As Cooper Flagg witnessed, the NBA draft lottery is simply not fair

Utah, Washington, and Charlotte each had a 14 percent chance of landing the top pick. Instead, the Mavericks, who altered the direction of their franchise by trading Luka Doncic, can now replace him with another cornerstone.

It’s unfair to the downtrodden teams that they did not get a chance to rebuild but the lottery isn’t fixed. There’s too much at stake and too much technology from the days of the rumored bent envelope that allowed the Knicks to earn the right to draft Patrick Ewing in 1985.

There’s little chance for teams such as the Hornets, Jazz, and Wizards to rebuild through free agency because premium players generally don’t want to spend their prime years in those cities.

So how can they rebuild and compete? They have to be meticulous in the draft and free agency. Also, they have to make astute trades to acquire veterans. It’s a difficult endeavor for the have-nots to become the haves and the lottery isn’t helping that process.

As much effort as commissioner Adam Silver is putting into revamping the All-Star Game, he needs to implement a draft lottery system that actually benefits the teams that need help the most. If not, this cycle will continue and the middling teams such as San Antonio, Atlanta, and Dallas — the last three winners of the draft lottery — will rebuild and rise while the losers stay losing.

Meanwhile, Flagg participated in the NBA’s Draft Combine although there should be just one team he auditions for, the Mavericks. The former Duke standout is one of the future faces of the league and he approached his media sessions with grace and humility.

“I’ve been going through this process like everybody else, trying to enjoy it,” he said of waiting for the envelopes to be opened. “You only get to do this type of thing once in your life. As far as Dallas goes, they’ve got a lot of really good pieces. I think it would be a real cool opportunity for sure.”

Flagg was the National Player of the Year in leading Duke to the Final Four, but the power forward/wing said he actually considered returning to school for his sophomore season. Remember, Flagg actually reclassified and is only 18. As talented as he is, Flagg should be a high school senior.

“It was a crazy draft lottery,” he said. “I really didn’t think about where I was going to land beforehand at all. I went into it with a happy face.”

Flagg put himself on the national basketball landscape before he even donned a Duke uniform. He made serious impact on the Team USA practices last summer in Las Vegas as a member of Team Select. Flagg impressed LeBron James and Jayson Tatum, looking as if he could have actually contributed to the Olympic team despite barely being out of high school.

“That whole experience for me was a blessing, grateful for the opportunity,” he said. “Such a big learning experience for me to go out there and share the court with Hall of Fame-caliber players. But even the Select Team itself, getting to talk to Jalen Suggs, Payton Pritchard, a bunch of guys who are great young talents in this league was a part that was even more beneficial for me, being able to pick their brains and knowing a lot of them have gone through this process. Being on the court gave me a lot of confidence coming into this season.”

At Duke, Flagg averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 4.2 assists in 37 games. He is a stellar all-around player and a premium 3-point shooter, making 38.5 percent of his attempts. That number should only rise in the NBA with more reps, making his potential limitless.

“The little kid inside of me is really happy and mind blown by it,” Flagg said of his success. “The rest of me sees it’s a product of the hard work I’ve put in and the hours in the gym. I’m still able to be a kid when I can, when I get all the business stuff out of the way.”

The most unlikely aspect of Flagg’s journey is the beginning. He’s from Maine. There are just two NBA players who were born in Maine, Heat swingman Duncan Robinson and former Magic forward Jeff Turner.

The possibility of the best player in the draft being from one of the country’s most overlooked and obscure states for basketball is miniscule, until you meet Flagg.

“Just proving it doesn’t matter where you’re from of what you’re supposed to be,” he said. “I remember growing up in Maine, people told me I would never make it to the next level or play Division 1 basketball because I’m from Maine and nobody plays up there. If you have a goal, you have a dream and put your mind to it. I worked hard all of the time and this is a product of that.”

The Warriors carried championship aspirations until Stephen Curry strained his hamstring in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Timberwolves and he was unable to return. The Warriors were thumped in five games and now have to retool because Curry’s championship window is closing, if not already shut.

Golden State will have to devise a way to compete with aging Jimmy Butler (35) and Draymond Green (35) along with the 37-year-old Curry. There is hope Golden State is capable of one more run, but that hope generally doesn’t spread outside the Chase Center.

“I’m just looking forward to next year,” Curry said. “As this league reminds you, you see teams that are still alive, you see the injuries that have happened, unfortunately, and nothing is guaranteed in terms of you being competitive or being a contender.

“Yeah, our contracts are all — me, Draymond, Steve [Kerr], Jimmy, all two years, and we want this ride to last as long as possible. But it’s just about what does this team need for next year, answering those questions over the summer, everybody preparing themselves individually to get through another 82-game season hopefully with a little bit more of a comfort room down the stretch where we don’t have to have a two-month gantlet just to make the playoffs.

“That’s all I’m really focused on right now. I’m excited about it because there’s clarity, although there are a lot of decisions that need to be made over the summer.”

Curry has been durable after some ankle issues early in his career but it was no surprise that a 37-year-old who runs the floor incessantly strains his hamstring. The Warriors’ margin for error is tiny because their veterans are old and the youngsters are inconsistent.

Curry said he’ll think long about how his injury may have prevented a fifth championship.

“That’s the story you’re going to tell yourself when you lay your head down on the pillow every night for the next couple weeks until whoever wins the championship because that’s the belief that we did have,” Curry said. “You have to have health. You have to good fortune. You have to have the ball bounce your way down the stretch in certain games.

