02-05-2026, 05:58 AM
(This post was last modified: 02-05-2026, 06:07 AM by HoosierDaddyKid.)
(02-05-2026, 02:25 AM)RGP1981 Wrote: Flagg is amazing and I do not begrudge the Mavericks fans anything for getting him. Just wanna point out that I don't believe it was divine intervention that got him to Dallas, hehe. This was collusion at the NBA's leadership level.
Some recent examples:
- #1 pick to the Pelicans after trading AD to the Lakers.
- #1 pick to the Mavericks after trading Luka to the Lakers.
- #2 pick to the Spurs, so that Wemby vs SGA can be a storyline.
- #3 pick to the 76ers, because Philly is an old storied franchise that needs to be kept relevant after Ben Simmons didn't work out, and with Joel Embiid falling off lately, and with them getting themselves into a real pickle by signing Paul George to that contract.
There's been too many examples for this to be mere coincidence. To me it is quite obvious that the NBA steps in to grant favors in the draft to teams that they hope will be title contenders and fit their desired story-lines, at the expense of teams like the Jazz. Most teams who don't fit the desired story-line have 1 thing against them, but the Jazz had 2 things against them here: 1) They're a small market and 2) I can't imagine the powers that be in the NBA and sports media would have been pleased with the optics of an American white guy leading the Utah Jazz (of all teams in the NBA) to multiple titles, with the current political landscape being what it is. Which is more a reflection of how they think, than of anything or anyone else.
Disagree. Dallas clearly beat the odds of much worse teams to get the No 1 pick. Do you think that was just a coincidence? NBA just did them a solid for Dummy Harrison trading away a franchise player and sending one of they're bigger markets into turmoil and unrest. This was akin to a floundering Knicks team in the 80's getting the no 1 pick to draft Patrick Ewing. Different circumstances, but the same effect.