FIRST TAKE | Stephen A. Smith GOES CRAZY Mavs plan to draft Cooper Flagg, will not trade No. 1 pick

FIRST TAKE | Stephen A. Smith GOES CRAZY Mavs plan to draft Cooper Flagg, will not trade No. 1 pick

Dallas. After making the biggest jump in the NBA draft lottery, Nico Harrison and the Dallas Mavericks intend to keep the number one pick and take top draft prospect Cooper Flag. The Mavs had a 1.8% chance of actually winning the lottery just only a year after being in the finals in a season where they traded Luca Donuch for Anthony Davis. So, with superstar free agents like KD and Giannis becoming available this summer, Stephen A, do you think it’s the right decision for Dallas to keep that number one pick? I think it is. I think it is. And I’m going to say it plain as I can possibly say it. Ladies and gentlemen, Koopa Flag is white and he can ball. The combination of the two is a winner. If you tell me that I got a guy doggy and Wendy that has this kind of potential where clear-cut prohibitive number one overall pick in an upcoming NBA draft. They were saying this while he was playing before his college career started after it started as he got it the Duke Blue Devils deep into the NCAA tournament. This is what they were saying about him. All right. And no matter the level of greatness that we saw in college basketball this year, you still found yourself saying scoopa flag and then everybody else. When you got somebody with that kind of potential and they’re white and you are in America, you keep that dude. You keep I’m telling you right now with my black self, I’m the owner of the Dallas Mavericks. I ain’t thinking about drafting somebody else. I’m not thinking about moving Cooper Flag. I’m grabbing Coopa Flag. He’s the number one overall pick. I mean, think and just think about the marketing. Do you know I saw some some commercial I forgot whether it was a commercial or an endorsement deal or whatever. Do you know he had the American flag behind him? Just think about that for think about the marketability. We’re not talking I’m not talking about just keeping him because he’s just because he’s white. I’m saying the brother can play. He’s spe He’s a special talent. And then when you think about it, they just let go of Luca. So you can’t let go and and let’s call what it is that Jerry Jones taught me this. This is what I learned from when I say this kind of stuff. I get this kind of stuff from Jerry Jones. When I say we’re talking about Texas, that’s Jerry Jones right there. That’s what Jerry Jones reminded me. This is Texas. A little bit different. True story. This actually happened. I’m in Austin, Texas last year. I’m in my hotel room. I’ve never seen this happen in my life. I’m watching an episode of Martin Al, you know, Martin Lawrence, great great comedic genius that he is. And in the middle of the episode, the program gets interrupted so they can air the national anthem with the American flag on the screen. I’ve never seen that happen in my life. It was on television. That’s what happened. Okay. Texas is different. And in Dallas, Texas, if you got an opportunity to get Cooper Flag, you take Cooper Flag. Especially when you just let go of Luca Donuch. And especially when everybody’s talking about him best potential to be the best white American player since Larry Bird. Yes, you keep that pick. I ain’t got no problems with it. All right. I’m going to take a little bit of a different approach, Stephen A, to why the Mets, I think, are going to do this one. um they have to make an evaluation and it sounds like they’ve made it about whether Cooper Flag is a potential top five NBA player or whether Cooper Flag is a top 15 20 NBA player. That’s an evaluation that every team would have to make with this number one pick. And the reason that’s important is if you’re going to trade the number a guy who can be a top five player, you got to get a top five player back. And if you got a top five player who’s at 19, actually he’s still only 18. He won’t be 19. I think it’s later this year. Then that changes your calculus no matter who’s available. If you think he’s a top 20 player, then that’s a difference. But it sounds to me like the Mavericks evaluate him not today, not next year, but it’s a that kind of potential. The second thing is this, and I know that this is a little bit annoying, and I know that it can be boring, but it’s so important in the NBA. You just have to think about it if you want to have a serious conversation. In the current NBA, it is very hard, not impossible, but it is very hard to construct a team with three big salaries all at one time. Okay? The only the way to build a team is if you can have a rookie, just like in NFL, what’s the best thing to have in the NFL? A quarterback on his rookie salary. So, if you have Anthony Davis and you have Kyrie Irving, yeah, you can dream about Giannis, but all three of those together in their 30s, it’s a gamble. You take a guy who’s 18, 19 years old making a discount contract for four years, way better opportunity for you to build your team. And I think that’s as much of a decision-making as any marketing. Totally true. 100%. Uh again, if Flag, let’s forget the what Steve said, if he wasn’t this good, I could see trading him, right? He’s going to be a great player. I mean, he’s he does he’s got a lot of Larry Bird characteristics. He fills up a box score. He can he can shoot. He’s a great athlete. And remember, he should have been a senior in high school this year. So, he’s a young kid. He’s got 12, 13 years of big-time basketball ahead of him. Giannis is 30 years of age, and he’s not making a ton of money. You can’t trade him. I could see San Antonio making that trade with the second pick to Milwaukee. I can’t see Dallas doing it. Partly with what Steve said, and I’m going to let him say it, and I’m not going to say it because I like the job I have, so I’ll let Steve say it. And number two, is the idea that, you know, he’s got a chance to be a hell of an NBA player and he’s from Duke and all those things. I’m going to leave it alone. Let me let me let me make sure because I want to make sure that I’m very very clear because, you know, people love to misquote this show, okay? And and love to put attach false headlines. I am in no way saying that you keep the number one overall pick just because Cooper Flag is white. The first order of business is he can ball. He can play. He can play. He’s worth it. Okay, he’s worth it. So, my point is the reason it’s relevant is because there’s been noise about if you’re Dallas, do you use that as an opportunity to move to pick to acquire somebody the status of Ayana Santis Kopi who’s one of the best players on the planet even though he’s 30 years of age? That’s all you’re saying. So, I’m like, it’s because he can play, but the fact that he’s white, marketable, even his name makes him even more marketable. I’m not passing that up at all. All right, that’s my point. We’ll leave it there. Mad Dog, uh, you’re coming off a very tough week. Very tough. We got to hear all about it after the break. God, it’s a safe space here. Yes. Oh, Lord. Hi. Seven.

FIRST TAKE | Stephen A. Smith GOES CRAZY to Mavs plan to draft Cooper Flagg, will not trade No. 1 pick