The Mavericks’ needs heading into the 2026 draft are not ambiguous. Cooper Flagg is the centerpiece — a player who can do almost everything on a basketball court but who is surrounded by a roster that has not yet been properly constructed to maximize what he does. The spacing is insufficient. The playmaking is too dependent on his creation. The perimeter shooting that opens driving lanes and keeps defenses honest has been the most obvious structural weakness of the Flagg era’s first season.
Masai Ujiri has one pick at number nine and an entire offseason to fix it. The draft piece of that equation is already generating serious conversation — and the names circulating in the mock draft community as Dallas fits are worth examining in detail.
Brayden Burries — The Shooting Solution
Arizona’s Brayden Burries represents the most direct answer to the Mavericks’ most pressing need. A shooter whose mechanics and efficiency profile translate cleanly to the NBA level — the kind of player who does not need the ball to impact the game offensively but who changes the entire defensive calculus of how teams guard Dallas when he is on the floor.
Flagg’s drives become more dangerous with a shooter of Burries’ caliber in the corner. The defensive attention that currently allows help defenders to crowd Flagg’s drives evaporates when leaving the shooter open carries an immediate and severe price. Spacing is not just a comfort — it is a force multiplier. Burries could be exactly that.
Mikel Brown Jr. and Labaron Philon — The Playmaking Guards
For a slightly different approach to the same problem, guards like Mikel Brown Jr. and Labaron Philon offer playmaking off the bench that reduces Flagg’s creation burden and gives Ujiri lineup flexibility that the current roster does not have. Either option addresses the Mavericks’ need for a guard who can run the offense during the minutes Flagg and Irving share the bench.
Number nine. Deep class. Specific needs clearly identified. Ujiri has the information. The pick becomes the answer.
