Dallas Mavericks receive eye-opening advice about Cooper Flagg from NBA legend: ‘I got to win now’

The Dallas Mavericks have been in the spotlight since winning the NBA Draft Lottery and securing the first overall pick. That gives them the opportunity to draft Cooper Flagg — or use the pick as a powerful trade chip. NBA legend Kevin Garnett weighed in on the dilemma.

“They’re going to have to move this… You got the Flagg, bro. The name of the game is capture the Flagg. Now I think you entertain the best offers,” Garnett said on Ticket and The Truth Podcast. His co-host, Paul Pierce, immediately posed a hypothetical scenario involving Giannis Antetokounmpo: “You got the opportunity to trade Flagg for Greek Freak. You’re doing it?”

KG didn’t hesitate: “I’m in, yeah. I’ll go for Greek, I’m sorry.” Pierce pushed back: “And risk the fan base?” But the former Minnesota Timberwolves power forward stood his ground. “I don’t give a (expletive). Wait until you see the Greek. Wait till the Greek gets here,” he said.

“Listen, Dallas got the now, the middle, and the later. They’re built for the now, the middle, and later,” Garnett added, before stepping into the shoes of Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison. “We trying to win now. I got the guns and the beam on me now. I got to win now. So the now is now.”

The conversation later turned to what it would mean for Dallas to part with another generational talent — just a year after doing so with Luka Doncic. While Pierce argued that fans would never accept it, KG offered a different scenario: “What if Cooper Flagg comes in here and don’t pay? You got a chance to get Giannis and didn’t take it!” said the 2008 NBA champion with the Boston Celtics.

“Bro, it’s damn if you do, damn if you don’t,” Garnett said. “You have Kyrie (Irving), Anthony Davis, two real bigs with (Dereck) Lively and (Daniel) Gafford. Bro, come on, bro. You got (P.J.) Washington, man. Man, you got a horde of dogs over there. Man (expletive) Klay (Thompson).”

Leaving the Mavericks’ decision behind, Kevin turned his attention to the draft pick system itself. “This was bogus as (expletive)… When Dallas got the first pick… They got to fix that,” he began. “The bad teams in the league need the players that are coming out of college, coming out of high school. Those are the teams that need the Draft.”

Garnett continued: “Even the Spurs got the second, bro. The Hornets need help. Washington, they need players. I’m being honest. Cooper Flagg in Washington, Cooper Flagg in some other place. Those franchises need that talent.”