Though many point to the most recent CBA as the reason for the league’s increased parity, the shift in competitiveness has less to do with collective bargaining agreements than the fact that LeBron James left the Eastern Conference, from which he had reached the NBA Finals eight straight times. This move was precipitated by Kyrie Irving‘s desire to walk away from a well-beaten path; a laborious journey that took him to the Boston Celtics, the Brooklyn Nets, and finally the Dallas Mavericks. At the same time, the Golden State Warriors saw Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson go down in back-to-back seasons. In 2024, the Splash Brothers duo that reached the NBA Finals six times split.
Mavs Training Camp Just Got More Competitive
Thompson has now joined Irving in Dallas. In fact, the Ankletaker had a real hand in his recruitment. Yet, Thompson –a world-class shooter –wasn’t just enticed by the idea of playing alongside Irving but Luka Doncic as well. Nobody could’ve predicted that the prodigious playmaker would be traded to LeBron’s Lakers that same season, especially for 32-year-old Anthony Davis and a single first-round pick. However, everyone expected the injury-plagued big man to keep up his Mr. Glass routine, and he did.
As both Doncic and Davis were hurt at the time of the trade, neither were able to play for their new team immediately. Yet, while Doncic was able to stay on the court after his return, Davis sustained an adductor injury in his decidedly dominant team debut. A day later, starting center Daniel Gafford suffered a Grade 3 MCL sprain. Feeling the walls closing in, Irving attempted to lift the Mavericks above their circumstances, but tore his ACL.
For the rest of the season, a dark cloud hovered over Dallas, the basketball gods seemingly turning against them. Then the NBA Draft Lottery happened.
Confident Cooper Flagg
With just a 1.8% chance of winning the first overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, the Mavericks pulled off the unthinkable. Rather than utilize the No. 1 pick to trade for an established star, Dallas decided to draft Duke phenom Cooper Flagg. This wasn’t just because Flagg is the goods though.
He’s a magnetic player who made the fan base feel good about the team again.
Irving is still expected to be sidelined until at least January. Doncic always has a place in his heart for Dallas but he won’t be back. Nevertheless, Flagg is being talked about like a perennial All-Star, and that’s riveting. In Las Vegas Summer League, he showed a flash of the player he could be in his second outing.
Cooper Flagg drops 31 PTS in his second summer league game
Who does his game remind you of?
pic.twitter.com/twQ25O51sE
— ESPN (@espn) July 12, 2025
Now, Flagg is set to face not only novices and hopefuls but established NBA players.
With that being said, the Maine Event is as self-assured as he is skilled. In that same vein, he can lean on his Team USA Select Team experience during training camp and the upcoming season. Knowing that he’s played well while sharing the floor with the NBA’s top players should only boost his confidence, while the desire to prove he’s worthy of becoming their new face of the franchise should make him that much more competitive.
Anthony Davis Returns
As if Flagg’s arrival wasn’t enough good news, Davis has now been cleared to play 5-on-5 scrimmages after undergoing offseason surgery to repair a detached retina, according to The Stein Line insider Marc Stein. Earlier this month, there was a question of whether he would be healthy enough to participate in training camp. Now, it’s looking like he’ll join fellow big men Gafford and Dereck Lively II on the court in the coming days.
Mavericks All-Star big man Anthony Davis returned to the practice floor this week for some 5-on-5 play, @TheSteinLine has learned.
It’s believed to be Davis’ first game-speed action since it emerged in July that he needed eye surgery to mend a detached retina.
: @DLLS_Sports pic.twitter.com/6Nzknkujrm
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) September 20, 2025
With that in mind, Gafford and Lively have more riding on the results of the next few weeks than Davis. As a 10-time All-Star that’s still elite on both ends, there’s no question that he’ll be a featured starter. However, there’s enough overlap between Gafford and Lively to question who’ll join him in the first unit. Even worse, because Davis is a hybrid big that excels at playing center, the person who loses that training camp battle could face a minute crunch.
If one of the team’s training camp invites stands out so much that they look like a rotation piece, that only exacerbates the issue.
Dark Horse Drama
For example, say 7-foot-5 center Jamarion Sharp shows that he can help the team win with his finishing and shot-blocking. At that point, the Mavs could gauge the trade value of Gafford or Lively, then flip them for draft assets or impact player.
The Mavericks are finalizing an agreement to sign former Thunder and Pelicans big man Jeremiah Robinson-Earl to bring him to training camp, @TheSteinLine has learned.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) September 21, 2025
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl is another dark horse to keep an eye on. After signing a training camp deal with the Mavs this weekend (h/t The Stein Line), the 24-year-old could help diversify Dallas’s lineups. As a stretch-big that’s made 34.2% of his career 3s, he fits the archetype that Mavericks former controlling owner Mark Cuban believes the team needs.
The Perimeter Puzzle
Similarly to Davis, Irving doesn’t have to worry about coming off the bench when he returns. Interestingly, though he has the better reputation, he’s not as accomplished as Davis or a true two-end player. Still, he’s a highly decorated offensive dynamo whose skill level is out of this world. Verily, there’s not a single player on the roster that can match his scoring ability.
As a result, the player that enters the season as a starter is a place-holder for Irving. They can potentially start at the other backcourt position when Irving returns, but that’s the best they could hope for. At this juncture, D’Angelo Russell is projected to be Dallas’s stop-gap solution. Yet, because Mavs head coach Jason Kidd has been intrigued by Flagg’s playmaking, it’s possible that they go with a jumbo lineup.
Of course, it’s worth mentioning that starting Flagg at point guard also opens up minutes at small forward.
This is primarily important for PJ Washington, a veteran 3-and-D forward whose contract was extended this offseason. Furthermore, Max Christie proved that he was a starting-caliber scorer after being traded to Dallas. More importantly, he consistently plays hard-nosed defense, which has been one of Russell’s problem areas. Therefore, starting Washington or Christie rather than Russell could help them be a more balanced team.
Even if Christie’s lean frame is better suited for defending shooting guards, Thompson has the size to guard small forwards. Frankly, as Thompson’s already 35, picking up the less agile wings could actually be beneficial.
Point Guard Battle
Even if Kidd is only starting the Flagg-Thompson-Washington or Flagg-Christie-Thompson perimeter group temporarily, it puts him in a bind. If Russell can stay out of his head and feelings, a sixth man role would actually be perfect for him. Unfortunately, there’s definitely reason to believe that he would falter in that effort after he demonstrated a victim mentality during his time with the Lakers.
The issue is complicated by the fact Dallas has several rotation-level backcourt pieces:
Jaden Hardy, a scoring-minded combo guard shooting 38.1% from 3 for his career. Brandon Williams, a potential breakout player who averaged 14.6 points and 3.9 assists per game after the 2025 All-Star Break. Though he isn’t on a standard contract, Dennis Smith Jr. is a reliable point-of-attack defender and pick-and-roll ball-handler that could vie for one. Then there’s Dante Exum, a high-level defender and solid 3-point threat who can facilitate.
It’s highly improbable that all four of those guards would’ve been in the rotation anyways. However, if Russell was to come off the bench, two or three of them might become glued to it.
House Of Cards
Maybe Hardy will never be more than a shooter. Perhaps Williams can’t capture lightning in a bottle. Smith might not make it out of training camp. Exum could lose his touch from beyond the arc. If the Mavs house of cards comes tumbling down, bringing Russell off the bench a much more feasible option. One might go as far as to say it would even be an attractive solution.
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