NBA Notes: Mavericks, Cooper Flagg, Pistons, lineup, Suns

Mavericks

How much pressure will be on Cooper Flagg to perform for an otherwise veteran Mavericks team? Well, perhaps quite a lot, according to Zach Kram of ESPN.

“For the Mavericks to seize on their competitive window before 33-year-old Kyrie Irving and 32-year-old Anthony Davis reach their mid-30s, they’ll primarily need Irving to recover from left ACL surgery this season,” Kram wrote. “Only slightly secondary, though, is a need for No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg, at 18 years old on opening night, to be an immediate high-impact contributor.”

Flagg faces a tall task, of course.

“Flagg is one of the best NBA prospects in decades, so he certainly has that potential,” Kram noted. “But it’s a tall order for any player with his age and experience to contribute to winning basketball, no matter his talent. Only five teenagers have ever been regular starters on the perimeter for a team that made the playoffs according to Stathead: Jayson Tatum, Luol Deng, Carmelo Anthony, Tony Parker and Stephon Marbury. Only Tatum has done so in the past two decades.”

Pistons

As well as the Pistons did last season, they still can get even more familiar with each other.

“Even as the Pistons made a leap this past season from a league-worst 14 wins to 44 wins and a hard-fought playoff loss, Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Ausar Thompson and Jalen Duren played together in just two games for five minutes. Because of various injuries and rotation decisions, Detroit’s four most important building blocks, all 23 or younger, essentially went an entire season without sharing the floor. Add in No. 5 pick Ron Holland, and the quintet of recent lottery picks never played together.”

Now, coach J.B. Bickerstaff will have some new vets to add in as well.

So even as Detroit makes some substitutions in the veteran portion of its rotation in 2025-26 — Malik Beasley, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Dennis Schroder out; Caris LeVert and Duncan Robinson in — there is still plenty for the Pistons to discover about their hoped-for long-term core. Is Ivey’s small-sample 3-point improvement real? Can Ivey and Thompson help lift some of Cunningham’s heavy offensive burden? Where does Holland fit in after a quiet rookie campaign?”

Suns

It’s a new day for the Suns, who still have Devin Booker, but not Kevin Durant or Bradley Beal. Nonetheless, it’s in their best interest to try to stay competitive.

“No team has mortgaged more of its future for less in the present than Phoenix, which is an underdog to finish even in the top 10 in the West next season,” Kram wrote. “But it’s not as if the Suns can realistically pivot to a tanking posture, because they don’t control their first-round pick until 2032. That’s six more years of other teams feasting on Phoenix’s lottery possibilities after the Suns gave Houston the No. 10 pick this summer (only to reacquire it in the Durant trade).”