Former Mavericks Coach Suggests NBA Draft Trade to Get ‘Next Jalen Brunson'
With the NBA Draft approaching, the Dallas Mavericks are a team making headlines after luring Dusty May away from coaching college basketball’s Michigan Wolverines to become their new head coach.
The Mavericks fired their longtime coach, Jason Kidd, who won a championship during his playing career with Dallas in 2011, but couldn’t replicate that success in the past five seasons as the team’s head coach.
That move gives superstar-in-the-making Cooper Flagg a brand new coach on the sidelines, but also one who has yet to accumulate any NBA experience. However, with a young team still building for the future, it could make sense.
And one of the team’s former coaches is now suggesting the Mavericks should strongly consider trading up at this week’s NBA Draft to select a player he considers the “next Jalen Brunson” to further complement Flagg in the starting lineup.
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“If I’m the Mavericks and I’m obviously sitting up at nine, I would try to move up, if possible, and make a deal with the Brooklyn Nets, for example, and see if I could get up a little higher because I think Darius Acuff Jr., I think he could potentially be the next Jalen Brunson of this draft,” former Mavs coach Avery Johnson said on CBS Sports.
“I think his game translates. I love his body. He plays at all three levels, he’s tough, he’s hard-nosed,” he added.
Johnson, who won an NBA championship with the Spurs in 1999, was a Mavericks assistant from 2004 to 2005, before taking over as head coach for four seasons. He holds plenty of experience coaching and playing against the game’s best stars, especially at the point guard position.
Regarding Acuff, he is among this year’s top prospects after a standout freshman season with the Arkansas Razorbacks, averaging 23.5 points, 6.4 assists, and 3.1 rebounds in 35.2 minutes per game. He also shot at a high rate of 48.4% field goal percentage and 44% 3-pointers, making him an excellent addition to many starting lineups.
Acuff could give the Mavericks a strong inside-out combination, even though Flagg has also shown his ability to knock down 3s. More importantly, Acuff could give Dallas their next great playmaker at the point guard position.
As it stands, ESPN’s Jeremy Woo lists Acuff as the No. 7 pick for the Sacramento Kings, suggesting he and the team have mutual interest in him landing at that spot.
However, Woo suggests he might not drop to No. 7, as the Los Angeles Clippers and Brooklyn Nets also have interest and are selecting before Sacramento in the order.
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This story was originally published June 22, 2026 at 11:04 AM.