The moment the Dallas Mavericks leapt up 10 spots and their 1.8% chance to land the No. 1 overall pick became reality, the speculation began:
Would the Mavericks trade the No. 1 pick and the rights to draft Cooper Flagg? What about sending it to the Milwaukee Bucks as the core of a deal for Giannis Antetokounmpo? What about a team (maybe Utah) that could throw a flood of future picks at them?
No, no, and no.
Dallas will not entertain the idea of trading the No. 1 pick, which seemed obvious — even in the wake of the Doncic trade — but a source confirmed to Tim MacMahon of ESPN.
Sources told ESPN that Patrick Dumont, who just finished his first year as the Mavs’ governor, considers the opportunity to be in position to draft a generational talent such as Flagg a “gift.” While Dumont has given (GM Nico) Harrison great leeway to run basketball operations, the governor has final decision on all personnel matters.
Mavericks CEO Rick Welts echoed that idea the day after the lottery.
“I don’t know who we’re going to take, but should we take him, I think his résumé is pretty strong,” Welts said. “Every time he’s put in a situation that everyone wondered if he could succeed, he’s succeeded and then some.”
It would be foolish to trade away Flagg, whose projected floor is a multiple-time All-Star and whose ceiling is a top-five player in the league. Even for more of a win-now team, such as the Mavericks with Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving, they are not going to trade away that much talent and a bridge to the future.
Now, the San Antonio Spurs with the No. 2 pick are a different story; that pick is expected to be available in something like an Antetokounmpo trade with the Bucks. The win-now 76ers likely will consider trading the No. 3 pick for the right deal.
However, the Mavericks are not listening to trade offers.
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