Everything the Dallas Mavericks do moving forward needs to center around Cooper Flagg.
The current roster construction is an abomination with no positional balance. Dallas ranks dead last in offensive rating (106.0), even behind teams who are blatantly tanking.
Point guard has been a mess while the team waits for Kyrie Irving to return from a torn ACL. Using Flagg at the position was a mistake, and the Mavs have become the latest team to realize that D’Angelo Russell isn’t the answer. The Mavs also rank last in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.48) and are 27th in points created off assists (63.1).
LaMelo Ball has the potential to completely transform this offense.
The 24-year-old is still young enough to grow alongside Flagg and owns career averages of 21.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 1.5 steals with a 36.0 percent mark from three.
Injuries and play style have stopped Ball from performing like a No. 1 option, although in Dallas he’d only need to be a high-level two or three behind Flagg and Anthony Davis.
Even when Irving returns, the nine-time All-Star has shown the ability to function next to another tall lead guard, as he did before Luka Dončić was traded. We could potentially see a Mavs starting lineup featuring Ball, Irving, Flagg, Davis and Dereck Lively II before the end of the season with P.J. Washington, Naji Marshall, Russell, Brandon Williams, Caleb Martin, Ryan Nembhard and others off the bench.
As the Mavericks have learned, it takes more than just defense to win championships. Dallas needs a franchise point guard, and the Ball stock has dipped just enough to make him worth the risk.
