Stephen A. Smith urges Mavs not to make grave mistake with Duke Blue Devils basketball phenom Cooper Flagg

The Dallas Mavericks have a chance to make up for their shocking Luka Doncic trade by drafting the next big thing in basketball: Cooper Flagg. The Mavs improbably landed the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft Lottery, and most reports suggest they will use their life raft to draft the Duke basketball superstar.

Flagg has emerged as the clear No. 1 pick after a freshman year with the Blue Devils that he will never forget. The Maine native led Duke in points, rebounds, assists, blocks, and steals en route to a Final Four finish. He became just the fourth male freshman in NCAA history to win National Player of the Year.

Despite the overwhelming belief that Flagg will become a Mav, some analysts and fans have floated the idea of Dallas trading the No. 1 pick for a top-three superstar like Giannis Antetokounmpo. While it may seem tempting, the Mavs shouldn't even entertain the thought of shipping a potential franchise-changer like Flagg – no matter the return.

On a recent episode of ESPN’s First Take, Stephen A. Smith sent an urgent message to fans about Dallas’ possession of the top pick.

“When you got somebody with that kind of potential and they’re white and you are in America, you keep that dude,” Smith said. “I’m not thinking about moving Cooper Flagg, I’m grabbing Cooper Flagg. He’s the No. 1 pick … Texas is different. And in Dallas, Texas, if you got an opportunity to get Cooper Flagg, you take Cooper Flagg – especially when you just let go of Luka Doncic, especially when everyone’s talking about him (Flagg) having the potential to be the best white American player since Larry Bird."

If the Mavs were to trade their No. 1 pick, they would risk losing even more of their fans. In the wake of the Doncic trade, Dallas’ Instagram page lost nearly one million followers. Trading Flagg would surely turn general manager Nico Harrison into the ultimate villain for Mavs fans, many of whom already spent the second half of the season booing him at home games and begging the organization to fire him.

From rumors of a rigged lottery to expected changes of scenery for some of the game’s biggest stars, this upcoming NBA offseason is shaping up to be one for the ages.