When Nico Harrison traded Luka Dončić in February, he sliced his team’s competitive window down two or three years. The Dallas Mavericks already didn’t control their first-round picks from 2027 to 2030 before Harrison swapped a then 25-year-old Dončić for Anthony Davis, a player six years Dončić’s senior.
Harrison’s bet on Davis was a bust in Year One, and after Davis went down with an adductor strain in February and Kyrie Irving tore his ACL in March, concern crept in that the Mavericks could be re-entering dark days not seen in Dallas since the 1990s.
On Monday, the ping-pong balls at the NBA Draft Lottery in Chicago bounced in a way that will ensure that doesn’t happen. The Mavericks came away with the No. 1 pick — a scenario that had a 1.8 percent chance of occurring. That puts the Mavericks in position to draft Cooper Flagg, a one-and-done forward from Duke good enough to contribute to winning right away and young enough to give the Mavericks an identity once Davis and Irving age out of their primes.
“For us, it’s been a rough year, as you all know,” said former Maverick Rolando Blackman, who was the team’s on-stage representative, in an interview with ESPN. “But the important part of the whole thing is that we’ll get a chance to move our franchise forward.”
Before Monday’s miracle, the Mavericks remained stuck in the doom loop that started when they traded Dončić. In his return to Dallas on April 9, Dončić torched his former team with 45 points. Mavericks fans cheered Dončić and demanded Harrison be fired, as “FIRE NICO!” chants were heard any time one of Dallas’ players stepped to the free-throw line. With Irving sidelined until early 2026, it didn’t appear the situation would improve any time soon, either.
But Dallas leaping up 10 slots from its pre-lottery position of No. 11 to No. 1 changes everything.
Flagg, who turned 18 in December, has already shown he can hang with the grown men he’ll compete against in the NBA. Last summer, he was the only college player who was a part of the Team USA Select Team, which got to scrimmage against the American squad that won gold in Paris. One of the videos that surfaced from those tune-up games featured Flagg splashing a 3 over Davis and then running the floor for an impressive and-1 put-back.
Duke commit Cooper Flagg has taken over USA Basketball scrimmage: hits a three and then finishes a tough putback pic.twitter.com/SB3Y4fDpYt
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) July 8, 2024
In his lone college season at Duke, Flagg solidified himself as the best prospect in the country, averaging 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks. Flagg shot the 3 at a high level (38.5 percent on 3.6 attempts), flashed pull-up shooting ability, crammed highlight dunks and was a force defensively. The Blue Devils won 35 games, the most for the program in more than a decade.
If the Mavericks draft Flagg next month, he’ll add to the impressive collection of frontcourt players the team has assembled. Dallas wanted to start P.J. Washington, Anthony Davis and Dereck Lively II together last season when healthy and bring Daniel Gafford off the bench. Flagg can be plugged in at either forward spot. It’s possible his addition could create a situation where Dallas has too many talented frontcourt players and not enough minutes to go around. Thinning out that group is one way the Mavericks could acquire the ballhandling they still desperately need. Right now, Dallas has one point guard under contract next season who will be healthy on opening night: Brandon Williams, who spent most of last season on a two-way deal.
Before Monday, the Mavericks had never moved up in the draft lottery in the 16 times they’d been a part of it. Harrison celebrated this franchise first with other members of the team’s front office at a dinner. Harrison stood up as soon as the lottery results were announced and exchanged high-fives and hugs.
The reaction was pure jubilation from the Mavericks chief decision maker whose approval rating had nose-dived post Dončić trade.
The moment we won 🙌 #MFFL pic.twitter.com/KfsitX1tFE
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) May 13, 2025
One of the most telling things Harrison said about the Dončić deal came on Feb. 2, the morning after it was completed. Harrison told a small group of reporters: “The future to me is three, four years from now. Ten years from now, I don’t know. They’ll probably bury me and (Mavericks coach) J(ason Kidd) by then.”
It was easy to interpret those comments as Harrison not caring about what happened to the Mavericks over the long term. Failing to maximize the trade return for Dončić meant the Mavericks’ future after Davis and Irving looked bleak.
Now, that’s no longer the case. Flagg is a two-way monster whose games has shades of a young Kawhi Leonard in San Antonio. If Dallas chooses him No. 1 next month, Flagg gives Mavericks fans hope that their team won’t be wandering in the wilderness when their 30-something stars begin to fade.
(Photo of Rolando Blackman: Jeff Haynes / NBAE via Getty Images)