The NBA draft is here, and that meant the trade machine is just getting cranked up. There have been more than 50 trades on draft day over the past five years, so if that average holds, fans can except to be hit with at least 10 trades before the second round concludes on Thursday night, the second day of the draft.
And that’s only counting the real trades. The number of proposed and hypothetical trades is certainly uncountable. But could any of them actually happen?
One especially eye-grabbing trade proposal appeared earlier this week on the site FanSpo, which allows fans, or anyone, to propose trades while the site automatically calculates the cost and cap impact for each team involved. The site then gives each proposed trade a result of “success.” Or not.
With the Dallas Mavericks owning the No. 1 pick and appearing too be a virtual lock to take Duke’s Cooper Flagg, inevitably speculation will swirl around whether Flagg cam be extracted from the Mavericks.
Trade Proposal Could Tempt Mavs to Part With Top Pick
The 18-year-old Flagg grew up in Maine, and comes from a family of Boston Celtics fans, which has led to some generally unfounded speculation that Celtics president of basketball ops Brad Steven may concoct some kind of scheme to bring Flagg “home.”
Wherever he ends up, Flagg is the most highly anticipated American NBA prospect at least since another Duke star, Zion Williamson, in 2019. But could anything persuade the Mavericks to part with the rights to draft Flagg?
In the new trade proposal from FanSpo user “brycebuchanan2,” the Milwaukee Bucks would make what may be the most tempting possible offer for the No. 1 overall pick. Here’s how the proposed trade lines up:
Milwaukee Bucks receive:
Kyrie Irving, shooting guard.
Caleb Martin, small forward.
2025 first round draft pick, likely to be Flagg.
2026 first round draft pick.
2028 first round draft pick (Oklahoma City Thunder hold swap rights).
2029 first round draft pick (Houston Rockets hold swap rights).
2029 first round draft pick via Los Angeles Lakers in trade for Luka Dončić.
2030 first round draft pick (San Antonio Spurs hold swap rights).
2031 first round draft pick.
Dallas Mavericks receive:
Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Dallas Assumes Immediate ‘Win Now’ Stance
This proposed trade would obviously be a “win now” move for Dallas, pairing the 30-year-old, two-time NBA MVP (in 2018-2019 and 2019-2020) with big man Anthony Davis, center Daniel Gabbard and another center, Derek Lively II, to create what would likely be the biggest and most physically powerful front line in the NBA.
Antetokounmpo led the Bucks in 2021 to their first championship since 1971 when they were led by another generational big man, Lew Alcindor — who after the season changed his name to Karen Abdul-Jabbar.
He would have a chance to achieve something similar in Dallas, where the Mavericks — who joined the NBA in 1980 as an expansion team — have won only one title, in 2011.
But the Mavericks got a taste of the NBA Finals again in 2024 when they lost to the Boston Celtics in five games. They responded the next year by heading in a whole different direction, dealing Dončić to the Lakers for Edwards, as well as that 2029 first-rounder which under the proposed blockbuster trade would transfer to Milwaukee.
For the Bucks, the trade would set them up for a complete rebuild, which seemed inevitable once guard Damian Lillard tore his Achilles tendon in a first-round playoff game this year against the eventual Eastern Conference champion Indian Pacers.
Antetokounmpo would be in the second season of his three-year, $175 million contract extension, but by moving out Irving and Martin, the Mavericks would add only $2.4 million to their salary cap number, according to FanSpo calculations.
