This is emphatically not the situation Cooper Flagg is about to walk into. If everything goes right, the Mavericks -- who improbably won the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft on Monday night -- could genuinely contend for the 2026 championship.

Milwaukee Bucks Receive: Max Christie, Daniel Gafford, Jordan Hawkins, Caleb Martin, Kelly Olynyk, 2025 No. 1 overall pick, 2026 first-round pick (their own, via New Orleans), 2027 first-round pick (their own, via New Orleans' swap rights)

The Dallas Mavericks have somehow managed to land the lottery pick even with a 1.8% chance. As astonishing as the situation may be, Mavs CEO Rick Welts addressed the conspiracy theories associated with this by recalling his own experience with the Patrick Ewing lottery pick 40 years ago.