All the latest news and rumors before Wednesday’s draft
NBA Draft begins Wednesday, and Mavericks fans anticipating the arrival of Cooper Flagg will finally see him put on a Mavericks hat and hold up the Dallas jersey. Compared to most drafts, most of the fun and surprise of the draft is gone — Dallas has the first overall pick for the first time in franchise history, and they’re taking Flagg, one of the better prospects in the last decade.
This is so much a forgone conclusion, with multiple reporters echoing the Mavericks intent, FanDuel putting the betting odds of Flagg being picked number one overall at -100000, and, well, the Mavericks own website leaking the Flagg selection last week.
So the rumors around the draft for Dallas are a bit dry, but we’re collecting them here anyway for you to parse through. We’ll do our best to update this post with any latest news and rumors heading into the draft on Wednesday.
Flagg lands in Dallas
The Mavericks only held a visit for one player this draft cycle, and Flagg only made an official visit with one team. Flagg landed in Dallas last week to meet with team officials, welcomed by Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison and head coach Jason Kidd.
Mike Curtis from The Dallas Morning News and NBA insider Marc Stein have had the scoops on Flagg’s visits. Flagg met with Harrison, Kidd, and other team officials at AAC and Mavericks practice facility, before having multiple steakhouse dinners to round out the evenings. All pretty standard stuff, but nice to know the Mavericks aren’t messing around. Dallas reportedly didn’t even bring in Dylan Harper, the presumed second overall pick, to not offend Flagg.
Trading back into the draft
Dallas only has one pick in this draft, but there’s been some noise about them wanting to move back in to grab more than just Flagg. NBA Draft expert Rafael Barlowe told the Locked on Mavs podcast that he’s heard Dallas wants to move back into the first round.
This isn’t too surprising, since the Mavericks did this exact thing in the 2023 draft, drafting Dereck Lively and then acquiring the Kings 24th overall pick to then select Olivier-Maxence Prosper. While Prosper hasn’t really shown out too much yet, it’s the kind of gamble that makes sense in today’s NBA, as cheap rookie contracts are needed to fill out rosters with a salary cap that gets very restrictive once you cross into the first and second aprons.
In case the Mavericks do trade back into the first round on Wednesday, we have you covered on some of the names Dallas should and could consider.
Powell opts in
NBA insider Marc Stein reported last week that longtime Mavericks big man Dwight Powell will opt-in to his $4 million player option for next season.
While this could likely continue Powell’s long tenure in Dallas, why I’m mentioning it in a draft rumors post is that Powell’s $4M salary will now be eligible to be traded this summer. There’s expected to be a lot of movement during the draft this week, and Powell’s opt-in could make it easier for the Mavericks to pull off a deal, whether it’s trading back into the first round or acquiring guard help while Kyrie Irving recovers from his ACL surgery.
Get to know Flagg
With the drama of the Mavericks selection all but gone, Mavericks fans should do their best to get familiar with Flagg, both as a person and a player. Thankfully Mike Curtis from The Dallas Morning News wrote up a nice profile to get every Mavs fan up to speed on who Flagg is. It’s worth a read.