The Dallas Mavericks were destroyed by the often unforgiving court of public opinion after they traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Then, the Mavericks – and general manager Nico Harrison who has been reviled by fans for trading Doncic – got lucky.
With a 1.8% chance to win the draft lottery and the No. 1 pick in the draft, Dallas’ ping pong balls came up winners.
On Wednesday, the Mavericks selected Duke’s Cooper Flagg No. 1, giving the franchise a stunning ability to recover quickly from the Doncic trade.
Dallas is a team with championship aspirations. Harrison made it clear that goal wasn’t possible with Doncic, professing a “defense wins championships” mantra.
With the Flagg pick, Harrison also got a reprieve. Rarely does a team that made the Finals one season (2024) get the No. 1 pick the following year. Mavs ownership has entrusted Harrison’s vision, and he caught a break with the lottery victory.
Dallas made the play-in game but missed the playoffs this season.
How soon can the Mavericks return to contender status? The West remains loaded with excellent teams, and champion Oklahoma City is the favorite to win the West in 2025-26.
All-Star guard Kyrie Irving, who just reached a new three-year, $119 million deal with the Mavs, tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in early March and will miss a significant portion of next season, and All-Star center-forward Anthony Davis has a notable history of injuries that have sidelined him. Other injuries contributed to a 39-win season.
Even with that, the Mavs have a quality roster with Daniel Gafford, Klay Thompson, Dereck Lively II, Max Christie, P.J. Washington, Caleb Martin, Naji Marshall and Jaden Hardy.
Now, all those players might not be on the roster when the season starts in October. Given the number of big men, lack of shooting and Irving’s injury, Harrison will look for backcourt help.
And the Mavs are focused on developing Flagg. It’s a near-perfect situation for Flagg. He’s not headed to a team that lost 60-plus games last season and is in a painful rebuild.
“My mindset has always been to be a winner, so I’m going to try to win as hard as I can everywhere I go,” Flagg said. “I’m looking forward to being successful and winning a lot of games, for sure.”
As NBA-ready as he is with his maturity, skillset and physical attributes, he’s not going to Dallas as the sole answer on a team that needs massive help. There’s always pressure on the top pick, but this situation alleviates pressure and gives him and the team freedom for growth without a clock ticking and a referendum on his potential game in, game out.
Flagg gets to play for Dallas coach Jason Kidd, one of the game’s all-time great point guards. He knows the game and sees the game and can translate that to players, including superstars. He coached Giannis Antetokounmpo with Milwaukee and Doncic with the Mavs, and he loves being in the gym teaching. That’s going to help Flagg.
He also joins two former Duke players – Irving and Lively – on the roster. Though all three played just one season at Duke, Blue Devils ties run deep and bind.
“I’m really excited,” Flagg said. “I keep saying I’m excited to be a sponge, to get down there and just learn, be surrounded by Hall of Fame-caliber guys and just to be able to learn from them. It’s going to be an incredible experience.”
The Mavs leave behind a turbulent season and move forward with a plan that could convince fans that trading Doncic was the right decision.