The Dallas Mavericks were the stunning winners of the NBA Draft Lottery on Monday, which means they are now in position to draft one of the best prospects to enter the league in the past two decades. One ESPN analyst believes the Mavericks should forego that opportunity, however.
During Tuesday morning’s edition of “Get Up” on ESPN, former NBA player Jay Williams suggested the Mavs should trade the No. 1 overall pick, which will be Cooper Flagg. Williams thinks Dallas should consider trying to use the rights to Flagg to acquire an established star like Giannis Antetokounmpo or Devin Booker.
“For a guy like Cooper Flagg, I think he needs reps, I think he needs a lot of room to grow. I’m not sure there are championship aspirations right away for him,” Williams said. “The basketball part of me loves the thought of (Anthony Davis), Cooper Flagg, Derrick Lively in the backcourt.
“But when I look at the value, could you potentially package someone like this to get a Giannis? Could you package in a one-to-one trade to get a Devin Booker? Could you get a Tyrese Maxey? If your championship window is in two to three years, could you utilize that pick and some assets to get somebody who’s ready to contribute to you right now with the pressure in the Western Conference?”
.@RealJayWilliams details why the Mavericks should consider trading the top pick instead of drafting Cooper Flagg 👀 pic.twitter.com/VCZPejOlQM
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) May 13, 2025
Many fans were quick to rip Williams for the suggestion. Flagg is viewed as possibly the best NBA prospect since LeBron James. He is a generational talent with the potential to become a franchise cornerstone for years to come.
If Flagg lives up to expectations, the Mavericks should be able to contend for championships with him right away. Remember, Dallas only had a 1.8% chance of winning the draft lottery for a reason. Even after trading Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers and losing Kyrie Irving to a season-ending injury, the Mavericks still made the play-in tournament.
Everyone seemed to have the same reaction to the Mavericks winning the No. 1 overall pick, but very few people agree with Williams that they should consider trading it.
