NBA Agent reveals Mavericks intentions for first overall pick in 2025 NBA Draft

NBA agent Rich Paul, the CEO of Klutch Sports and represents stars like Anthony Davis and LeBron James, appeared on the Pat McAfee Show to discuss what he believes the Mavericks will do with the first overall pick.

“No. I think there’ll be no trade. I think the Mavs take him [Cooper Flagg]. And I think it's the right thing for the kid. Obviously, there's some teams there that would love to have him, but I think when you look at Cooper Flagg, look at where he's at today, his ability to develop next to guys like AD and [Dereck] Lively, and also playing with Kyrie [Irving] once he's back, it helps him. Oftentimes, guys go No. 1 [overall], and we put so much expectation on these young players, and that's not really realistic. So, this allows him to develop on a real timeline, he gets to play through mistakes without all the pressure being on him... and expect him to get 25-30 points a game. That's not realistic, especially equating to wins. And so I think this would be a great environment for him, not saying that if he went to Utah or went to San Antonio it wouldn't, but I know you think number one, you think lead guy right away, but it's okay to develop into that guy."

That's a sigh of relief to Mavericks fans, as Flagg can help bridge the gap between the older stars on the team, like Davis and Irving, and the next generations of the Mavs. The future was looking bleak with no first-round picks from 2027 to 2030, but Flagg projects to be good enough to help the team through that.