2025 draft thread: THE MAVS SELECT COOPER FLAGG

[david75090]

For some reason, I'm interested in Grant Nelson who played at Alabama. Probably because of his story. He had been at North Dakota, decided to transfer to Alabama and play in a more big-time program. Noticed he wasn't in the top 100 prospects before the tournament. Dude's about 6'11" can move a little bit, shoot a little bit, rebound a little bit. Needs to get stronger. After the tournament he's rated around #75 as a prospect. Still not looking like he'll get drafted. UDFA-type. Looks like a cheaper, Dwight Powell replacement. One difference, he looks at the basket and attempts to shoot on occasion. If he had Dwight's build, he'd probably slip into the 2nd round, like Dwight.

[F Gump]

Lottery is Monday May 12
6:00 pm Dallas time
TV - ESPN

[Chicagojk]

So I did a little dive on the french PG and Essengue. I really wish I could know what I am watching with their highlights. Tough to know the level of competition. French players are sort of hot right now.

Nolan T is still 18. He turns 19 later this month. The Ringer shows him at 19 already but everything else I have seen shows him still at 18. So he is still young. He will be 19 for all of next year. Seeing him struggle in a pro division as an 18 year old should probably be expected. Not sure how bad he struggled earlier in the season. He appears to have played better recently. He is listed at 6'3 so he has pretty solid height. Him and Fears are close to the same age. Fears may be a little smaller. Fears is getting lottery buzz. Nolan T is mocked in the mid first. I do wonder if draft internet guys are putting too much stock in his early season struggles?

Essengue is also 18 still. He is the second youngest player in the draft. Only two days older than Flagg. He moves really well. He was also pretty productive in the pro league. He is a bit more of a projection. Probably not really ready to impact a team, but could be really good if his skills develop as a wing type player.

[omahen]

So I did a little dive on the french PG and Essengue.  I really wish I could know what I am watching with their highlights.  Tough to know the level of competition.  French players are sort of hot right now.

Nolan T is still 18.  He turns 19 later this month.  The Ringer shows him at 19 already but everything else I have seen shows him still at 18.  So he is still young.  He will be 19 for all of next year.    Seeing him struggle in a pro division as an 18 year old should probably be expected.  Not sure how bad he struggled earlier in the season.  He appears to have played better recently.  He is listed at 6'3 so he has pretty solid height.  Him and Fears are close to the same age.  Fears may be a little smaller.  Fears is getting lottery buzz.  Nolan T is mocked in the mid first.    I do wonder if draft internet guys are putting too much stock in his early season struggles?

Essengue is also 18 still.  He is the second youngest player in the draft.  Only two days older than Flagg.  He moves really well.  He was also pretty productive in the pro league.  He is a bit more of a projection.  Probably not really ready to impact a team, but could be really good if his skills develop as a wing type player.

Several of these high upside, great physical measurements french guys came to the league in recent years, but most have been busts. I would be very careful. Wemby is  the exception, imho. 

Recent years:
- 2024: still early, but none of Risacher, Sarr, Salaun or Dadiet impressed based on their pick position
- 2023: Coulibaly (#7)
- 2022: Dieng (#11), 
- 2021: Hayes (#7)

Other example: Ntilikina

[ballsrchr]

Lottery is Monday May 12
6:00 pm Dallas time
TV - ESPN

All I want for my birthday is to be able to sing "The Flag Song" with new feeling.




Unfortunately I usually get  socks or underwear for birthdays...

And they sing Psycho by Hardy...

[HoosierDaddyKid]

All I want for my birthday is to be able to sing "The Flag Song" with new feeling.




Unfortunately I usually get  socks or underwear for birthdays...

And they sing Psycho by Hardy...

With all the bad luck the Mavs have had this past season, that would be a hell of an outlier to get Flagg, but I don't see it happening.

[david75090]

With all the bad luck the Mavs have had this past season, that would be a hell of an outlier to get Flagg, but I don't see it happening.

If the Mavs move from their projected pick, upward, we'll know the league had something to do with the Luka trade. At least that's my conspiracy theory.

[Hooper21]

For some reason, I'm interested in Grant Nelson who played at Alabama. Probably because of his story. He had been at North Dakota, decided to transfer to Alabama and play in a more big-time program. Noticed he wasn't in the top 100 prospects before the tournament. Dude's about 6'11" can move a little bit, shoot a little bit, rebound a little bit. Needs to get stronger. After the tournament he's rated around #75 as a prospect. Still not looking like he'll get drafted. UDFA-type. Looks like a cheaper, Dwight Powell replacement. One difference, he looks at the basket and attempts to shoot on occasion. If he had Dwight's build, he'd probably slip into the 2nd round, like Dwight.

