The dark side of being traded, is the Mavericks’ No. 1 pick reward?

As the most concerned story this season, the starting point has to go back to before the trading deadline. At that time, the league's ratings were once sluggish, and there was a lot of discussion on the Internet, believing that the league's three-point wave is gradually destroying the current NBA. But suddenly a deal appeared, causing all public opinion to turn.

The Mavericks sent Doncic to the Lakers in exchange for Davis.

It is undeniable that Davis is an excellent enough player, but judging from the situation at that time, he was always just the team's deputy, and the real main player of the Lakers was still James. As time goes by, when Davis leads the team alone in the Pelicans, he doesn't even play the team-leading results of the ace core. As for Doncic, the player who led the team to the finals last season.

No matter how you look at it, Doncic should have higher value, otherwise the Lakers would have to take advantage of at least a few first rounds, so this deal would be reasonable. But in the end, it didn't happen. Everything was like the Mavericks gave the Lakers a core of the top few leagues for free. After the transaction, soon overwhelming insults rushed towards Mavericks manager Harrison. Fans could not understand his choice at all, and there were even other voices. The team boss wanted to move the team to Las Vegas, so he asked the general manager to deliberately destroy the team and force the city government to agree to the relocation and other conspiracy theories circulated.

Harrison stated in an exclusive interview with ESPN:

"Defense can win the championship, and the reason why the team trades Doncic is for a better future in the long run." He even raised the ticket price for next year's game, and the various operations are truly incredible.

After this deal, Lakers Doncic's jersey sales hit a new high, and the NBA ratings have also increased significantly. Fans are discussing this deal, but not many people have discussed the previous remarks that three-pointers ruined the league. Fans are focusing on the issue of why Harrison wants to trade Doncic. Various conspiracy theories are everywhere. Everyone wants to find a reasonable explanation for this deal, but no one has found a reasonable explanation.

After Davis came to the Mavericks, he suffered injuries after playing a few games. Irving, who alone supported the team, also fell down in the game. His road to his comeback was far away, and everything seemed to be moving in a bad direction.

Harrison was even threatened by fans, even so serious that he hired a bodyguard to go out. He also launched an online campaign to boycott Harrison. Doncic himself also expressed difficulty in understanding this deal. Not only did the team not communicate with him before the deal, but he was even so angry that he smashed his phone to pieces when he learned about the deal. In the end, the Mavericks made it to the playoffs. After defeating the Kings, they were only one step away from entering the playoffs, but they were unable to survive the Grizzlies and ended this turbulent season early.

Unless Irving chooses to give up his salary next year, the Mavericks' guaranteed salary next year will reach 190 million, and it seems that there is basically no room for trading. So their only and biggest opportunity to strengthen is this lottery draw with the No. 1 pick because they did not make the playoffs. On May 12, the Lotto draw day, no one could have thought that the Mavericks would draw the No. 1 pick with a 1.8% chance, which is the fourth lowest chance of winning the No. 1 pick in NBA draw history, second only to the 1.52% of the Magic in 1993, the 1.70% of the Cavaliers in 2014, and the 1.70% of the Bulls in 2008.

was completely incredible. A team that became a laughing stock in the middle of the season. It took only one day to get the fans back to their confidence. With satisfaction, they willingly bought the price increase tickets. There is only one reason behind it: Cooper Flag.

No need to introduce this son of the United States. It is precisely because of the popularity of public opinion caused by this player that many people think of this lottery as suspected of cheating, otherwise how could such a coincidence be possible?

Looking back on the history of the draw draws in the past, in 2011, the Pelicans traded Paul to the Clippers, and immediately won the No. 1 pick Davis the next year. In 2018, the Pelicans traded Davis to the No. 1 pick Zion. In 2023, Wenban Yama had close contact with the Spurs before the draft, and in the end he happened to be the No. 1 pick by the Spurs. In addition, the Cavaliers were able to draw the hometown player James in 2003, and the Bulls drew the Windy City Rose in 2008, etc. There are too many cases that seem to be a certainty. Compared to the draw draw, metaphysics is the king.

Looking back at Harrison, it is not just because he lacks operational logic, but now it seems that he has already understood everything in the future. The so-called winning championship in defense is that compared to Doncic, who has poor defense, they have won Flag, who has a strong defense. Moreover, Flag has guaranteed a four-year contract with a five-year contract, and the team can have him for nine years. Compared to Doncic, who will face a contract renewal next year, it will have a brighter future in the long run.

Not to mention Flag is thinner and younger, most people like younger talented players, which also makes more people question that this draw is simply a league operation. The Mavericks help the league save ratings, and the league promises to give them the No. 1 pick.

Of course, some fans also mentioned that Flag has not played in the NBA game yet, and the previous No. 1 pick Zion was also hyping wildly, but what are the results now? It is inevitable that Flag is worrying and over-praise.

As for Doncic, he has proved his superstar, and his team's record is endorsed in the finals. It is still a bit unrealistic to say that he is not as good as Flag.

Of course, combined with Flag's current achievements, there is no reason for his flattery. He is the only four players in history who won the NCAA season MVP in his freshman season, and the first one happened to be Zion, while the other two were Durant and Davis respectively.. As the fiercely competitive core of Duke, Flag even scored first in the team in five statistics, with 42 points in a single game, the semi-finals of the Championship, and other outstanding results, and achieved a complete victory over Zion during the same period.

It is also important to emphasize that he is also a white player in the United States. Various elements are mixed with it, which is indeed worth the expectations of American fans.

From pessimism to optimism, Dallas has only been one or two days, and this story of darkness and brightness is truly bizarre.

However, for other teams, especially the Wizards, Jazz and Hornets, which have the worst record, with a 14% chance to draw the No. 1 pick, but they can't even get the top four picks, which is definitely the worst result.

In contrast, 2026 is a year of talent show with more outstanding newcomers than 2025. Monster newcomers gathered. If Flag hadn't skipped the level, he would have run in 2026.

Next year will include Nike High School ace AJ Dibansa, Adidas star Darling Peterson, the strongest star second-generation Cam Boozer, and even the No. 1 pick in 2027 Tyron Stokes. In addition, there are many second-generation stars who will also make their debut next year, such as Arija Arenas' son Arija Arenas, Andrei Stojakovic, Anthony's son Kiyan Anthony, and even James' second son Bryce James.

Even if Cooper Flag missed this year, the battle for next year is still fierce, and the team that should be played will continue.