With the NBA playoffs ramping up towards the conference finals for each conference, it is an exciting time to be an NBA fan. However, the fanbase that is arguably most excited right now is the fans of the Dallas Mavericks.
After inexplicably trading away superstar Luka Doncic, the team is now in line to select a replacement while acquiring Anthony Davis in the process.
It almost seems too good to be true, with many fans speculating, as they do every year, that the NBA draft lottery is rigged. However, if any year were to be rigged, this year may be the one, considering the Mavericks jumped from the 11th pick to the first pick with a 1.8 percent chance of that happening.
Even more insane is that Bill Simmons predicted this would happen on his podcast, not long after the Luka trade.
Given the current state of the Mavericks’ roster, it would make sense for the team to shop the number one pick, especially with a player like Giannis Antetokounmpo potentially available for trade.
However, according to Tim MacMahon, that will not happen, and the Mavericks plan to make the no-brainer selection of taking Cooper Flagg.
“After making the biggest leap in NBA draft lottery history to land the No. 1 overall pick, the Dallas Mavericks plan to select Duke forward Cooper Flagg and will not entertain the possibility of trading away the pick for a proven superstar, sources told ESPN,” the report reads.
The Mavericks are in a weird spot where they want to be contenders but aren’t quite there yet, so it will be interesting how the addition of Flagg changes that. If he shows promise but isn’t quite good enough for a title-contender, then maybe he gets shipped closer to the trade deadline.
Either way, it is interesting that the Mavericks seem already set on what they will do with the pick and aren’t considering all options.
In the NFL draft, even when the top pick seems obvious, teams at least accept calls and make people think there’s a chance the top team moves the pick. That is what the Tennessee Titans did this year.
How Flagg fits into the starting lineup is another interesting thing to think about. The team has Kyrie in the backcourt and Anthony Davis in the frontcourt, but Flagg can play both small forward and power forward. The Mavericks could field a huge lineup with Davis at power forward and the 6-foot-9-inch Flagg at small forward with young seven-footer Dereck Lively at center.
More news: Mavericks Shockingly Win No. 1 Overall Pick in 2025 NBA Draft as GM Nico Harrison Gets Big Break
Part of why general manager Nico Harrison traded away Luka Doncic was that he felt defense wins championships, and while everyone questioned the move, the defense will certainly be great next season with everyone healthy. Now it is just a matter of the players learning to play together, whether they are seasoned vets or a youngster like Flagg.
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