The Mavericks recently completed what CEO Rick Welts summed up as a “tumultuous” season. Dallas is now celebrating its unlikely lottery luck, moving up from No. 11 to the top pick.
“Just looking at that potential roster and thinking about what could happen next season, it’s a reversal of fortunes that’s really unimaginable,” Welts said, per Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link).
Dropping Cooper Flagg into a Mavericks lineup that includes Anthony Davis and, when he recovers from his knee injury, Kyrie Irving, gives the franchise real hope of a championship in the coming seasons. All this after the firestorm created by the controversial Luka Doncic trade with the Lakers.
“I am so happy for Mavericks fans,” Welts said, per ESPN’s Michael C. Wright and Jonathan Givony. “I only got to Dallas Jan. 1 this year. Feb. 1, we broke the internet [with the Doncic trade]. I am just amazed at the depth of emotion and connection that the fan base has with this team. And what happened today, I can’t imagine a better day for Mavs fans. It’s going to really be something special. I can’t wait to get back to Dallas.”
Welts all but declared Flagg to be the team’s choice next month.
“I don’t know who we’re going to take, but should we take him, I think his résumé is pretty strong,” Welts said of the Duke star forward. “Every time he’s put in a situation that everyone wondered if he could succeed, he’s succeeded and then some.”
The head coach is eager to see what the team looks like with a star like Flagg added to the mix.
“Incredible day for the Mavericks,” Dallas coach Jason Kidd told Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Twitter link). “We are all so excited.”
Flagg didn’t talk specifically about joining the Mavs but he indicated he’d fit right in with a team that has put a premium on two-way players. Doncic’s defensive issues was one of the reasons GM Nico Harrison was willing to deal him.
“Being a two-way player is something I’ve done since I was a little kid, so I’m just going to keep doing that to the best of my ability,” he said, per Grant Afseth of the Dallas Hoops Journal.
Welts, who worked for the league from 1982-1999, knows all about conspiracy theories involving the lottery. He heard quite a bit about that during the 1985 lottery, won by the Knicks.
“I’m the only person who was in this room and the room 40 years ago. I was in charge of the NBA draft lottery 40 years ago when Patrick Ewing won,” Welts said. “I’ve been doing conspiracy theory stories ever since. This is very surreal, personally.”
Nico is going to break Mavs fans again by taking Ace Bailey 1st instead because of measurables. Taller, longer, and we all know what “defense” is code for.
Actually, no. He isn’t.
Sarcasm.
What is it code for? I honestly don’t know. Also Luka is highly over rated. If he’s that good they get out the first round
Couldnt be less deserving…
Wow, what a great reward for blowing up the Luka/Brunson backcourt. Really cool how we reward people for tanking now. Mavs had an all-time great backcourt and blew it up for no reason at all, and then get Flagg because of it? Cool. Awesome. Nice.
The Draft Lottery is fixed. This is the biggest conspiracy to hit Dallas, since Oswald shot JFK. If you think Oswald was the lone gunman, then you believe the lottery was legitimate. The NBA once again orchestrated were they want top player to go.
What city did Oswald and company do their thing?
Is this the “make good” for that, or the Luka trade?
Or both??
Spurs getting the #2 pick might be the most impactful thing that happens tonight in the league, even more than Tatum’s injury or Dallas getting Coop. Dylan Harper gets compared to his dad a lot & to Brunson a lot but he’s more like a lefty version of Cade Cunningham, just an inch or 2 shorter.
But where would he fit with Castle and Fox there? 3 guard lineup?
For me I’d look to trade Castle (& other assets) for an elite wing like Booker, JBrown, etc. I’d try to bring back CPaul & ride with Fox/Harper/Paul as my pgs. Dylan would get as much pt as he earns.
Spurs aren’t moving Castle. Fox is the one to go with an expiring contract coming up and the injury recovery.
Harper, Castle, Vassell, Wemby, and whoever else with Paul, Johnson, and Sochan off the bench.
Yeah but he damn sure ain’t a sure thing. A comparison is nothing.
He’s more of a sure thing than Fox or Castle were. He’s more of a sure thing than any guard that’s come into the league since Cade tbh.
Hope thats true. But have not seen that scoring yet. But you are right he is in the right place. He can take his time behind Fox…..
He was 1 of the best scoring guards in the country this season. He put 30 on Bama, had a big game vs Illinois & numerous other teams. Scoring is what he does best.
Yeah … its just the few games I saw. I didn’t see the scoring. And his splits are not really there yet. I like him. Just think he still needs time
“ Dylan Harper’s shooting splits for the 2024-25 NCAA season are 48.4% from the field, 33.3% from three-point range, and 75.0% from the free throw line, according to Sports-Reference.com. He averaged 19.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. ”
Points are solid. He has the handle and vision. Just saying not Cade yet.
Have you ever heard someone say that sliced, processed cheese is one molecule away from being plastic? Well, I feel like the NBA is one molecule away from being the WWE.
Yeah turn the channel please …… stop watching
I think every nba team needs to have their fair share on getting the number one pick. Coz at this point it doesnt matter anymore. You have 1.8 percent chance… you can still get the number one pick. That way, nobody will tank anymore.