I watched him more the prior season than recently, but I agree.  He shows flashes and plays with a little bit of an edge, but definitely falls into the project category.

[ballsrchr]

With all the bad luck the Mavs have had this past season, that would be a hell of an outlier to get Flagg, but I don't see it happening.

Neither do I...

But I am an "infernal" optimist.

[WildArkieBoy]

Neither do I...

But I am an "infernal" optimist.

Don't give up yet.  The Adelson's home town is giving the Mavs a 1.8% chance of drafting Flagg.  

[juanc]

Mavs are getting Harper and are going to LOVE him!

[ballsrchr]

Don't give up yet.  The Adelson's home town is giving the Mavs a 1.8% chance of drafting Flagg.  

Alright!  That has my optimist bone all a-tingling.

[Reunion Mav]

It’s likely there was a lower percentage chance of all the injuries we had this year and that happened. We could continue in that low percentage chance vein but I won’t…at least till late Monday night.

[Chicagojk]

Several of these high upside, great physical measurements french guys came to the league in recent years, but most have been busts. I would be very careful. Wemby is  the exception, imho. 

Recent years:
- 2024: still early, but none of Risacher, Sarr, Salaun or Dadiet impressed based on their pick position
- 2023: Coulibaly (#7)
- 2022: Dieng (#11), 
- 2021: Hayes (#7)

Other example: Ntilikina

Point taken.  I sort of like some of those guys though.  Although I really haven't watched much of them and think they next year or two will be important to see how they develop.

[Chicagojk]

Zach Lowe on what he's hearing from NBA front offices about the draft: "General consensus is this— #1 is locked in... #2 is probably locked in, at Dylan Harper?... And then everyone's like #3-10 is just kind of like complete eye of the beholder, depends on how the lottery falls."

*****************
You hear this every draft, but I think it is true this year. 1 and 2 appear set no matter who gets those picks. I think 3-5 is the next level. I could see another player jump this group depending who is picking, but I think VJ, Bailey and the Texas kid are in this grouping. After that is a huge mixup (3 centers, a few point guards, a few wings, etc). I have no idea where these guys fall. It will depend on who is picking. Depending what you think about the foreign players, I think the draft loses steam in the 13-14 range and there is another drop. Late first it starts getting real thin, I think.

[Dahlsim]

Sure, because that’s kind of the blueprint of what Nico is trying to do - being bigger and stronger than the opposition in all positions, with Kyrie being the notable exception. So I‘m quite sure they’ll follow this strategy in the draft.

Kyrie is the exception yes, but how about another recent example of an exception the Mavs should note in Jalen Brunson.   At the end of the day the draft is about NBA LEVEL TALENT.  Its hard to project but that's why the GM and Scouting dept. and Coaches get paid the big bucks, to detect those skills and intangibles that will translate. 

The Mavs even had the player in-house and missed the true value on Brunson.  

I think you're reading that correctly.  We already have one small guard (we hope) in Kyrie.  I don't see adding another. 

I think if we go guard, we look at the two larger ball handling types in Demin and Jakucionis. But then again this seems to be going away from the Nico style of American born prep stars. 

If we dont move up in the lottery i see the pick getting moved. Either we try to trade up for one of the top 5 (Flagg, Harper, Bailey, V.J. , Johnson) or they trade the pick in a package for a vet.

It's convenient that the projected guards in this draft mostly have nice size, but Mavs have to look for the outlier skills and intangibles too.  This season do you remember who was trending very strongly to be rookie of the year before he was injured?   It was Jared McCain, barely a scooche bigger than Kyrie Irving if at all.  

He is a smallish guard but not tiny, a strong build so a little Brunson-like, very young so required projection. 
Thing was he was showing signs of outlier shooting/3-pt ability and a social media darling (leadership).  

Brunson I always thought was underrated because of what some would see as intangibles which have now borne out to the tune of making the Knicks a true championship contender!  Brunson has the NBA blood-line, raised by a basketball father (Harper has that :-) but more than that the Villanova championships were no fluke.  Brunson and those players had and still have those skills and winning intangibles.  Kudos to NY for recognizing why that was a special college team. 

So who's got it this year? If they happen to have good size then fantastic, but NBA talent projection is the most important.  Losing Kyrie Irving imo is the biggest factor that SANK Nico's vision of this years Mavs. 
AD wasn't bad really, actually you could argue he was pretty damn good, great end of season numbers including a 40/9/2/1/1 statement at the end. 

