Some people thought that Mark Cuban would lay low after his tweets declaring Anthony Davis an untouchable asset were null and void by the Dallas Mavericks’ Wednesday move. But within hours of trading AD to Washington, Mark Cuban was back on X.com, crowning the next franchise cornerstone. The former Mavs shotcaller isn’t just satisfied with adding a superstar rookie. He is promising the entire league that Dallas is going through a tactical revolution that will make his new weapon impossible to guard.

It doesn’t take much to figure out he’s referring to Cooper Flagg, the RoTY-apparent emerging during one of the worst phases for the Dallas Mavericks. It began with the Mavs’ notorious bullish critic, Bill Simmons, actually declaring the Duke superstar a lethal threat already.

Despite Simmons having a hard time reconciling with Dallas’ post-Luka Doncic era, he said, “He went from being a really good rookie to a f—– animal in the last 2 months.” He listed all the signature moves Flagg has developed already to become, “an elite offensive player already.”

Echoing Simmons’ sentiments, Cuban requoted the clip with a definitive warning. “Wait till we get him spacing so teams can’t pack the paint.” Oh, the league was already wary of Flagg’s elite potential before he went to Dallas. But seeing him rapidly develop despite the Mavs’ mounting setbacks has been an underdog story to watch.

The Mavs’ minority owner wasted no time setting the stakes for the rest of the league after making a blockbuster move around the anniversary of the last blockbuster move. This statement sets the tone for the post-Davis era that the Mavericks are no longer trying to bridge the gap between stars but are instead weaponizing their roster specifically to maximize the 19-year-old’s “point-forward” gravity.

The Dallas Mavericks future got clearer after Anthony Davis trade

Bill Simmons used to find a hard time forecasting the Mavs future since they swapped Luka Doncic with Anthony Davis. Especially when Mark Cuban was back in the aftermath of Nico Harrison’s firing claiming AD would not be traded.

His forecast fell flat. The front office was taking calls for AD and two days before the trade deadline, a deal had been struck. Anthony Davis, along with Jaden Hardy, D’Angelo Russell, and Dante Exum, were sent to the Washington Wizards. The Mavs got Khris Middleton, AJ Johnson, Malaki Branham, Marvin Bagley III, and multiple draft picks to replenish their roster.

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The addition of Middleton is expected to optimize Flagg’s potential. Simmons’ breakdown of Flagg’s recent play highlights exactly why Cuban is so bullish on the rookie’s future. One of the moves he listed, a left-leaning layup that Flagg has been effortlessly pulling, is something Jayson Tatum took five years to develop and he still misses. Flagg’s not even finished his first full NBA season yet.

“This guy was supposed to be this awesome, two-way glue guy who had some offense but was just impactful all over. This guy’s an elite offensive player already,” Simmons said. With the Mavericks having just acquired veteran marksman Khris Middleton and multiple draft assets in the Davis deal, the vision for that “spacing” is already beginning to take shape.