Nico Harrison falls into a huge win with another generational talent. Owners should fire him before he trades this one.

Will be interesting though. Expect a bunch of changes in Dallas as there's probably going to be a bit of a clogged frontcourt now with Gafford, Lively, AD, PJ Washington, Flagg and bigger wings like Martin, Klay, Marshall. Would expect them to trade at least 2 of those guys for some quality guard help, especially with Kyrie out for a lot of next season.

As a Hornets fan, not happy. And seeing Dallas get pick 1 is gross

Yeah rough for Hornets, Wizards and Jazz seeing Spurs, Sixers and Mavs all above them.

Can't help but feel sorry for Flagg. Dallas is run by incompetent fools.

Lakers licking their lips at a future trade of Cooper Flagg for nobody

Flagg's reaction wasn't great on camera

Hate to put my name to this given my impeccable standing in this forum but is anyone else getting conspiracy theory vibes?

No.

If the NBA could/would rig the lottery, wouldn't they occasionally have one of these generational talents land in the eastern conference?

I know it's a while ago but I guess you've heard the Patrick Ewing frozen envelope theory.

I'm not saying it's always rigged, i'm saying it's possibly sometimes rigged.

Yeah thats an old one. I don't buy any of it.

Luck is a thing, in sports its a big thing. In a literal lottery its everything.

They had Doncic traded to the Lakers to ensure the Lakers would have a superstar to take over after LeBron. Then after the practical revolt of Mavs fans combined with Kyrie being out have now ensured the Mavs have a bright future with Flagg as their new franchise player. Never change, NBA.

Never change, crazy conspiracy theories.

A more interesting thing than the conspiracy theories is that Josh Giddey cost the Bulls Cooper Flagg...

Bulls had 12th best chance in this lottery

If Giddey missed the game winner vs the Lakers, Bulls would've had 11ths lottery balls instead of Dallas.

NBA What ifs are the best.

Spurs- nice draft pick again! Would Bucks be interested in Keldon Johnson and pick 2 for Giannis? What about Devin Vassell and pick 2 (probably doesnt help that 2nd best prospect Harper is also an SG....)

76ers and Mavs giving off 90's Spurs Vibes. Only ended in the lottery due to injuries to superstars- like The Admiral in 1996-97 resulting in Spurs getting Duncan

I'm not typically one for conspiracy theories, but to me personally the idea Dallas were promised pick 1 in exchange for making the Luka trade happen seems more plausible than most theories I’ve heard.

"I'm not typically one for conspiracy theories, but...."

is exactly how every tin foil hat fool starts. Then before long its shape shifting lizard people in the basement of a pizza place without a basement.

Don't think I’ll get that far, might just be my coping method as a permantly disappointed hornets fan!

understandable!

Then there was the theory about Dallas wanting to alienate the fanbase so they could move team to Vegas.
As for the actual consensus top 2 picks, Flagg is definitely the better player. But Dallas needs help in the backcourt and Spurs have Fox and Castle in place. So could Nico do another unimaginable move and take Harper and Spurs get Flagg. Maybe san Antonio can sweeten the deal and trade up from 2 to 1.
Imagine the headlines if Nico does another crazy deal.
Maybe Spurs try and turn Harper into another Ginobili, or they trade down and get assets that they need more.
Also maybe the league sent a sign to tankers like Utah and Washington, just having worst records doesn't guarantee the to prize.

Cram, sounded like the Mavs were on the cusp of trading Gafford last year anyway. Seems a bit of a headless chicken and 2-3x Lively's salary?

Fair to say that the others all showed signs?

Are we really suggesting that the Lakers of Los Angeles would have had such a hard time landing a big name once LeBron retires that the league felt the need to rig the draft so that the Mavs were willing to part ways with Luka?

They're the Lakers.

Dallas winning it is crazy!

I have absolutely no right to be so greedy, but gosh the Spurs were so close, if only. It would have sorted out their need for that SF/PF spot.

Now the Spurs have a lot of guards assuming they go with Harper.

What to do, what to do.....

Sounds like nice problems to have KET!

Lebron moved from Cleveland to Lakers, Cavs get the #1 pick next draft.

Davis moved from New Orleans to Lakers, Pels get the #1 pick next draft.

Luka moved from Dallas to Lakers, Mars get thr #1 pick next draft.


With NBA ratings going in the wrong direction, they need to keep the draw cards contending.

"Cram, sounded like the Mavs were on the cusp of trading Gafford last year anyway. Seems a bit of a headless chicken and 2-3x Lively's salary?

Fair to say that the others all showed signs?"

I think once they had AD there was already a surplus of bigs. Gafford and Lively are both starting quality bigs, and with the Mavs likely to go small for some minutes (mainly down the stretch of big games) with AD in the middle, there's even less minutes for the two of them. And yeah Lively is still on his rookie deal so is cheaper right now but he'll command a big raise in a couple of years.

Gafford is actually cheap for a starting quality centre but his deal is expiring so I expect they'll move him for what they can get for him now. He was definitely better paired with Luka as he's a great finisher at the rim (and Luka loves to throw the lob) and a good solid defender. Lakers would definitely be looking to try to get him.

"With NBA ratings going in the wrong direction, they need to keep the draw cards contending."

The Lakers are the most watched team even when they suck. Again, if they could rig it, putting a generational talent in the eastern conference (maybe a big market like say....Brooklyn) would be the move. As it is with all the talent in the west, the Finals - the biggest draw card - loses competition.

If Melbourne Boy is right, then that's a BiG indictment of the NBA’s *supposed* randomising of the draft picks to discourage tanking.

"Lebron moved from Cleveland to Lakers, Cavs get the #1 pick next draft."

Cavs got the 5th pick the next draft, despite having the second worst record. And LeBron left as a FA, the Cavs had no say in the matter.

But let's not let the facts get in the way of a good conspiracy.

Davis moved from New Orleans to Lakers, Pels get the #1 pick next draft.

"Lebron moved from Cleveland to Lakers, Cavs get the #1 pick next draft.

Davis moved from New Orleans to Lakers, Pels get the #1 pick next draft.

Luka moved from Dallas to Lakers, Mars get thr #1 pick next draft."

"Draft lottery was May 2019.

Davis-Lakers trade was July 2019."

Did the first one above actually happen? I thought the closest Cavs #1 pick to LeBron's move to the Lakers was in 2021.

But while we're at it, might as well add LeBron to the NBA conspiracy in 2014 (we have to again assume that the NBA is capable of setting up agreements well before the draft):

Cavs select Wiggins #1 in June 2014

LeBron James returns to Cleveland in July 2014.

At least the logic makes some sense in that the NBA would want their biggest and most marketable stars to be on more successful teams.

Skimming through a few mock drafts, I saw a few Aussies projected as 2nd round picks. The sites I looked at were all quite different after the first round, however.

Which site/s would you recommend as the most reliable?