What are the Dallas Mavericks’ options with the top pick in the 2025 NBA Draft?
After a tumultuous season, Dallas Mavericks fans got something to smile about on Monday when the franchise won the NBA Draft Lottery for the first time in franchise history.
The Mavs won the lottery despite having only a minuscule 1.8% and have earned the No. 1 pick for only the second time in team history.
What do pundits believe the Mavs’ options are if they trade or keep the pick?
Draft Cooper Flagg
If the Mavs were to keep and use the selection, Flagg would join Mark Aguirre as the second No. 1 overall pick in team history, but how would he fit on the Mavs?
Flagg is a prototypical modern NBA forward with shooting touch, shooting 38.5% from three and 84% from the free-throw line. He would pair excellently with the Mavs’ defensive ethos as an elite shot blocker. he also excels in transition, playmaking, and has an advanced feel for the game despite his age, and is seen as one of the better prospects in recent memory.
Anthony Davis, Derek Lively II, and Flagg would form a fantastic defensive trio, but could suffer from wonky spacing on the offensive end due to a lack of shooting.
Flagg shot a low volume of threes at Duke, 3.6 attempts per game, while Davis shoots a low volume, 2.4 attempts per game, as well as being a below-average shooter (28%) from that range, and Lively has only taken two three-pointers in his career.
ESPN’s mock draft has the Mavs taking him at No. 1, talking about how he would fit with the Mavs next season.
With Irving recovering from an ACL injury, Flagg might enter the league with significant shot-creation duties handling the ball, giving him a terrific opportunity to stretch himself as a playmaker and potentially blossom into an offensive star. This outcome significantly changes the fate of the Mavericks, who were staring down limbo after trading away superstar Luka Doncic and seemingly shortening their window to compete for titles.
Start a rebuild
When Nico Harrison traded for Luka Doncic, he said the team had a three-to-five-year window to compete for an NBA title. With the addition of Flagg, that window just got extended.
However, the Mavs could pivot toward a rebuild with Flagg, Kyrie Irving, at 33, is coming off a torn ACL and is a free agent. If the Mavs fail to re-sign him, finding a replacement during the offseason could be especially difficult with no elite guards in this year’s NBA free agency class.
Davis, who has an extensive injury history, wasn’t able to stay healthy during his first season with the Mavs but would still fetch a massive haul on the open market.
The Mavs could trade Davis and other veterans like PJ Washington while starting a rebuild around Flagg and Lively, the type of two-way defensive players Harrison covets, while developing younger talents like Jaden Hardy.
Trade for an established superstar
Brian Windhorst suggested that after the Mavs won the lottery, they could trade the pick for Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Windhorst also mentioned that the Mavs have long been enamored with Antetokounmpo and a combination of him and Davis would be one of the NBA’s best 1-2 combos, especially on the defensive end, and if the team retained Irving, it would have a formidable threesome.
The two-time NBA MVP is on the trade block and, according to Sam Amico of HoopsHype, prefers to play in a state with no income tax, and while the comment was about the Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs, the Mavs check that box while also having Anthony Davis.
This story was originally published May 13, 2025 at 11:18 AM.
