After our last few roundtables, this one prompted even more variety: Which player is the one you’re focusing on more than others in the 2025-26 season? In other words, who is your player to watch?
Tyler: Cooper Flagg, as I assume most everyone else will say. For all the things I presented post-draft about the Mavericks and why they should quickly pivot to building around Flagg, if he can stand out on a team that’s not tailored to him I will be very impressed. And if he doesn’t? Well, I’m even more
right about how the Mavericks need to start building this thing for him. It’s a win-win for me!
Bryan: Some of you will likely be able to guess my answer. You would only be half right as I’ll be splitting my vote here between PJ Washington and Naji Marshall. The “Defense Wins Championships” era Mavs will need players to step up as both on-ball creators in Kyrie Irving’s absence and passable point-of-attack defenders given Dante Exum’s mysterious health status and Caleb Martin’s likely incoming stretch of “DNP – washed the hell up” designations. With newly acquired D’Angelo Russell’s best role on defense being a back line communicator riding shotgun in the strong side corner, PJ and Naji are uniquely poised to help the team in both respects. The team will go as far as its wings can take them, and these two will factor majorly in determining whether we are anticipating a fun playoff run or huddling around the family tv to watch Mikel Brown tournament games in March.
Michael: Despite Cooper Flagg being the sure fire correct answer (who isn’t going to be watching the number 1 draft pick?), there are actually quite a few intriging names once you get past Flagg, so that’s where I’m headed. How will Lively progress and what will his health be? How will the current best player on the team, Anthony Davis, hold up? Is Max Christie going to make a leap? Ultimately, I will go with D’Angelo Russell as my choice for player to watch this season.
Russell is the primary engine for this team and the better he plays, the better the Mavericks will be. With the roster balanced the way it is, and with Kyrie Irving on the shelf for a while longer, Russell needs to bring his best orchestration skills along with some dynamic scoring to the table. He will need to facilitate well for the forward-heavy roster to maximize its effectiveness. He will need to mentor Flagg (and others) as the floor general. He will need to score effectively to replace some of the offensive production that is on the bench with Irving. For those reasons, he’s potentially one of the most important pieces on the team, so for those reasons he gets my vote for the one to watch this season.
Brent: Dwight Powell. Inevitable? Let’s see if he settles into the always-ready, seldom-used Udonis Haslem role. Vibes and garbage time. In an ostensibly loaded front court, that should be the case, and if it is, the Mavs have managed to keep the strength of this roster on the floor most of the season. If he starts a chunk of games, that is a clear sign that health concerns have shaped another season for Dallas.
Andruew: It was a real toss up between the two obvious names. Which is either Anthony Davis or Cooper Flagg but I’ve got to lean towards Davis for this one. Before acquiring the 2025 first overall pick, the weight of the franchise would feel much heavier for him nonetheless, he undoubtedly still has a lot to prove before fans truly buy in, if ever. Until the return of Kyrie Irving, Davis will be the one that the team turns to in key moments of games. Whether it’s a major stop or a clutch bucket, he’s expected to do it all. The biggest question is and probably where most of the reluctance lies is if he’ll manage to stay on the court to begin with but I believe that at his very best he can deliver. I’ve been a huge fan of Anthony Davis since his days at Kentucky and I’ll continue to root for his success now more than ever. I even hung up a “The Brow” drawing a friend of mine made for me back in high school, I’m all in.
Matt M.: It’s Cooper Flagg. He has the power to turn this franchise on a dime in the face of impending calamity. But I suspect my colleagues will tell you all about him, so I will use this forum to say something about what interests me about the position that D’Angelo Russell is in on this team. He’s a player to watch because if he plays well at the point to start the year, this season looks drastically different than if he can’t hold up his end of the $6.5 million bargain. The Mavs are going to be desperate for dependable guard play this year while Kyrie Irving is on the shelf, and if Russell provides it starting Oct. 22, the optimistic range of outcomes for this season comes into range. If he’s exceedingly average as a playmaker and shotmaker, he leaves the Mavericks searching at the point with undersized defensive liabilities behind him. He’s one of the keys that could prevent or facilitate the bottom falling out before the trade deadline.
Sudarshan: The easy answer would be Cooper Flagg. I’m going to go with Dereck Lively.
While Flagg will get all the attention for being the #1 overall pick and being a phenomenally gifted player at 18 years old, I can’t shake the feeling that the Mavericks’ big defensive identity hinges on the development of the third-year Wemby stopper coming off an injury-prone season. Gafford is not a long-term piece, considering his very tradeable extension, and we are going to see a lot of AD at the 5 as the Mavericks take advantage of their frontcourt depth to throw a ton of looks at teams, but Lively staying healthy and getting back to his dominant 2024 playoff self is the key to turning this team into a defensive monster. Also, if Lively can build on the small steps he took offensively and grow into a more all-around post & paint scorer, it should set the team up well for the second, and more important, of the two timelines that the Mavericks are committed to.
Plus, considering all the upheaval in the young man’s life over the past year, it would be great to watch him develop and shine once again.
