The Dallas Mavericks Will Draft Cooper Flagg with No. 1 Pick ... Then What?

May 23, 2025·38 min·3 clips

Mark Cuban told Dalton Trigg the Mavericks are 'so back' and explicitly said they're not trading the No. 1 pick.

1. The Mavs Step Back Podcast, hosted by Dalton Trigg and Drew Johnson, examines what Dallas should do with the number one pick and the rest of its roster after winning the NBA lottery at a 1.8% probability. 2. Dalton Trigg hosts and is joined by co-host Drew Johnson; both are reachable on X at Dalton_Trigg and CoachDrew33 respectively, and Dalton mentions a brief off-the-record exchange with Mark Cuban post-lottery. 3. The episode's core thesis is whether Dallas should immediately pivot to Cooper Flagg's long-term timeline or attempt a dual-timeline approach running Flagg alongside veterans Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving. 4. Cooper Flagg is described as 'the most surefire number one pick of the past decade' by Draft Express analyst Giovanni, with no meaningful debate about who else should go first overall. 5. The hosts contrast the Flagg situation to the 2018 draft in which Deandre Ayton went first overall despite widespread consensus that Luka Doncic was the superior talent. 6. Mark Cuban told Dalton in a post-lottery text, in expletive-laced terms, 'we are so back' and 'we are not trading it,' corroborating reports from Mark Stein and Tim McMahon. 7. Dalton argues the dual-timeline strategy has succeeded exactly once in NBA history—the San Antonio Spurs' David Robinson-to-Tim Duncan transition—and that Dallas should decide now rather than waiting for the trade deadline. 8. PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford are both 26 years old and on expiring contracts; the hosts debate whether to sign them to extensions or trade them for multiple first-round picks in this draft class. 9. Drew pitched a 2K simulation scenario in which he traded Anthony Davis to the San Antonio Spurs alongside the number two overall pick, which Dalton called 'a hot take' even in video game context. 10. The hosts examine a potential Anthony Davis–Paul George swap with Philadelphia, noting the 76ers are known to be shopping the third pick and that Paul George has underperformed since signing with them. 11. Oklahoma City, holding Miami's pick at roughly number 15, is floated as a potential trade partner for PJ Washington or Gafford, given how Washington has played well against OKC in recent playoff matchups. 12. Dalton argues the Mavs could model a picks-accumulation strategy on OKC's approach—'bleeding the whole world of picks'—while avoiding a full rebuild because Flagg provides a talent floor. 13. Walter Clayton Jr., a 22-year-old Florida senior who led his team to the national championship, is compared to Jalen Brunson for poise and Steph Curry for pull-up shooting off the dribble. 14. Dalton contends that older point guards with championship experience are systematically undervalued and that Clayton could run the Mavs offense effectively while Kyrie Irving—expected back around New Year's 2026—recovers from his ACL injury. 15. Dennis Smith Jr. is advocated as a vet-minimum signing option, with Dalton pointing to his defensive performance in Brooklyn two seasons prior and noting he played for Real Madrid last season before returning to seek an NBA role. 16. Brandon Williams is identified as the only current guard on the Mavs roster, with Spencer Dinwiddie a free agent and Kyrie unavailable, making a guard addition 'a given' for the offseason regardless of roster direction. 17. The conversation is informal and exploratory—two friends throwing trade ideas against the wall, consulting Basketball Reference mid-episode, with the hosts openly acknowledging they are 'pissing in the wind' on some scenarios. 18. Energy is enthusiastic but analytical; Dalton frequently self-corrects and adds caveats, and Drew serves as a foil who pushes back on the more aggressive trade scenarios. 19. Dallas Mavericks fans who follow NBA draft prospects, offseason trade strategy, and the team's post-Luca rebuild will find this directly useful. 20. Listeners who want polished production, deep statistical analysis, or coverage outside the Mavs' specific roster construction decisions will likely find this too conversational.

As heard by us

A lively Mavs draft discussion that keeps returning to the same question: what should Dallas do next?

Dallas' lottery win gives this episode its charge, and Dalton Trigg and Drew Johnson spend the rest of it sorting through what that actually means.

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Why you'd press play

You want the Mavs lottery fallout, not just the headline.

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