The Philadelphia 76ers will be best-served utilizing their draft pick in the highly-touted 2025 NBA Draft, but even if they managed to get lucky and snag the third overall selection, you would be disingenuous not to admit some degree of frustration about not being in the position to obtain Cooper Flagg, who is the hands-down best prospect this year.
That is more so the case when you consider that the only two teams picking ahead of them — Dallas and San Antonio — made tremendous leaps and bending of the odds in the lottery to get to their pole position. Philly still has a slew of great options with pick No. 3, but Flagg would have been a dream fit for the franchise for both the present and future.
Fans and pundits alike are pretty certain that Flagg will head to the Mavericks to team up with Anthony Davis and Luk — I mean, an injured Kyrie Irving. However, a lot of talking heads just cannot seem to be hopeful about a miracle through omission on draft night thanks to the very person who will have the final say for Dallas on June 25.
Nico Harrison will drool over this unthinkable 76ers trade offer for Cooper Flagg
Any smart team executive will not overthink it and just pick Flagg outright, not even entertaining calls for offers. However, the Mavs have Nico Harrison — the most polarizing figure in the NBA who willingly traded Luka Doncic just a year after the superstar led them to the NBA Finals.
At this point, the 76ers — who have the makings of a great trading partner thanks to their star-studded roster and draft capital — should perhaps exploit that inherent red flag and put out a sweet scent to lure the reckless executive in.
Dallas is reportedly putting an emphasis on getting a point guard this offseason to cope with the loss of Irving, and for that, the 76ers have a similarly reckless idea they could put on the table — trading Tyrese Maxey and the third overall pick for the right to select Flagg.
This one is clearly a punch in the black hole, but Philadelphia is actually incentivized to make a drastic change this time around. Joel Embiid and Paul George are on the decline, and Maxey operating as a primary option has not yielded great returns.
This may never even touch the realm of reality, but the Philadelphia 76ers will not get punished for being brazenly shameless and putting forth such a pitch. After all, Nico Harrison is on the other end. If he can trade Luka, he can definitely trade a colossally talented, yet unproven player.