The Dallas Mavericks are still on cloud 9 after landing the number one overall pick. That surprising and possibly undeserving outcome of the 2025 NBA draft lottery dramatically changed their fortune after foolishly trading Luca Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers this season.
With Flagg, they now have a building block for the next decade plus and could get things moving in the right direction sooner rather than later. They already have star Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving, though Irving may miss most of next season due to an ACL tear.
Still, having Flagg play with two stars in Davis and Irving would be invaluable to a potential superstar. Not only that, but the Mavericks were recently linked to two other stars by NBA insider Marc Stein (subscription required).
The Dallas Mavericks are interested in Jrue Holiday and Chris Paul
According to Stein, the Mavericks could trade for Jrue Holiday, who was currently under contract with the Boston Celtics for another three seasons despite being 36 years old. Holiday is still one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA.
While the Celtics would love to keep him, they may be willing to entertain an offer from the Mavericks. After all, if they can shed salary, they can keep most of their championship core together.
A potential trade would see the Mavericks trading Naji Marshall, PJ Washington, and Daniel Gafford for Holiday. That would give the Celtics three rotation players for the price of one, giving them more depth with which to offset the potential loss of Al Horford and a trade to get rid of Kristaps Porzingis.
For the Mavericks, they would get a starting guard who could dramatically help their defense. Especially when paired with Davis and Flagg, who could be a nasty frontcourt pairing.
And then there was Chris Paul, who played for the San Antonio Spurs this season. Despite having a positive impact on the young team, he likely isn't coming back to San Antonio. That is considering their backcourt is already crowded with De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, and likely number two overall pick Dylan Harper.
Those three players could eat up virtually all of the minutes at point guard and shooting guard, leaving table scraps for Paul. Instead, Paul could head to Dallas, where he could continue starting at point guard for the Mavericks until Irving returns.
The Mavericks would be competitive with Jrue Holiday and Chris Paul
A projector starting lineup of Paul, Holiday, Klay Thompson, Flagg, and Davis would be solid on both ends. On offense, while Paul seldom ever shoots anymore, he is still a terrific passer, averaging 7.4 assists in just 28 minutes per game this season.
He'd have no problem setting up Flagg, Thompson, Davis, and Holiday for easy buckets. Holiday would be a good secondary playmaker that could shut down opposing teams' best perimeter defenders.
If they can be around league average on offense and Holiday, Flagg, and Davis can help Dallas to a top-10 defense, the Mavs could be surprisingly good. They probably won't be a playoff team but could be a feisty team in the play-in race if Harrison gets his way.
All told, the Mavs are reportedly looking to trade for Holiday and hoping to sign Paul. If they do, they could be more competitive than first thought during Flagg's rookie season.