International Prospect Would Be Terrible Fit Alongside Mavericks' Cooper Flagg

We are six days away from the start of the 2026 NBA Draft, which is an important draft for the Dallas Mavericks. They hold three total picks, including two in the first round, and this will be the last year they control their first-round pick until 2031.

They have to nail this draft. They've already done the hard part by having a future star already on the roster, lucking into Cooper Flagg a year ago. Now, they have to build the team around him, which would ideally mean adding more shooting and playmaking.

Kevin O'Connor of Yahoo! Sports released his latest mock draft, where he had the Mavericks taking Karim Lopez of the New Zealand Breakers, a 6'8", 222-pound wing who is not a great shooter right now. O'Connor thinks it would be a good fit with Flagg, as Lopez can handle the ball and defend multiple positions, but the Mavericks already have a lot of that with P.J. Washington and Naji Marshall. Another 6'8" wing that doesn't shoot well is the last thing the team needs.

Making matters worse is that he had the Mavericks taking Lopez over Kingston Flemings (10th overall) and Labaron Philon (19th overall). His thinking is that the Mavericks don't want a smaller guard, and with Mikel Brown Jr. and Brayden Burries off the board, they wouldn't "reach" for a smaller guard, but Flemings is arguably the best guard in the class, and I'm higher on Philon than some other players.

That's not even factoring in that Lopez is currently around 15th on consensus draft boards. Taking him with the 9th pick would feel like a big reach, especially with Flemings still on the board.

Karim Lopez erupted for 32 points on just 13 shots in a narrow Australian NBL win over Melbourne. The 18-year-old potential lottery pick closed out the game with a personal 14–2 run over the final five minutes to seal a crucial victory. pic.twitter.com/wGf0zpBJ2K
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) January 30, 2026

Dallas Mavericks Need to Upgrade Backcourt

If this scenario happens, where Burries and Brown are off the board, and the Mavs really aren't that high on Kingston Flemings, they'd be better off trading back and accumulating more picks so they could take a wing and a guard. The future of the backcourt is too bleak not to leave this draft with a highly-touted guard.

Kyrie Irving is getting up there in age, and Ryan Nembhard and Max Christie can't be relied upon as long-term starters. Christie was fine in his role last year, but he's probably best as a bench shooter with energy. Adding another wing like Lopez wouldn't help the Mavs improve in any of the ways they were bad last year.

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