Drafting Cooper Flagg should be a relatively easy decision for the Dallas Mavericks. Stephen A. Smith suggested the reasons to select him with the No. 1 pick go beyond the court.
With just 1.8 percent odds, the Mavericks won the draft lottery on Monday. Three months after trading Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, they got bailed out with a gift from the basketball gods to procure a new franchise cornerstone in the teenage Duke superstar.
Although Flagg stands out as the seemingly obvious first choice, the Mavericks could conceivably trade the valuable pick for a significant haul. However, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon reported Tuesday that Dallas won’t entertain that idea.
Discussing that development on Wednesday’s First Take, Smith argued that the Mavericks shouldn’t consider any path beyond drafting Flagg. The ESPN pundit believes Flagg’s skin color makes their decision even easier.
“When you got somebody with that kind of potential and they’re white and you are in America, you keep that dude,” Smith said, via Awful Announcing. “I’m telling you right now, with my Black self, if I’m the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, I ain’t thinking about drafting somebody else.”
“When you got somebody with that kind of potential and they’re white and you are in America, you keep that dude…Texas is different. And in Dallas, Texas, if you got an opportunity to take Cooper Flagg, you take Cooper Flagg.” – Stephen A. Smith pic.twitter.com/eFjVMRaqD6
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 14, 2025
Smith touted the prospect’s “marketability” while recalling an advertisement of Flagg standing in front of an American flag. The pundit was sure to also note that Flagg is a deserving choice because of his basketball skills.
“I’m not talking about keeping him just because he’s white,” Smith added. “The brother can play. He’s a special talent.”
Smith imitated Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones when saying, “We’re talking about Texas.” He remembered watching Martin in an Austin hotel last year when the broadcast interrupted the sitcom to play the national anthem.
“Texas is different. And in Dallas, Texas, if you got an opportunity to take Cooper Flagg, you take Cooper Flagg,” Smith declared. “Especially when you just let go of Luka Doncic. And especially when everybody’s talking about his potential to be the best white American player since Larry Bird.”
Smith’s colleagues, Chris “Mad Dog” Russo and Brian Windhorst, sat stoically with their lips sealed throughout the two-minute monologue. When Smith finished, Windhorst chuckled before explaining the basketball reasons for drafting Flagg.
“All right,” Windhorst said. “I’m gonna take a little bit of a different approach, Stephen A., to why the Mavericks, I think, are going to do this.”
“I’m sure you will,” Smith replied. “You should.”
Related: Cooper Flagg Responds to Mavericks Landing NBA Draft’s No. 1 Pick