By the Numbers: Flagg's Rookie Load, a Payroll Squeeze, One…

By the Mavericks Nightly Desk · Saturday, September 19

Cooper Flagg carried a starter's workload as a teenager last season, and the results were uneven at both ends of the floor. Dallas enters camp with a heavier payroll and one five-man unit that actually worked, in limited minutes.

Flagg's Rookie Workload

Cooper Flagg played 33.5 minutes a game across 70 appearances last season, a workload usually reserved for a veteran, not a 19-year-old just off Duke's campus. His 21.0 points led every Maverick, and 6.7 boards with 4.5 assists a game show a forward already asked to do a bit of everything. The soft spot was volume from deep: a 29.5 mark on three-point attempts that has to climb if Dallas wants him spacing the floor instead of just occupying it.

The Net Rating Gap

Dallas finished last season at -5.2 in net rating, a number built from an offense that struggled to find easy points and a defense that gave almost as much back on the other end. Neither side carried the load by itself, and neither can afford to regress if Dusty May's group wants to climb out of the bottom third of the standings. The math is simple: for the record to move, one of those two numbers has to move first.

Payroll Without Breathing Room

Dallas carries $197.9 million in salary across 18 contracts, with Kyrie Irving's $39.5 million, P.J. Washington's $19.8 million and Klay Thompson's $17.5 million among the largest deals on the books. That total leaves little room to add complementary pieces once the season begins, short of pushing further into tax territory. Any in-season addition will have to come by trade, not by check.

One Lineup That Worked

The Washington-Gafford-Williams-Christie-Flagg five posted a +2.2 net rating last season, built on a 116.8 offensive mark against a 114.6 defensive mark, across 73 minutes over 14 games. It is the clearest proof so far that this particular mix of size, rim protection and shooting can hold up on both ends, even if the sample stayed limited to a handful of games. Whether Dusty May leans on it more often in October is one of camp's open questions.

What did Cooper Flagg average as a rookie last season?

Flagg posted 21.0 points a game last season, with 6.7 boards and 4.5 assists, leading Dallas in scoring as a 19-year-old.

How much salary does Dallas have on the books this season?

Dallas carries $197.9 million in payroll across 18 contracts, with Kyrie Irving's $39.5 million the largest single deal on the roster.

By the Mavericks Nightly Desk, written from the club's data and the reports on file, with every name and number checked against them. How the desks work.