Cooper Flagg predicted to eventually leave Dallas Mavericks

Although people are already predicting him to leave, it's more about history than it is about his current situation. ESPN's Zach Kram explained it best.

"Dirk Nowitzki shows there is precedent for a Mavericks star to remain in Dallas his entire career. The greatest player in franchise history spent 21 seasons in - the most for any player with a single team in NBA history. The Mavericks should be especially motivated to retain Flagg for as long as possible, given the fan base's discontent following the trade of Doncic, who seemed to be Nowitzki's natural successor."

"Yet predicting any player in the modern NBA to remain with one team over his full career seems like a fool's errand. Among players who have debuted in the 21st century, only four of the top 50 scorers have never changed teams: Stephen Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Devin Booker, and Nikola Jokic. It's still possible that a couple of those one-franchise players will still move before their careers end. Recent history overwhelmingly suggests that Flagg will move on at some point."

You could also look at it another way. The last first overall pick to play 10+ seasons consecutively for the team that drafted him was Tim Duncan. Players rarely stay with the teams that drafted them these days, especially when their general manager is Nico Harrison. Players may believe they'll only stay with one team, but organizations will always make bold trades.

Who Could Cooper Flagg Go To?

This is all completely hypothetical, as trying to project 8-10 years in the future is impossible. However, there could be one organization that Flagg would love to play for.

Cooper Flagg has said a few times how big a Boston Celtics fan he was growing up. He watched old tapes of the 1980s Celtics on car rides, recently said he wants to play Larry Bird one-on-one, and grew up in Maine. It wouldn't be surprising at all to see him in Celtics green at some point in his career, but it will all depend on how the Mavericks construct their franchise while he's in Dallas.