After learning that his team had jumped up in the NBA draft, all Sixers President Daryl Morey could do was lay his head on a table in relief. The entire direction of the franchise may have changed for him in that moment as Philadelphia, who was at risk of losing its pick if it fell outside of the top six, instead landed the No. 3 selection.
Embattled Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison had a much louder response after overcoming 1.8 percent odds to win the No. 1 pick. He leapt out of his chair, screaming, and pumping his fists in joy as he embraced fellow staffers.
For the Mavericks, Sixers, and Spurs, who earned the No. 2 pick, the decisions on draft day go further than who to select. All three are ahead of where teams normally are in their timelines when they get picks that high. Teams are going to be calling about those picks, and they should listen to those calls.
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Should the Mavericks trade Cooper Flagg?
Harrison obviously isn’t afraid to make a controversial trade. Even beyond getting pennies on the dollar for Luka Doncic, his other trades for Kyrie Irving, P.J. Washington, Daniel Gafford, and Caleb Martin all came under some level of scrutiny at the time they were made.
Harrison knows that the pressure is on him to win immediately. He insinuated as much in his public comments after the Doncic trade.
“The future to me is three to four years from now. Ten years from now, I don’t know. They probably bury me and [Jason Kidd] by then. Or we bury ourselves.”
Irving’s injury may have changed that timeline. He will miss most or all of the next season while he recovers from ACL surgery. Even as good as Flagg is, Dallas doesn’t have any healthy point guards under contract outside of reserve Brandon Williams. They’re not constructed to be a contender in 2026.
What the Mavericks should do is trade Anthony Davis and start a full rebuild around Flagg. What they will do is anyone’s guess.
Dallas had zero shot of landing Giannis Antetokounmpo before Monday’s lottery. Now, they could pull that lever if Harrison still believes in that three-year window. That’s not a decision that 29 other general managers in the league would make. That hasn’t stopped him before.
MORE: Winners and losers from a shocking NBA draft lottery
Will the Spurs trade Dylan Harper?
The calculus for the Spurs is significantly different. Dylan Harper is a wonderful prospect that is the clear No. 2 in this class. He’s not Flagg, though, and trading him wouldn’t be nearly as controversial.
Harper and Victor Wembanyama could be a fun fit. Harper is a good passer and pick-and-roll player who could create easier shots for Wemby. But at 19 years old, it is going to take some time for him to develop into a championship-level player. Should the Spurs be patient when they already have a top 10 player on the roster?
Harper’s position in San Antonio is further complicated by their glut of promising guards. Stephon Castle is coming off a Rookie of the Year win. De’Aaron Fox just came to town, and the Spurs gave up a good package to acquire him. Where will the minutes come for a suddenly-crowded backcourt?
It would be very unlike the Spurs to trade this pick. They’ve preached patience over and over, and they have the best developmental staff in the league. They could figure out a way to make this work. Still, they have to at least consider the option of trading down or using that pick to acquire a more win-now star like Giannis or Kevin Durant.
MORE: SN’s 2-round mock draft
Will the Sixers trade the No. 3 pick?
The Sixers’ future looked extremely bleak before jumping up in the lottery. They were one of the few tanking teams that were actively trying to win games for most of the year, and they still finished with the fifth-worst record in the league.
That No. 3 pick gives them a get-out-of-jail-free card for the mistakes that they’ve made. The four-year, $212 million Paul George contract is looking like an absolute albatross after just its first year. The $192 million owed to Joel Embiid over the next three seasons might be even worse.
With this pick, they could package one of those two players (along with their other two first-round picks) in order to make a serious run at Giannis, KD, or any other star that becomes available. Jared McCain will also be an extremely attractive trade asset. He likely would have won Rookie of the Year had he not torn his meniscus after just 23 games.
Morey still believes that Embiid is capable of playing at an MVP level, according to comments he made last week on the Rights to Ricky Sanchez podcast.
“If Joel comes back, it’s going to be at a very high level. I actually don’t see a scenario where he’s fading,” Morey said.
Morey has been one of the most aggressive executives in the league when it comes to making big trades. It wouldn’t shock anyone if he moved that pick, particularly if what he says is true about his expectations for Embiid.
MORE: Are Celtics in trade market after Jayson Tatum injury?
