament (Tennessee) as likely top options when the Mavs are on the board, and calls Brown the top long-term guard prospect, given his ceiling as a shooter and playmaker. Brown is 7th on ESPN’s big board by Jeremy Woo, with Flemings come one spot later.
As teams like the Knicks, Spurs, and Thunder have shown, having as many players with positional size who can dribble, pass, and shoot can make a huge difference in terms of injection versatility and unpredictability in a team’s offense, which is why Barlowe says the team shouldn’t hesitate if Brown is available when they’re at the podium.
While Ujiri has a reputation for valuing positional size above all things, due in part to the team he built in Toronto, Barlowe calls that an oversimplification, saying, “He’s a rule changer instead of a rule follower.”
The Mavs could also make a decision on Kyrie Irving, who is expected to be healthy after missing this season with an ACL tear. They could value Irving as a scorer and playmaker alongside Flagg, in which case it would behoove them to draft a guard who could play alongside Irving until it’s time to inherit more responsibility. However, he also believes that a smart front office would at least explore what Irving could return in trade if it helps continue to build a young foundation around Flagg.
Dallas could also explore moving down in the draft, either with pick nine or 30, to continue compiling future assets, as they have very limited access to future draft picks after this summer.
I like the Mavericks drafting Mikel Brown Jr if my Hawks choose to draft Aday Mara instead. Mikel has a high ceiling and his injuries at Louisville hurt his stock a little, but it is rising now. Brayden Burries is also a good option who can be a Derrick White like glue guy next to Cooper Flagg.
No chance Mikel gets past #8
Cooper Flagg was a gold medal winner & MVP of the FIBA U17 World Cup 4yrs ago but his American compatriots are in serious jeopardy of losing the gold to Canada in this yrs U18 AmeriCup. Canada is deep w/ blue chip future NBA prospects & guys like Javion Tyndale, Deng Ngor, Tyris Robinson & Maxime Meyer are all playing well for them rn. USA currently have a lil momentum & a 1pt lead midway thru the 3rd but there’s def gonna be a tight finish to this one… link to youtube.com
Hard not to love Javion Tyndale. He’s only 5’8 (if that) but he’s clearly the leader of this Canadian team. Tyndale is also the starting pg for Montverde HS (1 of the best HS teams in the country). He’s sort of a mix of Jamal Shead & Trae Young. His team is down 1 going to the 4th but they’re playing team USA extremely well so far, esp defensively
Darius Wabbington vs Maxime Meyer is great stuff rn. Wabbington is a big from Arizona w/ great size & great touch from deep. His trey over Meyer just tied the game. Meyer is going to Duke this yr & is def a great rim/paint protector but he has to get stronger (hands & lower body esp) to be a NBA player. I see both these guys as future 1st rd picks tho
Tyndale continues to be unguardable. He’s up to 19pts & 6asts w/ 4mins left… In Leon, Mexico the crowd is chanting MVP for Javion Tyndale, a kid from Mississauga
Taylen Kinney who is just as type A as Tyndale has taken this pg duel/Tyndale’s success thus far personally. His steal/dunk has given USA a 1pt lead & a lil momentum going into the final 2mins
Team Canada just ran Deng Ngor (future lottery pick) off a screen a’la Reggie Miller, for a beautiful corner trey to tie the game then his unbelievable lefty transition dunk gives Canada the 2pt lead, 30secs left…
Huge/questionable charge call on TK gives Canada the ball back w/ 6secs & a 2pt lead..
Incredible game. Back & forth thruout. Canada Basketball gets a huge W for their program. Yugu (another youngster w/ a lot of potential) missed both fts but Quentin Coleman (best player in the tournament for USA) air-balled the 40ft runner at the buzzer. Javion Tyndale gotta be tournament MVP. If I’m not mistaken this is the 1st game that USA has ever lost in this tournament. Great W for this Canada squad. USA gotta run thru the upcoming U17 World Cup now. That tournament will be tougher but the guys can’t be going 0-2 in gold this summer. I’m pretty sure that would be a(nother) 1st.