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Report: Dallas Mavericks will not trade No. 1 overall pick, plan to select Cooper Flagg

IMG_0985by: Griffin McVeigh05/13/25griffin_mcveigh
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Dec 21, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Cooper Flagg (2) on the court against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets during the first half at McCamish Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

According to ESPN’s Tim McMahon, the Dallas Mavericks will not look into trading the No. 1 overall pick after winning Monday night’s NBA Draft Lottery. The plan is to select Duke star Cooper Flagg, bringing a new face of the franchise to Dallas.

“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,” McMahon said.

From the moment he reclassified to the 2024 class, Flagg was viewed as the top prospect in the cycle. Playing one season at Duke only confirmed what many thought of him. Based on the report from McMahon, there is no doubt about what the Mavericks will be doing.

McMahon added the thoughts of Dallas governor Patrick Dumont, who described the opportunity as a “gift.” It appears as if the decision to keep the pick and select Flagg is coming from him and not general manager Nico Harrison.

“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 Harrison great leeway to run basketball operations, the governor has final decision on all personnel matters,” McMahon said.

Flagg will be stepping into a franchise still feeling the effects of the Luka Doncic trade, one that shook the entire sports world. The Mavericks could not bounce back in the short term, falling to the NBA Play-In before losing to the Memphis Grizzlies.

Just a 1.8% chance was there for Dallas to win the lottery. And for the first time ever, they wound up moving up from their original spot. The jump was 10 spots from the 11th-best odds, earning the right to draft the Duke superstar.

Flagg averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 4.2 assists throughout his 37 games played this past season. He shot just over 48% from the field and 38.5% from three. An excellent defender is on his way to the NBA too, as Flagg was named ACC All-Defensive team.

He now joins a team already filled with superstars, hoping to win in the immediate future. Fellow former Duke players Kyrie Irving and Derrick Lively are in Dallas, alongside Anthony Davis and Klay Thompson.