The new NICO Mavs (   ) didn't have a ready-to-go replacement for that small guard scoring, clutch play and leadership intangibles Kyrie brings once they butchered the Luka trade w/o bring back AR in the deal.  Max Christie by the way is a nice young wing pickup who will look a lot better once they have a lead guard again. 

They absolutely required Kyrie to be in that defense first rotation with Dante Exum imo being the 2nd most important guard but also was banged up.  Dinwiddie would have been just 3rd in that mix. 
Is there a Brunson in this draft?  Brunson was drafted 33rd btw 

[ThisIStheYear]

Traore is the obvious guy for Mavs, isn’t he, if they don’t move up. Apparently, he lit it up today or recently and is playing well, showing great potential, after some early struggles.

[Chicagojk]

Kyrie is the exception yes, but how about another recent example of an exception the Mavs should note in Jalen Brunson.   At the end of the day the draft is about NBA LEVEL TALENT.  Its hard to project but that's why the GM and Scouting dept. and Coaches get paid the big bucks, to detect those skills and intangibles that will translate. 

The Mavs even had the player in-house and missed the true value on Brunson.  


It's convenient that the projected guards in this draft mostly have nice size, but Mavs have to look for the outlier skills and intangibles too.  This season do you remember who was trending very strongly to be rookie of the year before he was injured?   It was Jared McCain, barely a scooche bigger than Kyrie Irving if at all.  

He is a smallish guard but not tiny, a strong build so a little Brunson-like, very young so required projection. 
Thing was he was showing signs of outlier shooting/3-pt ability and a social media darling (leadership).  

Brunson I always thought was underrated because of what some would see as intangibles which have now borne out to the tune of making the Knicks a true championship contender!  Brunson has the NBA blood-line, raised by a basketball father (Harper has that :-) but more than that the Villanova championships were no fluke.  Brunson and those players had and still have those skills and winning intangibles.  Kudos to NY for recognizing why that was a special college team. 

So who's got it this year? If they happen to have good size then fantastic, but NBA talent projection is the most important.  Losing Kyrie Irving imo is the biggest factor that SANK Nico's vision of this years Mavs. 
AD wasn't bad really, actually you could argue he was pretty damn good, great end of season numbers including a 40/9/2/1/1 statement at the end. 

The new NICO Mavs (   ) didn't have a ready-to-go replacement for that small guard scoring, clutch play and leadership intangibles Kyrie brings once they butchered the Luka trade w/o bring back AR in the deal.  Max Christie by the way is a nice young wing pickup who will look a lot better once they have a lead guard again. 

They absolutely required Kyrie to be in that defense first rotation with Dante Exum imo being the 2nd most important guard but also was banged up.  Dinwiddie would have been just 3rd in that mix. 
Is there a Brunson in this draft?  Brunson was drafted 33rd btw 

Speaking about McCain:

14.3 pts as a freshman at Duke on 46/41/88 shooting.  Is a winning player who makes the right play.  6'2-6'3 and not a point guard at this stage.

vs

Jase Richardson

12.1 points as a freshman (numbers went up when he was put as a starter on 49/41/83 shooting.  Is a winning player who makes the right play.   6'2ish I think and not a point guard at this stage.

I have McCain as a higher rated player because I think he showed a little more.   Richardson is really left handed and pretty much played off ball.  MSU had two other point guards so not sure if Jase found a role for that team.   McCain is also a little thicker build.  If Richardson was 6'6 or 6'6, he would be perfect for the Mavs.  Although he would be long gone at the end of the lottery.  BTW, he has a highly recruited brother who is a SR who is 6'6.   I am really having trouble evaluating Jace's upside.

Oh, and I believe his dad had a Nike shoe deal.    

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he8AkLTR8gM

[DL2RimRocker]

I'm wondering if Maluach would make some sense for us if we are picking at 11.

We'd have 2 centers on rookie contracts that would allow us to trade Gaff for a playmaker while keeping us strong and deep in the frontcourt.
I don't see any guard other than Harper doing much for us in the first or 2nd year and Nico is fully committed to winning now.
To achieve what Nico wants, we'll need a veteran replacement for Kyrie's lengthy absence.

If we don't get a top 4 pick, I'll be shocked if Nico keeps the pick on draft night.

[DL2RimRocker]

Nique Clifford is intriguing although he isn't a PG.
The guy is about as close to being the next Bane as anyone in the draft.
A very solid two-way player.

Only real problem taking him is that we have a similar player in Christie.