👋 Good morning! Today’s dispatch is coming to you a little later than normal. But… Vegas. I hope you understand. I know you understand. Let’s get right to it! — Bobby Karalla

Cooper Flagg made his highly anticipated debut for the Dallas Mavericks last night in their first game of the Las Vegas Summer League. The stat line was modest, if even a little underwhelming — 10 points on 5-of-21 shooting, six boards, four assists, three steals, and one block — but that guy is incredible to watch. He’s so. freaking. big. out there, and he was a menace in transition from the opening tip. His first bucket came on a breakaway dunk, and if I had to guess there aren’t many people in Vegas (or anywhere else) who can stop him in the open floor.

His lone block came in the middle of the biggest play of the game, when he swatted away a Lakers layup attempt with the Mavs down one point, then he took the loose ball down the floor in transition before kicking it out to Ryan Nembhard for the go-ahead and game-winning triple.

Just beautiful stuff. Winning stuff, etc.

Nembhard was the real standout in this game though. He looked comfortable from the tip and ended the game with a team-high 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting to go along with five assists and a very Summer League-y three turnovers.

I truly can’t understand how he possibly went undrafted out of Gonzaga. He led D-I in assists last season and has been a 40 percent 3-point shooter since he was born. He looks more comfortable operating out of the mid-range than most pros, and that’s not an overstatement. He knows how to play basketball, and that’s not faint praise.

Yes, he’s 5-foot-11, and yes that’s a big problem. Big-ish 1s like Jalen Brunson, Donovan Mitchell, Tyrese Haliburton, Jamal Murray, and so on who have either height, strength, or both might be able to overcome his defensive prowess merely by playing “I’m bigger than you.” But still. Undrafted? Undrafted? And make no mistake, he didn’t do anything in last night’s game that wasn’t already on his college tape. This is just who he is. Now, is he gonna average 20 points per game in the NBA? Probably never will. But can he play in the NBA? Absolutely. To what extent? We’ll probably find out sooner than we might have thought, because basically the entire Mavs organization was in that gym last night and they were awfully impressed after the rookie’s first day at the office.

Speaking of Nembhard, he’ll be joining the DLLS Mavs crew this afternoon in Vegas! The time is still TBD because of practice schedules and all that good stuff, and it’s not clear if we’ll be able to get him on live or if we’ll need to record with him. But be on the lookout for a special interview with him later today!

It’s been a pretty rough few years for the Cowboys’ Sam Williams. From a couple off-the-field driving incidents to Jerry Jones’ weird backhanded compliment mentioning that the second speeding ticket was better than the first one actually because he was driving closer to the speed limit this time, there have been plenty of reasons to doubt he has much of a future in the NFL.

But after suffering a season-ending injury last year, Williams took a serious look at his life and decided to make changes. He sought therapy, removed some of the negative influences in his life, and made the decision to focus completely on football to, as he told Clarence Hill, “get that bag.” He seems like a guy who has learned from his mistakes and is eager to turn his career — and more importantly — his life around after making some dumb mistakes as a young man. Much respect.

Read more about his journey here, as written by Clarence Hill.

Last night’s win notwithstanding, the Rangers simply aren’t good enough right now. The Rangers sit two games under-.500 despite a lofty payroll and a mostly excellent pitching staff. The bats are beginning to wake up, but it took about 80 games to do so. Those are 80 you can’t get back, and after 94 games they’re 3.5 back of the final wild card spot.

The trade deadline is approaching. Our Jeff Wilson assessed the situation yesterday, laying out some optimistic scenarios in which the team can improve internally without needing to make a move. But he also took a look at some players they could pursue via trade to help them not only this season, but also in 2026 when hopefully the offense will show up in April this time around.

I see Dirk on the timeline, I post Dirk in the newsletter. It’s just how it is, how it should be, and how it always will be.

Be sure to subscribe to our shows wherever you listen to your podcasts. Traffic can be the worst, and one of the best ways I get through it is by listening to the audio versions of our DLLS shows. You should, too!

Bobby Karalla
DLLS Sports Head of Content​
[email protected]