This, of course, was the Dallas Mavericks’ plan all along.
Justifiably maligned Dallas GM Nico Harrison totally knew his Mavs would overcome nearly insurmountable odds to win the NBA Draft Lottery and give his team the opportunity to draft potentially generational former-Dookie Cooper Flagg, which is why Harrison was comfortable enough to trade away their own generational player, Luka Doncic.
Well played, Nico. Well played, indeed.
The rest of the NBA was, in a word, pissed that the lottery ping-pong balls defied the odds, screwing some legit bad teams out of some legit good players—which means that for the next couple of months, you’re going to see some wild mock drafts.
Let’s see just how wild we are at the early stage.
1) Dallas Mavericks
Well, duh.
2) San Antonio Spurs
Chris Paul will retire at some point, right? Regardless, prepare for 10 years of Harper-to-Wemby lobs.
3) Philadelphia 76ers
This Sixers need, well, everything, and Bailey would make a nifty backcourt partner for Tyrese Maxey
4) Charlotte Hornets
The messy Hornets basically have no choice but to go best player available. Edge is just that.
5) Utah Jazz
At this point in the draft, the talent flattens out, so it’s about filling needs—and Utah needs the sexiest floor general available.
6) Washington Wizards
The Jordan Poole experiment hasn’t been a raging success, so the Wiz reboot at the two-spot with a solid shot-maker.
7) New Orleans Pelicans
Is it possible Zion Williamson’s tenure in the Big Easy is over? If yes, Queen would be a quality (and healthy) replacement.
8) Brooklyn Nets
Richardson is among the draft classes’ best athletes, and the Nets are desperate for some oomph.
9) Toronto Raptors
It’s time to give Scottie Barnes an honest-to-goodness point guard.
10) Houston Rockets (via PHO)
The Rockets are loaded, so they have the luxury of grabbing a potential-laden Swiss Army knife who might need to marinate for a season or two.
11) Portland Trail Blazers
The Blazers have about 18 centers on their roster, so it’s inevitable they’ll grab a guard. Jakucionis could make Scoot Henderson expendable sooner than later.
12) Chicago Bulls
The Bulls will be thrilled if the Dookie falls into their lap, as he could solve both their Nikola Vucevic and Patrick Williams problems in one fell swoop. He might need some seasoning, but that fits Chicago’s timeline just fine.
13) Atlanta Hawks (via SAC)
Clint Capela will likely walk in free agency, and Onyeka Okongwu will never be The Guy, so Atlanta grabs a project who could end up being one of the draft classes’ top bigs…in six years.
14) San Antonio Spurs (via ATL)
A young replacement for Harrison Barnes and a young replacement for Chris Paul, all in the span of two hours? Gregg Popvich will be smiling from his couch, and when Pop smiles, we all smile.
