Candid courtside moment shows Mavericks' old and new guard coming together early

Cooper Flagg is already the face of the Dallas Mavericks after just one season. The No.1 pick from the Duke Blue Devils won Rookie of the Year by averaging 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists over 70 starts. In the last 45 years, only Michael Jordan and Luka Doncic have put up numbers like that as rookies.

Meanwhile, veteran Kyrie Irving missed the entire season recovering from a torn left ACL he suffered in March 2025. He expects to return for opening night this fall. With Masai Ujiri now running basketball operations and Dusty May taking over as head coach, the front office is building the roster around pairing Flagg and Irving.

That plan was on display Saturday night in Las Vegas. Irving sat courtside at the Mavericks-Lakers Summer League game with Flagg and center Dereck Lively II. They were watching the young Mavs roster -- led by new draft pick Morez Johnson Jr. and guard Ryan Nembhard -- take on the Los Angeles Lakers. 

Kyrie courtside with Cooper Flagg and Dereck Lively at the Mavericks-Lakers Summer League game 🔥 pic.twitter.com/zp2V9tGcS8

Dallas kept it close early, but the Lakers pulled away in the second half thanks to 34 points from Arthur Kaluma, winning it 91-70. with Nembhard's 12 points leading the Mavs.

Before the draft even started, the rumor mill was working overtime about the front office potentially trading Irving. A lot of experts and trade analysts figured the team wanted to go younger to build entirely around Flagg, especially after they parted ways with head coach Jason Kidd, who was really close with Irving.

But Ujiri quickly shut all of that down. He’s been completely transparent about wanting Irving back, making it clear that his main goal is to pair the veteran guard up with Flagg. Ujiri even brought up a conversation he had with Kevin Durant, who once told him, "There's only one Kyrie walking around in the world."

Ujiri said he's been talking to Irving directly and is totally confident that he fits into the team's long-term plans, which makes sense since Irving still has two years left on his contract.

Their courtside hangout in Las Vegas showed that they are already building a good connection. Broadcast cameras caught the two players talking throughout the game. If his recovery stays on track, Irving will join Flagg in the starting lineup this fall, giving Dallas the veteran-and-rookie pairing they have been waiting to put together.

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