The plot thickens for the Dallas Mavericks after stunningly winning the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery, AKA the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes.
Flagg is ostensibly headed to Dallas. He'll serve as the heir to Luka Dončić's throne, whose trade to the Los Angeles Lakers still feels like a fever dream. The Mavericks somehow tripped and fell into their next franchise savior, and the basketball world can't help but call it collusion.
There's no doubt over who will go first (Flagg), though things get interesting from the No. 2 spot on. Will the San Antonio Spurs and/or Philadelphia 76ers stick and pick? Or will they try to cash in the premium bargaining chip to build around their respective superstar big men?
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Flagg being the 2025 No. 1 overall pick is the NBA's worst-kept secret. Does the Duke star turn around Dallas' post-Dončić fortunes? Who will go after him? And how does the rest of the Association look following a wacky lottery?
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Assessing the post-2025 NBA Draft Lottery landscape
This year's class beyond Flagg is deep. But there aren't many other prospects who project to be potential franchise-altering talents from Day 1 like him, if any, and that's okay. Nonetheless, the biggest elephant in the room may be how this impacts two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo's uncertain future with the Milwaukee Bucks (if at all).
Are the Bucks monitoring how the draft board shook out? The latest report from ESPN's Shams Charania felt like an open invitation to mutually part ways with Antetokounmpo. Does Dallas, San Antonio and Philadelphia all improbably moving into the top-three open the floodgates for a blockbuster offseason trade?
Landing the eighth overall pick, the Brooklyn Nets may have had their hopes of acquiring Antetokounmpo shattered. But that was probably the case before the ping-pong balls spoke. They have a bevy of assets. Yet, it might not be what the Bucks are looking for, given that they have no control over their first-rounders until 2031.
Moreover, clubs like the Utah Jazz, Charlotte Hornets and the Toronto Raptors were (rightly) not rewarded for blatantly tanking throughout the season. The first two squads mentioned were tied with the Washington Wizards for the best odds (14 percent) of winning the lottery. However, the Basketball Gods chose not to penalize them for trying to cheat the game.
With that, there could be plenty of changes to the NBA standings when we're one year down the road. It's entirely possible the Mavericks could be one of the top seeds in the Western Conference. The Spurs could be in the playoff picture. Given the chaos that transpired in the NBA on Monday night, anything is possible.