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Marc Stein: Not sure who actually believed this one … but for those asking: There’s no golf summit scheduled tomorrow in LA. Luka Dončić is in Slovenia and will be for the whole offseason. Cooper Flagg is training in Maine and occasionally Dallas all summer.
Shams Charania: "My understanding is Kyrie Irving's rehab has gone amazing. There was a sense during last season that, you know, if the Mavericks were playing at a very competitive level, like Kyrie Irving could have potentially come back in December, January, but given the way the season was going, and it obviously didn't make sense for the Mavericks either to rush Kyrie Irving back onto the floor. But from my understanding, he's fully recovered, 100% with that ACL tear from a couple seasons ago. He's been fully entrenched in the Mavericks' plans this offseason. Him and Dusty May, they've spoken, him and Masai Ujiri, the new president, they've spoken, Mike Schmitz, their new general manager, has spoken with Kyrie Irving as well. So they're entering next season, Patrick Dumont, the owner, he really wants to see Kyrie Irving, Cooper Flagg in this team next season and how that duo looks because, you know, Kyrie Irving is the other statesman of this team."
There has been no change in Kyrie Irving's status in Dallas from what we reported on June 12. The Mavericks have continued to rebuff trade feelers for the 34-year-old who has nine career All-Star nods. The working expectation since our report last month is that Irving should begin next season in Dallas alongside Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg to at last launch his long-awaited comeback from knee surgery in late March 2025.
Marc Stein: After trading away Anthony Davis in February, Dallas will again have three No. 1 overall picks on its roster when today's three-team trade agreement is made official: Cooper Flagg, Kyrie Irving and Zaccharie Risacher.
Mike Curtis: Dusty May just said Cooper Flagg will play anywhere from 1-4 this season. "Last year, Coop played a lot at the point and that expedited his growth, where he's playmaking and the ball's in his hands...I think he'll shoot more 3-pointers. We gotta get him more space."
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"Did you play with Cooper in the summer? Were you in those practices with USA Basketball?" LeBron James: "Yeah, he was on the development team, on the select team we call them. Yeah, and he played extremely well, man. I've been watching Cooper for a few years because my son played AAU basketball on the Nike EYBL circuit. Bronny, so we would be in tournaments either in Peach Jam in Georgia or Kansas City or Dallas or Indianapolis and Cooper, unlike a lot of kids, he played for his team out of Maine. A lot of these kids are going to be recruited, but him and his brother and a bunch of those guys they grew up with played on, I think they were called Maine Select or something like that, but he made them competitive versus teams that were stacking teams. I thought that was super cool because that was how I was. I played for the Northeast Ohio Shooting Stars. Me and my guys grew up playing together and having to play all the best teams in the country. I just thought that was super cool, but he's a big-time talent."
"Says something about his mentality. What did you notice practicing with him? What did you notice about his mentality?" LeBron James: "It just seems like he makes winning plays. He just makes winning plays. Even at his first year at Duke, he just made winning plays. Obviously, the fact that he was the freshman and player of the year this year as well, ACC player of the year, I just thought he played the game the right way. How you would hope that a player of his caliber just comes to work every day and is trying to get better, and I just think he's been getting better and better."
Grant Afseth: One thing I learned about Khris Middleton from people with the Washington Wizards is just how valuable he was as a mentor. He proved to be a helpful presence for Cooper Flagg during his time in Dallas. It's easy to see why the Wizards wanted him back.
Mike Curtis: Morez Johnson Jr. on playing alongside Cooper Flagg: "I think it can get dangerous, us two on the court at the same time. I've been playing against Coop for a very long time. I'm very excited & happy that I'm on the same side as him. Get some wins together. Have I known him before the draft? Yeah, yeah. We're the same age. Played AAU & stuff like that."
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Michigan coach Dusty May is finalizing a deal to take the Dallas Mavericks head coaching job, sources told ESPN, an axis-shifting move that significantly alters the college and NBA landscape. May, 49, led Michigan basketball to the national title in 2026. He'll coach a franchise with Cooper Flagg as a linchpin piece. The Mavericks fired Jason Kidd after a 26-56 season last year.
Marc J. Spears on Kyrie Irving: I do think he'll be back on the roster. I know their owner is really, really high on seeing him and Cooper Flagg play together. And then Masai Ujiri had said in his introductory press conference that he wanted to see that as well.
Jon Krawczynski: But in the last week to 10 days, there have been more and more signs coming out of Dallas that Kyrie is going to stay there; that the Mavericks want Kyrie to play alongside Cooper Flagg; that Kyrie really enjoys being in Dallas; and that he wants to stay there. It did seem like he has found some kind of comfort and tranquility there, so that makes sense. So while I believe that, if the Wolves were going to trade for Kyrie Irving, yes, maybe it would be Julius Randle, a first-round pick, and something else to get Kyrie—versus needing eight different pieces to get Giannis—I just think that is looking more and more unlikely at this point. What exactly the Timberwolves do to address their ball handling is something we’ll have to see. But the Kyrie Irving steam has definitely been reduced by quite a bit, and at this point, I would be very surprised if a Kyrie Irving deal got done.
