Cooper Flagg wants to be the next Dirk Nowitzki. But the Dallas Mavericks star also knows that where he spends his career may not be entirely up to him, and with Kyrie Irving’s name already in trade talk, the Mavs’ future is a hot topic.
Flagg’s comments come from an appearance on Dude Perfect’s Almost Athletes show over the summer, which resurfaced on social media this week. Asked if he would like to spend his whole career with one team, Flagg didn’t hesitate.
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“A hundred percent,” Flagg answered when asked whether he’d like to stay with the Mavericks until the very end. “I think I would like nothing more than that to be able to (stay), you look at someone like Dirk (Nowitzki), obviously, his legacy, there’s nothing that touches that, to be that loved by a city, to have that much love and support from one place. I don’t think you could dream for anything else but that.”
“So I think, that’s the ultimate goal, but like we were just talking about, it’s a business at the end of the day and it’s not going to be my decision, I don’t think.”
The 19-year-old has already given the Mavs plenty of reasons to build around him. Last season, he won Rookie of the Year after a record-breaking first year. In January and February, he scored 30 or more in four straight games, becoming the first rookie since Michael Jordan with four straight 30-point, five-rebound games and the first since Allen Iverson to score 150-plus points over a four-game stretch.
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In April, he dropped 51 points against the Orlando Magic, becoming the youngest player in NBA history to score 50 in a game. He also passed LeBron James for the most 40-point games by a teenager.
Of the legends he’s been compared to, only Jordan came close to spending his whole career with one team. He played for just the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards. Iverson and James each played for several franchises.
Flagg’s caveat also hits close to home in Dallas. Luka Doncic was once seen as the Mavericks’ franchise player for life, until the team traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers in February 2025. The franchise has since reshaped its front office, hiring former Toronto Raptors executive Masai Ujiri as team president in May to run basketball operations, with Flagg as the new face of the franchise.
That is the reason why the future of the other star on the Mavericks, Kyrie Irving, has become a talking point.
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Former NBA Coach of the Year Sam Mitchell went as far as suggesting a landing spot on SiriusXM NBA Radio, saying the Houston Rockets should make a move.
“Nobody knew what Kyrie was going to look like,” Mitchell told host Brian Geltzeiler. “Man, Kyrie looked better than he did before he got hurt. You might could get two first-round picks for Kyrie now. And that’s a lot for a 34-year-old injured point guard who missed all of last year with an injury.”
“I’m telling you right now, the Houston Rockets, you put him on the Houston Rockets, with the injuries and the rest of the West, it might be over,” Mitchell said. “They are clearly the best team with Kyrie out there.”
Mitchell’s comments came right after Irving’s big night against Houston. In Friday’s NBA Cup matchup, Irving scored 35 points with nine assists and made five threes, while Flagg added 33 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
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The two combined for 68 of Dallas’ 116 points in a 116-111 win that handed the Rockets their first loss of the season.
Mitchell is also not the only one talking about a potential Irving trade.
Earlier in the week, ESPN’s Shams Charania said on The Pat McAfee Show that “there’s a slew of teams now that are monitoring Kyrie Irving.” He noted that Irving is in the last year of his deal with a player option next year, and that if the Mavericks aren’t contending by the deadline, they could look to trade him to a contender for draft picks.
Charania named the Miami Heat as one team that would be watching, though he doubted they have enough to get a deal done.
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Irving has looked like himself after missing the entire 2025-26 season with a torn ACL in his left knee. He’s averaging 21.4 points per game, and the Mavericks are 4-2 under first-year coach Dusty May.
It’s clear that Irving can hold his own despite his injury and age. He’s an asset for the Mavericks, so will they really trade him? Perhaps only time can tell.
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