1 Godfather Trade Offer for Dallas Mavericks' No. 1 Pick, aka Cooper Flagg
Congratulations to Dallas Mavericks fans on winning the 2025 NBA draft lottery. Your team now has the right to select Cooper Flagg.
Except, what if the Mavs traded him instead?
Look, this is no way an endorsement of such a move. Somebody recently told yours truly that Flagg is the most transcendent NBA prospect since LeBron James—and yes, they are aware Victor Wembanyama exists. You don't trade that player.
And yet, the Mavs already did trade that kind of player when they flipped Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for a package built around Anthony Davis rather than draft equity. Team president Nico Harrison clearly isn't afraid to, shall we say, dance to the beat of his own drum. He's also married Dallas to a more immediate timeline unless he moves Davis, so the idea he would forgo the opportunity to draft and develop Flagg is hardly asinine.
Can we come up with a deal that gets the Mavs back to title contention, knowing full well Kyrie Irving will not play before January 2026 after suffering a left ACL injury? Let's find out.
Full Trade Details
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Dallas Mavericks Receive: Giannis Antetokounmpo
Milwaukee Bucks Receive: Max Christie, Daniel Gafford, Jordan Hawkins, Caleb Martin, Kelly Olynyk, 2025 No. 1 overall pick, 2026 first-round pick (their own, via New Orleans), 2027 first-round pick (their own, via New Orleans' swap rights)
New Orleans Pelicans Receive: Dereck Lively II, 2031 first-round pick (via Dallas)
There's a lot going on here. Let's break it all down.
Mavs Gets Another Top-5 Star to Replace Luka, Resume Title Contention
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Mavs Get: Giannis Antetokounmpo
Mavs Give Up: Max Christie, Daniel Gafford, Dereck Lively II, Caleb Martin, 2025 No. 1 overall pick, 2031 first-round pick
Shortly after Monday's draft lottery, ESPN's Brian Windhorst told NBA Countdown that "You know they wanted Giannis in Dallas for years." As fate would have it, ESPN's Shams Charania reported earlier in the day that "for the first time in his career, Antetokounmpo is open-minded about exploring whether his best long-term fit is remaining in Milwaukee or playing elsewhere." That isn't quite a trade request, but it's damn close.
On top of all that, Nico Harrison is all aflutter about this idea that defense wins championships. That's debatable, as the Sporting News' Steph Noh expertly broke down. Still, if that's the philosophy guiding the Dallas GM, it's difficult to build a better defensive tandem in the frontcourt than Giannis and Anthony Davis.
Yes, the cost is high. But Cooper Flagg is, for now, a theory. Giannis is the real deal—no worse than a top-five NBA player who, at 30, provides you with a championship-contention lifeline for the next three or more years.
Flagg is also most valuable to franchises hitting the reset button. The Mavs, at the moment, aren't doing that. Losing Lively stings, but he's somewhat redundant with Giannis and Davis, the latter of whom would need to play more center. Dallas would be without a backup big while sending out Gafford, but whatever. You can approximate second-string center play on the cheap.
Offense will be a concern while Kyrie Irving recovers from his ACL injury. The Mavs lose a floor-spacer in Thompson and a key developmental prospect in Christie. But when you view this through the lens of cornerstone assets only, Dallas is effectively turning Luka, Lively, its 2025 pick and its 2031 pick into Giannis, AD and the Lakers' 2029 first-rounder.
Bucks Begin Post-Giannis Era with Cooper Flagg and the Freedom to Tank
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Bucks Get: Max Christie, Daniel Gafford, Jordan Hawkins, Caleb Martin, Kelly Olynyk, 2025 No. 1 overall pick, 2026 first-round pick (their own, via New Orleans), 2027 first-round pick (their own, via New Orleans' swap rights)
Bucks Give Up: Giannis Antetokounmpo
Trading a franchise icon who has racked up two league MVPs and won you a championship is never ideal. But if the Bucks don't have much of a choice, they'd be hard-pressed to do noticeably better than this package.
Flagg is among the most hyped prospects in recent memory. He immediately gives Milwaukee a tent-pole prospect around which to structure its entire rebuild.
Just as important, the Bucks would be free to actually rebuild. Reacquiring control of their next two first-rounders allows them to gorge on losses, juice their draft-lottery odds and add more high-end prospects alongside Flagg, before having to reconcile with making an immediate jump in 2027-28, when control over their first-rounder—plus their next two—belongs to the Portland Trail Blazers.
Though nobody else in this construction qualifies as cornerstone material, they're not all throw-ins, either.
Gafford is a useful big the Bucks can flip for more draft compensation, or who they can use to fill minutes should Brook Lopez leave in free agency. Christie is on a cheapo deal, only 22 years old, defends his butt off and might have more to offer offensively when placed on the ball. Hawkins is 23, has two years left on his rookie scale and arms Milwaukee's offense with an uninhibited shot-taker...and sometimes shot-maker.
Mostly, though, this is all about the Bucks getting Flagg, their next two draft picks and the flexibility to properly rebuild in the face of what's probably an inevitable Giannis exit.
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The Pelicans Add a Center of the Future, More Shooting and a High-End First
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Pelicans Get: Dereck Lively II, Klay Thompson, 2031 first-round pick (via Dallas)
Pelicans Give Up: Jordan Hawkins, Kelly Olynyk, Milwaukee's 2026 first-round pick, Milwaukee's 2027 first-round pick (swap rights)
At first glance, forking over the rights to Milwaukee's next two firsts with Giannis Antetokounmpo headed out the door doesn't make much sense. The Pelicans could be punting on top-five lottery odds in each of the next two years.
That is only partially true.
If the Bucks aren't getting back their own picks, they may opt against moving Antetokounmpo altogether or prioritize a return that keeps them competitive. Either end result damages the value of those picks the Pelicans currently possess.
Turning those two first-rounders into Lively and a distant Dallas first balances both the now and later. With all due respect to Yves Missi, Lively has the highest defensive ceiling of any big on New Orleans' roster, and he brings plenty of vertical gravity on offense. At just 21, with two years left on his rookie scale, he can be a part of whatever timeline the Pelicans follow.
Thompson, meanwhile, adds a much-needed floor-spacing element to the offense, particularly as it tries to navigate life without Dejounte Murray. His utility declines if New Orleans is looking to move Zion Williamson and start over, but even then, stretching defenses can streamline the development of younger players. The Pelicans could also look to reroute him for additional compensation.
Regardless of how New Orleans plays it after the fact, a core of Zion, Lively, Trey Murphy II and this year's No. 7 pick holds plenty of appeal.
Dan Favale is a Senior NBA Contributor for FanSided and National NBA Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Bluesky (@danfavale), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes.
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