Cooper Flagg’s Texas initiation begins with steakhouse visits ahead of NBA Draft

When the Dallas Mavericks beat all odds to land the first pick in the upcoming NBA draft, it was clear that they would opt for Cooper Flagg. Now, it looks like the onboarding process for the Duke star has begun.

On X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, NBA correspondent Marc Stein reported on the meetings between Flagg and a few representatives from the Mavericks organization at steakhouses.

"Last word on Cooper Flagg's visit: After Tuesday's dinner with team officials at Bob's Steak & Chop House, he grabbed one more meal Wednesday night at Nick & Sam's with some future Mavs teammates ... completing quite a Dallas steakhouse double," Stein said.

The Dallas Mavericks pulled a bold move in February when they traded their five-time All-Star Luka Doncic to the LA Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis and Max Christie. However, the trade didn't sit well with the franchise, as most players on their roster, including Davis, got injured during the final stretch of games before the playoffs.

Fate dealt its biggest blow to the Mavs when Kyrie Irving tore his left ACL in his team's 122-98 loss against the Sacramento Kings on Mar. 3. From there onwards, it was a downward spiral for the franchise as they failed to make the playoffs despite being the defending Western Conference champions.

Irving is now expected to be out for the first half of the 2025-26 season, with ESPN reporting his expected return to be in January 2026. However, it means that Cooper Flagg has the chance to get a starting position on the roster immediately and make a name for himself.

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"Unreal": Mavericks insider reveals key details from Cooper Flagg's private workout

It would be shocking if the Dallas Mavericks end up drafting someone other than Cooper Flagg, given the level of interest they have shown in the Duke star forward. An ESPN report stated that Flagg was scheduled for a private workout session sometime on Tuesday; however, the Duke star attended the session on Wednesday.

On X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, Mavs insider Noah Weber reported the key details from Flagg's visit to Dallas.

"I'm told that Cooper Flagg was "unreal" in his workout with the Dallas Mavericks yesterday.

A league source indicated that he "shot the ball insanely well" and called him a "complete beast."

"He was even better than I expected him to be."

Cooper Flagg was the Duke Blue Devils' ace and the 2024-25 "National College Player of the Year" award winner. He averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game in his single season playing for the Blue Devils [35–4 (19–1 ACC)].

He shot 48.1% from he field and 38.5% from deep. He would be a great addition to the current Mavericks lineup, given that Jason Kidd uses the youngster in a place where he can make full use of his abilities.