Mark Cuban sets ambitious long-term projection for Cooper Flagg with the Dallas Mavericks, beyond LeBron James

Mark Cuban expects Cooper Flagg to play for 25 years

Dallas Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban spoke in an interview with DLLS Sports recently. When looking forward to Cooper Flagg’s debut, he dropped an interesting nugget.

Cuban suggested that Flagg has all the tools to be an immediate success, but does need to work on his skills. Eventually, Cuban believes Flagg can be a 25-year veteran for the Mavericks.

“I mean, other than maybe improving his three-point shooting, what more can he do?

“And when you have a jack of all trades like that, that also has a motor and has toughness to them, and is a worker and is 18 years old… I mean, is he going to come in and score 30 a game? No, I think J-Kidd will put the reins on him slowly.

“But having him be able to play point forward all the time, as he gets a feel for the game, I think he’s just gonna get better and better.

“Coop’s the real deal. He’s not even 19 years old. I mean, he could literally, depending on science, play for the Mavs for 25 years.”

Cooper Flagg faces daunting rookie year challenge

Outside of Victor Wembanyama and Zion Williamson, no prospect has had the kind of hype coming into the NBA that Cooper Flagg has since 2012.

Interestingly, one of his teammates on the Mavericks, Anthony Davis, experienced a similar situation when he joined the NBA.

Hopefully, Davis can help mentor Flagg through the wider intricacies of the NBA. But Davis will also demand a lot from Flagg, as the Mavericks are looking to compete for an NBA championship.

If Flagg hits the ground running and puts up the kind of performances that fans expect of him, he will be able to contribute at a high level to the Mavericks’ championship run.