The NBA world was stunned when the Dallas Mavericks won the NBA Draft Lottery, giving them the opportunity to select Duke star Cooper Flagg at the end of the month. It was a wild change of events, going from trading Luka Doncic in his prime to the Los Angeles Lakers, losing in the final game of the Play-In Tournament, to jumping up from 11th to 1st in the NBA Draft.
The Draft Lottery is impossible and illegal to rig, but that didn't stop speculation from running rampant about how questionable the entire situation was.
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Duke Blue Devils forward Cooper Flagg
Apr 5, 2025; San Antonio, TX, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Cooper Flagg (2) walks off the court after losing to the Houston Cougars in the semifinals of the men's Final Four of the 2025 NCAA Tournament at the Alamodome. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images / Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images
Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green recently appeared on the Jimmy Kimmel Show, where Kimmel asked Green about the trade. Green heard Stephen Curry going crazy and thought it was the Kevin Durant trade that owner Joe Lacob had just told Green was going to happen, but then he saw it was Doncic and was stunned.
"I couldn't believe it," Green told Kimmel. "Superstars at 25 [years old] don't get traded. Luka's a megastar, just coming off the NBA Finals. You just don't see that in the NBA. I immediately wondered, 'I have to be next if Luka's being traded.'"
Kimmel then asked Green about the Mavericks winning the first pick and if it was suspicious, and even he admits it's a little fishy.
"Although he suspends me often and fines me often, I still consider Adam Silver a friend, so I'm not gonna do him like that," Green said. "But it may be a little suspicious. Just a tad."
It was just a 1.8% chance for the Mavericks to jump all the way up, and it gives the franchise a much-needed lift raft after the self-sabotage of the Doncic trade.
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