NBA insider reveals chances Mavericks trade Cooper Flagg pick

ESPN's Tim MacMahon appeared on SportsCenter to talk about the likelihood of the team trading the pick, and he shut it down quickly.

"I understand that there's going to be speculation about Giannis, this type of historically dominant player potentially being available on the trade market," MacMahon started. "What I can tell you is Patrick Dumont, the governor of the Dallas Mavericks, recognizes the gift horse that was delivered to this franchise that, frankly, after the Luka Doncic trade, had massive business business concerns. Had significant long-term concerns with him owing the picks from '27-'30, either outright or via swaps. He recognizes just how much Cooper Flagg would help mitigate those concerns. Again, it's a gift horse, the Mavericks are not going to look in the mouth. The Dallas Mavericks will be picking Cooper Flagg with the number one overall pick."

MacMahon is the second connected person to definitively say the Mavericks will take Cooper Flagg, joining NBA agent Rich Paul, who said the same thing on the Pat McAfee Show.

Dallas trading away Luka Doncic was projected to cost them potentially a billion dollars over the next few years in terms of lost ticket sales, merchandise sales, city revenue, and much more. Getting a player like Flagg can help recoup a lot of that lost value.