The Dallas Mavericks weren’t supposed to be here. With just a 1.8% chance at landing the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, they hit the lottery—and now all eyes are on Duke phenom Cooper Flagg. While fans rush to Photoshop Flagg in a Mavs jersey, head coach Jason Kidd is doing his best to avoid a technical foul… off the court.

On The Dan Patrick Show, Kidd made it clear: Dallas wants Flagg. But he quickly added the all-important disclaimer — “I’m just the coach.” Translation: Don’t fine me, Adam Silver.

When asked point-blank if the Mavericks would draft Flagg, Kidd didn’t dance around it. “We’re all concentrating on number one,” he said. “The draft is deep, and so, as the name [Cooper Flagg] you just brought up, I think we’re all focused on that.” That’s about as close as you can get to spelling it out without triggering a league memo. But Kidd didn’t stop there — he made sure to remind everyone that there are rules in place.

“I have not spoken to Cooper Flagg,” Kidd stated, leaning hard into compliance mode. “I don’t want to break any of the rules and get us in trouble… I’m trying to be politically correct here and make sure that we don’t get in trouble and I don’t step on any toes.”

Jason Kidd on Cooper Flagg: “We’re excited about the kid at Duke… We’re really excited about this opportunity.”

He’s not being paranoid. The NBA strictly prohibits teams from contacting draft-eligible players outside of approved windows, and even a few overly eager public comments can tread dangerously close to tampering. Kidd chose his words carefully—just enough to signal interest, not enough to raise red flags.

And he has every reason to be cautious. In 2020, the Milwaukee Bucks lost a second-round pick after violating tampering rules in a failed sign-and-trade involving Bogdan Bogdanovic. That incident wasn’t even about a draft prospect, yet it still cost the team draft capital. With Cooper Flagg projected to go No. 1 overall, and the league watching every move closely, Kidd’s subtle diplomacy may be the smartest play of all.

Jason Kidd Plays It Cool, But the Mavericks’ Flagg Plan Is Crystal Clear

While Kidd kept things vague on camera, sources say the Mavericks’ front office isn’t exactly playing coy behind closed doors. Led by GM Nico Harrison, Dallas is “aligned” on making Flagg the franchise centerpiece. It’s not official — technically — but unless the laws of gravity suddenly change, this is happening. And why wouldn’t it?

Cooper Flagg isn’t just the consensus No. 1 pick — he’s coming off one of the most statistically dominant freshman seasons in recent college basketball memory. At Duke, Flagg averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game, leading the team in all five categories — something no Duke freshman has ever done since Ben Simmons at LSU in 2015-16. Even crazier: he became the first Division I player ever to post a season with 700+ points, 250+ rebounds, 150+ assists, 50+ steals, and 50+ blocks. 

That kind of across-the-board production doesn’t just scream “No. 1 pick” — it screams franchise reset. And for a Mavericks squad still emotionally rehabbing from Luka Doncic’s move to Los Angeles, Flagg isn’t just the best player available. He’s a second chance.

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If there was any hope for chaos at the top of the draft, Jason Kidd probably shut it down. His carefully worded comments did just enough to signal: don’t overthink this. The Mavericks aren’t trading the pick, they’re not pivoting to a surprise name, and they’re not flinching.

Kidd’s restraint was intentional. NBA rules prohibit direct contact with prospects before specific pre-draft windows and limit what teams can say publicly. But he played it perfectly, letting the fanbase know they’re focused on Flagg without risking a fine or tampering drama.

Bottom line: Dallas has the No. 1 pick. They want Cooper Flagg. And unless Victor Wembanyama finds a way to time-travel and re-enter the draft, Flagg is going first.

Just don’t expect them to say it officially… until Adam Silver is already on stage calling his name.