Mavericks hit Cooper Flagg jackpot, win NBA lottery despite 1.8% chance

The NBA Draft Lottery's ping-pong balls have bounced the right way for the Dallas Mavericks

After all they've been through with the Luka trade and the injuries, they are the winners of what most fans and even NBA executives are calling the Cooper Flag sweepstakes

The top pick in the June NBA Draft will likely be the 6'9", 18-year-old from Duke

who just completed a dominating freshman season, leading the Blue Devils to the Final Four

He played 37 games in his lone season in Durham, averaging 19 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 4 assists per game, winning National Player of the Year honors

The Mavs won the lottery for the first time in team history. They had a 1.8% chance to win the draft

Those are the fourth lowest odds ever. The trade of Luka Doncic's midseason shocked the league and upset the fan base

Then Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving were injured. But with Flagg possibly being on board, things are looking much better for their future

The San Antonio Spurs are second overall. They'll have two lottery picks to find a couple players to pair with Victor Wimbanyana

The Philadelphia 76ers are third. Then the Charlotte Hornets and Utah Jazz, who both had a 14% chance of winning the lottery, but got some terrible luck

In his season-ending press conference, Utah Jazz General Manager Justin Zanuck talked about his young players

like Isaiah Collier, Keontae George, and Kyle Filipowski. And they have ammunition to make a move

if they see a deal that makes sense We do have two firsts this year and two seconds so that gives us some flexibility to maybe move around We do have the capacity to add a couple players through the draft with our roster

But, you know, you guys can bring out all your rabbit's foots and lucky charms and see what happens

The rabbit's foot did not work. The Wizards also had a 14% chance but fell to number six

Although they're still feeling good about the young players they have on their roster that got time on the court this past season

Adding another young star will only help that core. General Manager Will Dawkins recently said, do not expect a complete turnaround, however, even with a top pick

The ability to continue to steady grow. We haven't put a timeline on when we want to get there

We want to make sure we're providing the runway for guys to take off and play young players

And I think we did that this year and we'll continue to do that next season. and you saw the young lineups

You'll see a few more next season for sure. A few prospects that could be drafted right after Flagg

include Rutgers guard Dylan Harper and his college teammate Ace Bailey. Guards Vijay Edgecomb from Baylor and Trey Johnson from Texas

will also be high picks, along with two of Flagg's Blue Devils teammates

guard Khan Knipple and center Kamen Malowak. Let the offseason wheeling and dealing begin

Now that teams know where they're picking, will there be any blockbuster trades before the June 25th draft

Will a certain Greek superstar in Milwaukee be on the move? We have just under six weeks to find out

For Straight Arrow News, I'm Chris Francis