Flagg signs with Mavs; Vogel joins coaches
DALLAS—The Dallas Mavericks have signed No. 1 overall draft pick Cooper Flagg to his four-year rookie contract, and a person with knowledge of the agreement said on Wednesday the club is bringing back guard Dante Exum on a one-year contract.
The team didn’t disclose details in announcing Flagg’s deal. The total value of the contract for the top pick on the 2025 to 2026 rookie wage scale is in the range of $62.7 million, with a first-year salary of about $13.8 million, according to Spotrac. Those numbers can fluctuate slightly.
There are team options in the third and fourth seasons of rookie deals.
The Mavericks will have to clear a roster spot to re-sign Exum, the person told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because Dallas can’t yet sign the eight-year veteran. Exum, who is set for his third season with the Mavs, will help fill the void in the backcourt while Kyrie Irving recovers from a torn ACL.
Flagg said during his introductory news conference last week that he intends to play in the Summer League in Las Vegas later this month. The Mavericks’ Summer League opener against the Los Angeles Lakers and Bronny James is set to be nationally televised on July 10.
Flagg was taken with the top pick after Dallas converted just a 1.8-percent chance to win the draft lottery. The 18-year-old from Duke became the fourth freshman to win The Associated Press national player of the year honors in the 64-year history of the award. Flagg led the Blue Devils to the Final Four in his only season.
The 6-foot-9 forward joins a frontcourt that should include 10-time All-Star Anthony Davis and promising young center Dereck Lively II, Flagg’s fellow Duke alum. The Mavs shocked the NBA by sending 25-year-old superstar Luka Doncic to the Lakers for Davis in February.
Irving is another former Duke player to go first overall in the draft in 2011. He will be out, probably until at least midseason, while recovering from a torn ACL. Irving was injured in March.
Meanwhile, the Mavericks are poised to add Frank Vogel to coach Jason Kidd’s staff in a reunion for a tandem that won an NBA title with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, a person with knowledge of the agreement said on Wednesday night.
Vogel was the head coach and Kidd one of his assistants when the Lakers won their 17th championship in the Florida “bubble.” The roles will be reversed this time, with Vogel serving as associate head coach after spending this past season as a consultant for the Mavericks. Both coaches are 52.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal with Vogel isn’t finalized.
Kidd stayed with Vogel one more season in LA before replacing Rick Carlisle as coach of the Mavericks in 2021 to 2022. Dallas went to the Western Conference finals that season, then to the NBA Finals two years later.
Kidd joined Vogel’s staff in LA after getting fired in Milwaukee. His head coaching career began in Brooklyn in 2013 to 2014, immediately after the Hall of Fame point guard retired as a player.
The Lakers fired Vogel two years after winning the title. After a year away from the bench, Vogel spent just one season with Phoenix in 2023 to 2024, getting fired after the Suns were swept in the first round of the playoffs.
Vogel also has been the head coach in Indiana and Orlando. He led the Pacers to consecutive trips to the Eastern Conference finals in 2013 to 2014. Indiana lost to LeBron James and the Miami Heat both years.
