Cooper Flagg Could Create a Familiar Anthony Davis Problem for Mavericks

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Sean Deveney | Last updated Jun 23, 2025 11:13 PM ET

Since they won the NBA's draft lottery in a stunner last month--with a less-than-2% chance at the first pick--the Mavericks have left no doubt about what their intentions are this week. They're taking Duke star Cooper Flagg and they're going to keep him.

But what's of more interest among NBA executives, coaches and scouts, it seems, is what the Mavericks then do with Flagg. At 6-foot-8, he has combo-forward size, meaning he can play either small forward or power forward. He has the defensive chops to handle either, though with an increasing number of versatile 4s who play on the perimeter, he'd probably make more sense in that role.

"That's where I'd like to see him, in that stretch-4, point-forward kind of role, where you're setting up and running everything through him," one Western Conference coach said. "That's the natural fit. But I am not sure you're going to do that on that team."

The reason? The Mavericks have Anthony Davis in place, and Davis has never been shy about his desire to play power forward, though he generally fits better as a versatile center. The Mavericks have center options--Daniel Gafford, Dereck Lively--which has allowed them to plant Davis at power forward.

By Basketball-Reference.com's estimate, the Lakers played Davis at center around 98% of the time in the past three seasons. The Mavericks had him there only 42% of the time, in his nine games in Dallas last year.

Davis does not want to play center--it's been a point of contention for him just about every season of his NBA career. The Mavs could trade Gafford, which would create more minutes for Davis to absorb at center, with Flagg at power forward. But it's not clear how that will go over with the incumbent star.

"They can be effective for stretches with Lively and AD and Cooper Flagg as your frontcourt," the coach said. "But the best thing in today's game is going to be having AD at the 5 and Flagg at 4. You do that, though, and you're going to have the same complaint from Davis that he's always had. There could be some awkward looks there."

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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