At the beginning of February, the Dallas Mavericks made arguably the worst trade in the history of sports. Just months after leading the franchise to its third Finals appearance, general manager Nico Harrison suggested the club couldn't win a title with Luka Doncic as the squad's focal point.
The issue was not just dealing Doncic. It was also failing to shop him around to the league to secure a lucrative trade return, and just happened to send him to the league's most popular franchise.
That's why, when Dallas miraculously landed the first pick in the 2025 NBA draft and the right to select Cooper Flagg, there was plenty of skepticism surrounding how the situation unfolded.
After the draft, Flagg had to analyze the possible conspiracy.
During a press conference immediately after he was selected, a reporter asked Flagg about his reaction to potentially being at the center of a rigged process.
"Nope—I don't know what to say about that," Flagg said. "I have no insider information if that's what you're looking for. I just feel blessed with how it all worked out."
Flagg handled that ridiculous question like a pro, but you know deep down he's at least pondered the absurd theory.
In a few years, this will be in the same conversation as the "frozen envelope" that landed Patrick Ewing with the Knicks or how the Cavaliers managed to earn the rights to take local legend LeBron James.
The more Flagg succeeds at the next level, the more the level of chatter about Adam Silver doctoring those ping pong balls increases.