Three moves the Mavericks need to make for the Cooper Flagg era

The Dallas Mavericks are going directly from the Luka Doncic era to the Cooper Flagg era, when they're expected to make the Duke freshman the No. 1 pick in Wednesday's NBA Draft. They could go from the lottery to the playoffs, but they need to make a few key moves first.

1. Remove their frontcourt logjam

The Mavericks have impressive big man depth. They've got four potential centers in Anthony Davis, Daniel Gafford, Dereck Lively and Dwight Powell, though Davis prefers playing power forward. At forward, they have P.J. Washington, former Miami Heat playoff hero Caleb Martin and Naji Marshall — while Klay Thompson is more of a three than a two at 35.

The simplest solution is to trade one or more of these big men for guard help. Washington plays the same position as Flagg, and his contract expires after the season, so he's the obvious candidate.

2. Sign Chris Paul

Two-way guard Brandon Armstrong was a revelation last season, averaging 16.5 points in the Mavs' two play-in games, but he's not really a starting point guard. 32-year-old Spencer Dinwiddie is also a backup at this point. But there's a future Hall of Famer available who was very solid for a different Texas team last season.

Chris Paul averaged 7.4 points and only 1.6 turnovers in 28 minutes per game for the San Antonio Spurs last season. The Mavericks don't need scoring from the point guard position, just steady leadership. Signing Paul allows the injured Kyrie Irving to come back from his ACL surgery when he's truly healthy. Plus, he helped mentor Stephon Castle to a Rookie of the Year award last season. Imagine how he could help Flagg.

3. Test the market for Anthony Davis

Anthony Davis is still an excellent player and one of the best defenders in the league. But he's also nearly 14 years older than Flagg and very injury-prone. AD's trade value might never be higher than right now, and the Mavericks owe their first-round picks either outright or in swaps from 2027-30. Dealing Davis could be their best chance to get picks and young players who are close to Flagg's age.

It's unlikely that Dallas will trade Davis, especially after all the criticism general manager Nico Harrison took for trading Doncic for Davis. But if the Mavericks want to succeed with Flagg long-term, flipping Davis sooner rather than later could be the savviest move to do so.