Jay Williams argues Dallas Mavericks should trade No. 1 pick, chance at Cooper Flagg

If you believe in higher powers in sports, they looked down on the Dallas Mavericks last night as their three month-long mess was blessed with the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. However, rather than using it on possibly the next great prospect, Jay Williams actually suggested they decline that gift.

‘Get Up’ broke down the Mavericks winning the draft lottery on Monday, which makes way for them to select Duke’s Cooper Flagg at No. 1 overall in June. That’s when Williams argued that Dallas should instead trade that selection to better set themselves up to win now, which they said they wanted to do back with their trade of Luka Dončić.

“Now, I know it’s going to be controversial. But, if I’m Nico Harrison, I’m trading the pick,” said Williams. “Like, there’s some things, hey, hey!…I hear you but I’m not sure, for a guy like Cooper Flagg? I think he needs reps. I think he needs a lot of room to grow. I’m not sure (about) championship aspirations for him right away for him.

“Now, look, the basketball part of me loves the thought of (Anthony Davis), Cooper Flagg, Dereck Lively in the (frontcourt), right. But when I look at the value, could you potentially package something like this to get a Giannis (Antetokounmpo), could you package it in a one-on-one trade to get a Devin Booker, could you get a Tyrese Maxey? If your championship window is in two to three years, could you utilize that pick and some assets to get somebody who’s ready to contribute to you right now with the pressure in the West? There’s something there. I don’t know.”

Some at the desk with him this morning thought Williams was drunk with that idea. Alan Hahn was mainly against it considering what they’d be giving away again in the span of three months. Still, Williams thinks it’d be worth it at least consider that depending on the trade packages available for that pick, presumably for Flagg.

“What are you drinking this morning? Are you, like – you want them to burn the building down?” Hahn said. “This is a gift from the basketball gods. You traded Luka Dončić, you get a player in Cooper Flagg who can replace that as the sun that these fans can fall back in love with that they feel like was torn from them. He gets that back. That is redemption! The one thing you don’t do is now trade him because you are trying to advance the cause. That piece is going to be part of the cause for maybe the next 10 to 15 years.”

“You have to be reasonable and just see what the market can offer you for somebody like Cooper Flagg,” argued Williams. “Look, I think Cooper Flagg is a hell of a player. He’s a two-way player, actually. I think he can fit with Dallas very well. I just wonder if he can give it to you right now because your window is short.”

Mike Greenberg questioned it too, as just saying it aloud sounded like something he couldn’t believe. Still, Williams maintained that it was something Dallas could at least think about, especially going into an offseason where multiple players, namely Antetokounmpo per the latest out of Milwaukee, could be available around the association and certainly so with Flagg being a centerpiece.

“You’re suggesting that, within the span of five months or whatever it would be, the Dallas Mavericks should trade away Luka Dončić and Cooper Flagg?” Greenberg stated.

“First off, I was never on board with trading away Luka Dončić. Obviously, Nico saw something that we didn’t. But I am offering a suggestion about looking at trade packages for Cooper Flagg,” said Williams.

Flagg (19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 blocks, 1.4 steals) is all but certain to be the No. 1 pick in 2025 coming off his freshman year with the Blue Devils. That’s why this lottery was watched as closely as it was considering the franchises who could either select him or end up using that pick in a deal with some of the news circulating around the NBA. The Mavericks are just one of those teams in between with how the aftermath went of trading Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers back in February.

Either way, Dallas is somehow in this really great spot as they can either take Flagg or, if the right player became available on a team wanting to reset, trade the pick for one of the best players in the NBA. That puts all the attention back on Nico Harrison with the Mavericks on the clock until June 25th.