The Dallas Mavericks aren’t trading the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft. Nico Harrison knows better than to pass on Duke Blue Devils basketball star Cooper Flagg just months after trading away Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.
This generational talent won’t slip through the cracks.
Harrison’s next task is building a winner around Flagg. CBS Sports’ Sam Quinn believes a Jrue Holiday trade doesn’t move the Mavs any closer to being one than the pieces it’d take in a potential deal.
“My major issue with Dallas pursuing Jrue Holiday, aside from the fact that I don't think the team picking No. 1 should invest in more old guys, is that I think I'd just rather have their matching salary,” Quinn wrote.
“Gafford, PJ, Naji, these guys are just really good and a decade younger.”
The Boston Celtics could use depth after losing Jayson Tatum to an Achilles injury for much of, if not all of, the 2025-26 season after an injury in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Dallas could look to capitalize on having a win-now player available at the No. 1 pick and Anthony Davis in their rank with a deal for a two-time champion.
Flagg needs winners around him. Davis was an integral piece of the Lakers’ 2020 championship in the Disney World bubble during the COVID-19 pandemic. Holiday was the cherry on top of a Celtics roster that appeared ready for years.
While Holiday makes sense for the Mavs on paper, a Holiday deal is a different issue altogether.