As the Golden State Warriors enter their offseason, they are looking to add a significant piece or two in order to finalize their path to contention in the Western Conference.

The Dallas Mavericks, however, have an entirely different development on their hands, their shocking winning of the NBA Draft Lottery, and, since they are projected to retain the pick and select Cooper Flagg, are now poised to repeat the same mistakes that the Warriors organization has already made.

The Mavericks, by keeping their first overall selection, will be adding a dynamic rookie talent to a veteran core, thus pursuing a “two timeline” approach similar to the one that has left Golden State with limited options this offseason.

The Mavericks’ “two timeline” approach could leave them stuck in the middle

The Mavericks’ trading of superstar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers left the NBA world in shambles, ultimately leaving the team with a surprising veteran core of Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson.

While this core fell apart quickly following the trade, with Irving tearing his ACL and Davis missing most of the remainder of the regular season with an adductor strain, their potential as a team is still present heading into next season pending the return of Irving.

Moreover, Flagg projects to add a significant defensive presence and a potent offensive game to the current Dallas roster. As The Athletic’s Christian Clark, considering the possibility of a “two timelines” approach for the Mavericks, writes, “Adding Flagg to the mix gives the Mavericks the potential to be a ferocious defensive team that generates tons of turnovers and makes ballhandlers think twice about tiptoeing into the paint.”

It is evidently the Mavericks’ vision that they will be able to develop Flagg into a star player while simultaneously contending with their veteran core. However, Warriors fans know all too well that balancing both tasks is extremely difficult.

Although Golden State was able to win a championship in 2022 with their mixed roster, they have largely failed to develop their young talent around superstar Stephen Curry.

While players like Moses Moody and Jonathan Kuminga have turned into solid rotation players, other players from that era, such as James Wiseman, have departed from the team and are currently end-of-bench pieces in other organizations.

Moreover, the Warriors are poised to lose Kuminga, their seventh overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, to restricted free agency this offseason as a result of the coaching staffs’ poor management of his development and role within the team.

While Flagg projects to be able to make an immediate impact on the Mavericks’ roster, straddling the middle between a veteran core and young talent has proven before to be a doomed pursuit, and, if Dallas continues any further down this path, they could make the same mistakes that the Warriors have made before.