Masai Ujiri Reveals Plan For Building Perfect Mavericks Roster Around Cooper Flagg

The Dallas Mavericks want to get back to winning basketball games. They've done the difficult part of a rebuild/retool by landing a young star when they lucked into the first overall pick of the 2025 NBA Draft to select Cooper Flagg.

The challenge from here is to build the team around him in the best possible way, and the Mavericks have a new lead executive to plan that out, as they hired Masai Ujiri as Team President and Alternate Governor this week. He brings championship experience from his time with the Toronto Raptors, and he's shown the ability to build competent teams right away.

When asked about the type of players he'd like to put around Cooper Flagg at his introductory press conference on Tuesday, Ujiri was prepared.

︀︀“Shooters, athletic players, the best possible players we can find to make the game a little bit easier for him, space the floor, and him play as a playmaker," Ujiri said. "...We’ll continue to figure out ways to bring these players to make him better."

Masai Ujiri on the types of players he’d like to put around Cooper Flagg:

“Shooters, athletic players, the best possible players we can find to make the game a little bit easier for him, space the floor, and him play as a playmaker…We’re going to need to figure out ways to… pic.twitter.com/tnjlOAJEHl
— Noah Weber (@noahweber00) May 5, 2026

Oddly enough, Masai Ujiri had the chance to do a similar thing with the Raptors. He drafted Scottie Barnes fourth overall in 2021, who has a similar skill set to Flagg as a big wing who is very comfortable with the ball in his hands. However, they never really added the shooting around Barnes that he really needed. They thought they could get that from Gradey Dick, whom they used a lottery pick on, but that has yet to pan out.

If the Mavericks are to be successful, it's going to come from adding more shooting around Cooper Flagg.

Apr 8, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) against the Phoenix Suns at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Does Masai Ujiri's Plan For Mavericks Roster Hint at Possible Trades?

The Dallas Mavericks were one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the NBA last year, both by made field goals and by percentage. It's arguably their biggest focus this offseason. Could Masai Ujiri's focus on adding more shooting lead to some trades?

Naji Marshall was the Mavericks' second-leading scorer this season, finding a lot of success inside the paint. However, he has been a poor shooter in his two years in Dallas, and he could have value on the trade market. As the Mavs also look to add future draft capital while keeping their books clean, Marshall could be one player on the move, as he's entering the last year of his contract.

P.J. Washington has been a shaky shooter in his career, peaking when he was receiving perfect passes from Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. He has defensive versatility, which is something this team needs on the wing, but he also has a large contract. Ujiri will have to ask himself if it's worth paying Washington $88 million over these next four season, or if a trade might be a better option.

Caleb Martin, Ryan Nembhard, and Brandon Williams are other players Ujiri will have to make decisions on. Williams is set to enter free agency, but he's a poor shooter. It would be understandable if he walked. Nembhard and Martin likely don't have much value on the trade market, but they could be attached in a different trade.

Add us as a preferred source on Google