“That’s why people watch every night, because it’s unpredictable. It’s why there’s such highs and lows emotionally because you know how fragile winning really is. Yeah, disappointed for sure. We’ll imagine and believe that we could have won everything had we been healthy. But you move on.”

Butler was acquired at the trade deadline from the Heat and blended into the Warriors’ culture perfectly. Although he didn’t turn into Playoff Jimmy in Curry’s absence, there is optimism that with a full training camp and season, Butler will be that impactful complement to Curry.

“I feel like everybody is so unselfish here that anybody could be playing any role on any given night,” Butler said. “But I’m completely content with who I am as a basketball player, the way that I play the game. And to come here and know that I’m second to Steph, I think that’s a really good thing, actually, when you talk about one of the greatest players ever to play this game.

“I get to come here and be his sidekick for a couple more years hopefully. It’s just refreshing. Then you’ve got some really high-level young talent that want to do well, that want to be great, and then the energy is at an all-time high. I don’t think there’s too much more that you can ask for.”

The Warriors weren’t reportedly Butler’s first choice as a new team but they offered him a two-year, $110 million extension the moment the trade was consummated, making him a part of their core. Curry, Butler, and Green are signed through 2026-27.

“I mean, the way that reports go, it’s all one person said this, one person said that because I don’t ever really talk to the media so you’ll never really know what’s going on,” Butler said of the end of his Miami tenure. “But to end up here is great. To know that Dray, Steph called me and talked to me about what was to happen in the future, and then just being inside this organization, seeing how great it is, how everybody wants everybody to be great. They’re looking out for your best interests health-wise, basketball-wise to where you can play basketball at a high level.”

The good news is Butler is happy, for now. And with good health and rest, the Warriors could be back strong.

“We’ve just got some really good dudes,” Butler said. “I truly enjoyed learning from each and every one of these individuals about who they are. I know who they are as basketball players because I’ve been in this league for a while. But what makes them tick, what makes them go, about their family, about how they grew up. I think that’s the best part of anything in life is getting to know people. So that’s the good thing, and I landed here, and we hit the ground running, and I’m comfortable. I’m happy. I got my joy back. I’m very fortunate to be here.”

Kevon Looney and Gary Payton Jr. are free agents. Jonathan Kuminga is a restricted free agent who just endured a roller-coaster season in which Kerr kept him out of the rotation, then threw him back in when Curry was injured.

“I think the biggest change that needed to be made was we needed someone like Jimmy Butler, and we made that change. I think the hardest part is done,” Green said. “It’s harder to get guys like that through trades, through free agency. It just doesn’t come up often. It puts us in a much better situation going into this offseason than last year where we were kind of looking for that.

“That being said, we have to get better. We understand that. We lost in the second round regardless of what the circumstances were. So we need to improve. I’ve always — we’ve always spoke about there being 82-game players and 16-game players. At some point for us, we have to take a look at both because ideally, you don’t want to be from February 8 on scrapping and clawing for every win that you could possibly get. That takes a toll after a while.”

Green is in decline but he is brutally honest about the Warriors trying to compete on the fly once they acquired Butler. Feverishly pushing for a play-in spot, then trying to navigate against younger and more athletic teams such as the Timberwolves and Rockets is not sustainable for an aging team.

“I think we all understand that from top to bottom in the organization, and we need to put ourselves in a better position to have a great year, not finish great, if that makes sense,” he said. “We want to finish great, obviously, but the year needs to be indicative of that to allow the finish to be what we want it to be. I think that’ll be the focus. I feel very confident, very strongly that we can still make another run or two at the ultimate prize. But we definitely have to get better.”

The Connecticut Sun of the WNBA is reportedly for sale and there is expected to be several interested suitors, including some that would be interested in moving the team to Boston. The Sun had the third-lowest attendance in the WNBA last season t and they also play in one of the league’s smallest venues. The WNBA has not received an official bid from any ownership group in Boston but the league would love a team to play in Boston and pair with the Celtics. The Sun are in a total rebuild and just cut veteran Diamond DeShields as they begin a youth movement. Other notable cuts were former sixth overall pick Haley Jones, who was released after two disappointing seasons with the Atlanta Dream. She averaged 3.8 points over that span. Second-round pick Shyanne Sellers also was waived by the Dream, the second time she’s been released since drafted by the Golden State Valkyries last month … If the Cavaliers are going to make some changes this summer it will have to be by trade because most of their core players are signed for multiple seasons and the rookie extension of Evan Mobley kicks in, meaning he will receive a $27 million raise ($11 million to $38 million) next season. The Cavaliers’ most important free agent is Sixth Man of Year Ty Jerome, who played for the league minimum and most certainly will garner a considerable raise on the open market. Tristan Thompson and Sam Merrill also are free agents … The two most intriguing job openings are the head coaching position in Phoenix, where newcomer Brian Gregory, the former Dayton, Georgia Tech and South Florida coach, has taken over for James Jones. The Suns are going to have to reshape their roster and it could start with trading all-time Top 75 player Kevin Durant for prospects and draft capital. The club can do little with the disappointing Bradley Beal, who has a no-trade clause and one of the league’s worst contracts in terms of amount by comparison to production. Beal is set to earn $53 million next season with a player option for $57 million in 2026-27. The other position opening is the general manager of the Hawks and club ownership wants to attract a big fish such as Toronto’s Masai Ujiri. The Hawks are a rising team looking for more veteran personnel that could catapult the club into Eastern Conference contenders.

Gary Washburn is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at gary.washburn@globe.com. Follow him @GwashburnGlobe.