NBA rumor: ESPN suggests Spurs trade with Mavericks Cooper Flag and Vinban Yama

Can the San Antonio Spurs attract the Dallas Mavericks to give up the opportunity to draft Cooper Flagg? The Dallas Mavericks have the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, and it is speculated that they will use this to pick Duke superstar Cooper Flag. But ESPN insiders believe the deal with the San Antonio Spurs could be of great benefit to the team.

Rumored that Dallas general manager Nico Harrison (the highly criticized executive who traded Luca Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers this season) would use the same method to trade Flag. If he does, the Spurs will certainly be one of the teams that offer tempting offers to the Mavericks.

Of course, the Spurs won't trade former No. 1 pick Victor Vimbaniama, but if the San Antonio Spurs can really sign Flag, most of the other players on the roster seem to be a good choice. However, in ESPN's mock trade, the trade does not require any active NBA players.

ESPN's Zach Kram advises the Mavericks to get the Spurs' No. 2 and No. 14 in the upcoming draft, as well as the Atlanta Hawks' 2027 first-round picks, and their own 2030 first-round pick swap rights (the rights currently belong to the San Antonio Spurs). In exchange, the Spurs will get the No. 1 pick - Cooper Flag.

Cram compared the deal with the Orlando Magic's No. 1 pick signing Chris Webber and Golden State for Penny Hardaway in 1993.

"In 1993, the Warriors sent three future No. 1 picks to the Orlando Magic in exchange for No. 1 picks Chris Webber (University of Michigan) and the Tetra Flowers," Kram wrote. "It sounds like a good fit. Flag replaced Weber - Weber, like Flag, is a super rookie with a great college career - and Dylan Harper replaced Hardaway and became a tall and energetic defender."

Although historical comparisons may make sense on the surface, the Mavericks are in a unique position. First, Harrison said shortly after trading Doncic that the Mavericks have a three-year win window, including this season. Few teams have draft picks and have such a tense win window.

Secondly, after the Doncic trade, Mavericks fans and the entire NBA league have become tougher towards the Dallas Mavericks. There have been calls for the firing of Harrison and demanding new owner Patrick Dumont to sell the team, sponsors have also withdrawn their support for the Dallas Mavericks, and there are multiple reports detailing the turmoil within the team. Even if the deal is reasonable as Cram suggested, it would be a very, very risky move for the Mavericks management or team owners to put Flag first.

If the Mavericks give up Flagg and prioritize picks, they may need to make several other trades; Anthony Davis and Klay Thompson's long-term choices no longer make sense to them, both of whom are over thirty years old and are best suited for championship contenders.

A little more than three weeks later, the 2025 NBA Draft will be held in Brooklyn.