Spurs' Cooper Flagg heartbreak just worsened after dominant Mavericks preview

Hey Spurs fans, remember when we were just one pick away from landing generational talent Cooper Flagg? Yeah, that one hurt. Well, that pain might have just gotten worse.

As we inch closer and closer to the highly anticipated draft day, draft prospects have begun working out and visiting with their potential suitors. Flagg needed just one meeting to go well and disastrously for Spurs fans; his early time with the Mavericks went extremely well.

Flagg is everything you could want and more

If there were any concerns about Flagg, they surrounded his shooting. However, he may have just broken those doubts. In a visit with the Dallas Mavericks, the future superstar looked the part. The surefire number one pick not only solidified himself as the Mavericks' future franchise piece but also impressed them even more with a dominant shooting display.

According to Noah Weber of The Smoking Cuban, "Flagg shot the ball insanely well." Weber continued to go on about how well Flagg played in his showcase. Namely, Flagg was dubbed a "complete beast" and evidently dominated his workouts.

For the Spurs, this really hurts. It is clear that Flagg has all the makings to become a future superstar in the NBA. He is not your typical prospect. He may be the best we have seen since the Spurs' very own Victor Wembanyama, and the Spurs were just one pick away from landing the prodigy.

With one extra lucky bounce, the Spurs could have paired this beast of a prospect with another future NBA great in Wembanyama. His ability to shoot, defend, and make plays at the power forward position would have been undeniably perfect next to the Frenchman. This offseason, the Spurs are looking for someone to fill that spot exactly, but could have instead filled it with Flagg.

This pain continues to sting as we learn more about how great the rising star is, and it won't be getting any better as the offseason develops. However, we need to be grateful for what we have.

Dylan Harper is a great consolation prize

While we will never forget how close the Spurs were to capturing the Flagg, we can't forget to appreciate what we got instead. Dylan Harper may not be Cooper Flagg, but he is a hell of a player in his own right.

The Rutgers point guard has All-NBA potential. He is a dynamic and explosive scorer with all the tools to master his position. Alongside Wembanyama, Harper will be a cornerstone piece for the Spurs for a very long time.

No matter what happens with the rest of the roster, head coach Mitch Johnson will find a way to get the most out of the electric guard. Unfortunately, the best player available is a point guard, but I fully trust Johnson to make it work. Whether that means saying goodbye to Fox, moving Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle to the bench, or playing all three together, Harper will be empowered.

As long as they play, Flagg and Harper will always be linked and competing against each other. In a fun twist to their potential rivalry, both rookies will reside in Texas and have plenty of opportunities to duel.

The Spurs may not have gotten Flagg, but Alamo City has an undeniably better young core going forward. With Harper, the Spurs can outlast the Mavericks in the hunt for Larry O'Brien.