Mavericks urged to trade Cooper Flagg for 4-time scoring champion

Matthew Wadleigh

Mavericks urged to trade Cooper Flagg for 4-time scoring champion image

The Dallas Mavericks stunned the NBA world by landing the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft lottery. As such, that means the chance to select Duke sensation Cooper Flagg. 

At this rate, Flagg is far and away the top pick in the draft, and all signs point to the Mavericks making the easy choice to bring Flagg to town as the next face of the franchise, especially after trading away Luka Doncic. 

ESPN's Jonathan Givony mentioned Flagg is "thrilled" to potentially join Dallas and the Duke star is scheduling a visit there. 

However, former NBA center DeMarcus Cousins hopped on "Run It Back" and dropped a wild idea: The Mavs trading Flagg for Kevin Durant. Yes, really. 

"Kevin Durant wouldn't be a bad move there either with that No. 1 pick," Cousins said. "Nico's already on record saying it's a 3-year window for winning a championship. Cooper Flagg doesn't fit that window, Kevin Durant does. So I absolutely think he would trade that No. 1 pick. I think that's an option for them."

Nico Harrison, the Mavs GM, has been the center of plenty of backlash since the shocking Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis Lakers-Mavs-Jazz trade on February 1, but the Mavs landing the top pick might've earned him some more time.

Now, do the Mavs make a trade for a superstar such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, or, in this case, Durant? 

Who knows, but there are plenty of possibilities on the table, and Cousins thinks Durant fits the Mavs' title window. 

Matthew Wadleigh

Matthew Wadleigh is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He was born and raised in Southern California and grew up a San Diego sports fan (yes, it’s tough, except for Aztecs hoops). Matthew went to Fresno State as a journalism major and got to see Davante Adams, Derek Carr, Paul George and Aaron Judge in person. Matthew has written for publications including ClutchPoints, Sportscasting, Fansided, Trojans Wire, UCLA Wire and Buffaloes Wire.