The Dallas Mavericks have landed Duke Blue Devils basketball star Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA draft. CBS Sports’ Sam Quinn tabs Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively II, or Daniel Gafford as likely trade block centers to clear up room in the Mavs’ frontcourt.
Quinn adds that it’s a positive for the Los Angeles Lakers, which are intrinsically linked to Dallas after the Luka Doncic-AD swap in February.
“The Mavs aren't keeping Davis, Flagg, Lively and Gafford,” Quinn wrote.
“This is incredible for the Lakers. I have to imagine one of the centers is moving.”
The Lakers and Mavericks doing another deal wouldn’t be any wilder than the original trade. Nothing seems off the table in the NBA now. Including Dallas landing the No. 1 pick despite having a 1.8% chance of doing so beforehand.
As for Dallas, building their roster around Flagg means anyone is on the table. If Mavs ownership doesn’t want to continue footing the bill for aging vets with injury histories like Davis, Kyrie Irving, or Klay Irving, they won’t.
They don’t have to now with a franchise pillar like Flagg in the mix.
Cooper Flagg was never going to return to Duke Blue Devils basketball team despite rumors
Flagg gave some a jolt in February when he said he’d like to return to Duke for the 2025-26 college basketball season.
Reading into his comments, though, it’s clear he got everything he could’ve wanted playing for Jon Scheyer’s Blue Devils.
“I still feel like a kid. This is the only way I’ve ever known college. That’s how I see it. I really wouldn’t know how kids felt before, and if this feels different, if this feels more like being a professional. I mean, it’s the same thing for kids in high school, too, getting paid a lot of money. I don’t know. I feel pretty normal,” Flagg told the Athletic.
“I always wanted to play in college at the highest level and compete for a national championship. That sort of thing is what I dreamed about.”
Flagg got Duke to a Final Four berth. His legacy in Durham is secure.
We now know where his legacy will be built next.