Mavericks might pass on Duke star Cooper Flagg for one shocking reason

The Dallas Mavericks had a very slim chance of winning the 2025 NBA Draft lottery on Monday night. However, that slim chance paid off and the Mavericks won the No. 1 overall pick and the right to select Duke Blue Devils standout Cooper Flagg.

Flagg has been the clear-cut favorite to be the top overall pick for at least a year. Entering the 2024-25 college basketball season, the young star was heavily hyped. Despite facing a lot of pressure, Flagg lived up to that hype and further made his case to be the No. 1 overall pick.

While the Mavericks seem likely to take Flagg, which would be a big step towards replacing the loss of Luka Doncic, there is a chance that they could pass on him.

In fact, there is one shocking reason that Dallas might punt on the opportunity to add Flagg to the mix.

Landing the No. 1 pick also opened the door to using the selection in a blockbuster trade. How about a move with the Milwaukee Bucks for superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo? That would be the one reason the Mavericks could choose to pass on the Flagg opportunity.

Antetokounmpo would be the best win-now move Dallas could make. He's "open-minded" to the idea of a trade this offseason. Offering a package featuring the No. 1 overall pick and Flagg could be enough to make the Bucks strongly consider pulling the trigger on a deal.

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Throughout the course of this freshman season with Duke, Flagg played in 37 games. He averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 blocks, and 1.4 steals per game. In addition, he shot 48.1 percent from the floor and 38.5 percent from the three-point arc.

Should Milwaukee choose to trade Antetokounmpo, acquiring Flagg would be a great replacement. Add in a couple of other young pieces from the Mavericks and a deal could make sense for both parties involved.

As for Antetokounmpo, he put up massive production during the 2024-25 NBA season. In 67 regular season games, he scored 30.4 points per game to go along with 11.9 rebounds, 6.5 assists, and 1.2 blocks, while shooting 60.1 percent from the floor.

Is it likely that Dallas will trade the No. 1 pick for Antetokounmpo? At this point in time, it's hard to say, but it would have to be a consideration if that kind of deal was a legitimate option.