{"id":72085,"date":"2025-06-02T15:58:11","date_gmt":"2025-06-02T15:58:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/72085\/"},"modified":"2025-06-02T15:58:11","modified_gmt":"2025-06-02T15:58:11","slug":"should-the-dallas-mavericks-trade-their-first-pick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/72085\/","title":{"rendered":"Should the Dallas Mavericks Trade Their First Pick?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Dallas Mavericks winning the draft lottery \u2013 and getting the opportunity to draft Cooper Flagg \u2013 was the kind of fortuitous event that had hoops fans questioning the legitimacy of the lottery process.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dallas was weeks removed from trading away five-time First Team All-NBA selection and franchise icon Luka Don\u010di\u0107. Injuries to Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving, along with an irate fanbase, left the Mavs in perhaps the bleakest situation in the NBA. Entering the draft lottery after missing the playoffs, some of the animosity towards Nico Harrison is bound to quieten after this stroke of luck.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Flagg projects to be a generational talent. He\u2019s a do-it-all wing with MVP-level upside. Draft experts also believe he has the skillset, maturity, and athleticism to immediately be an effective starter on a contender, making him an asset alongside Davis and Irving once the latter is healthy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After Harrison has shortened Dallas\u2019 window of contention, this lifeline has given another chance to extend it. Trading away Flagg shouldn\u2019t be considered, but can anything be off the table when Harrison flipped for Don\u010di\u0107 for Davis, Max Christie, and the Los Angeles Lakers\u2019 2029 first-round pick?<\/p>\n

It takes a brave soul to make any NBA picks<\/a> for the 2025 offseason. If Don\u010di\u0107 can be traded without asking out, surely anything is possible. Giannis Antetokounmpo\u2019s future in Milwaukee is uncertain at best. The Phoenix Suns are clearly going to try and move on from Kevin Durant. The Boston Celtics are a wild-card as they face a lost 2025-26 season after Jayson Tatum\u2019s injury.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Durant Route<\/p>\n

If, and it\u2019s a massive if, the Mavericks are looking to double down on a short-term window with Irving and Davis, reuniting Durant with his close friend Irving seems like a possible route.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It might not be quite as wild as the Don\u010di\u0107 trade, but it\u2019s in the same ballpark. Giving up Flagg for a late-career Durant would be outrageous, particularly as the Mavs would need to include Klay Thompson, Daniel Gafford, P.J. Washington, Naji Marshall, Max Christie and other pieces to match the salary if they didn\u2019t put Davis or Irving in the trade.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t get more all-in that adding Durant for his age-37 season. With Irving\u2019s injury, it would be impossible to make sense of this trade unless the Mavericks were getting an array of other assets back in a multi-team deal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

More NBA Info<\/p>\n

Renewed Giannis Interest<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no secret the Mavs were positioning themselves for a run at Giannis a few years ago. With Damian Lillard out for all of next season and the Bucks unable to make it out the first round in the last three years, the Greek Freak might be considering a future elsewhere for the first time.<\/p>\n

Antetokounmpo has been a First Team All-NBA selection in seven consecutive years. If he becomes available, the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets are likely to propose packages with a catalogue of picks and young talent. The Memphis Grizzlies, New Orleans Pelicans, and Orlando Magic can offer high-upside players.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In Flagg, Dallas can perhaps offer the best young player. Milwaukee will want a talent to build around if Giannis wants out, and there is no better way to start a rebuild than a generational wing like Flagg.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Like Durant, the Mavs would have to get rid of all of their depth. The Giannis and Davis fit could be clunky. This makes more sense than a Durant trade would, but it is still too big a risk for Harrison given how little would be left on the roster.<\/p>\n

Flagg Can Rescue Dallas\"Cooper<\/p>\n

In a sane world, Dallas doesn\u2019t even field calls about Flagg. The NBA is not a sane world.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While it would be surprising if the Mavs made another unjustifiable trade, it cannot be ruled out at this stage.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Harrison shouldn\u2019t even be listening to offers, though. He has been given a path out of his self-made chaos. Flagg, in theory, can carry the franchise once Irving and Davis have aged and\/or departed, replacing Don\u010di\u0107 in the role of long-term centerpiece.<\/p>\n

The Mavericks were boxed into a future of short-term contention and long-term pain. Lottery luck has changed that. Trading Flagg could set the franchise back even further than the Don\u010di\u0107 deal did.\u00a0<\/p>\n

More NBA Info<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Dallas Mavericks winning the draft lottery \u2013 and getting the opportunity to draft Cooper Flagg \u2013 was…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":72086,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3793],"tags":[798,7,225,686,149,9187,4057,98,2133,107,166,6,3280,3281,215],"class_list":{"0":"post-72085","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas-mavericks","8":"tag-798","9":"tag-basketball","10":"tag-cooper-flagg","11":"tag-dallas","12":"tag-dallas-mavericks","13":"tag-dallas-mavs","14":"tag-dallasmavericks","15":"tag-draft","16":"tag-durant","17":"tag-giannis","18":"tag-mavericks","19":"tag-nba","20":"tag-picks","21":"tag-predictions","22":"tag-sports-betting"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/114614600118198427","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72085"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72085\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}