DLLS Sports' Kevin Gray Jr. on Mavericks' lottery luck, Cooper Flagg

It is the JR Sportbreeze show on the Infinity Sports Network. Hey, right now, this minute, this second, we got one NBA game going on. We got the Cavaliers and we have the Indiana Pacers. They're currently at halftime. Cavaliers lead Indiana 56 to 52. But last night, one of the biggest stories in the NBA, besides Tatum going down and everybody waiting on Steph Curry, he ain't coming back.

It doesn't look like it. Well, the Dallas Mavericks ended up with the number one overall pick in next month's draft, despite entering into the draft lottery with a one point eight chance to end up with that number one spot. They've never moved up in the history of the draft. And somehow, some way last night, they end up at number one. People are yelling conspiracy, this conspiracy, that.

And Eco Harrison, let's just say he was thrilled with the opportunity to select Cooper Flagg. And it's been reported that that's what the Dallas Mavericks will do to talk about how things are rolling and feeling in Dallas. Right now, joining us as someone who covers the Dallas Mavericks before the game, after the game for the DLLS Mavs show is Kevin Gray Jr. Kevin, how are you, man? JR, good to talk to you again, man. How are you?

All the time. Well, how are you feeling, man? A little bit of a shock yesterday, huh?

Just a little bit. As you mentioned, a one point eight percent chance of going from number eleven to number one, fourth lowest odds in draft lottery history. And the Mavericks pull off a shocker and now have a chance to capture the flag on June 25th with the number one overall selection in this year's draft. So an unfathomable set of circumstances on how we got here.

But yeah, this is how we got here. Well, Kevin, it was real easy to understand when we spoke a few months ago after Luca was traded, how people were feeling in Dallas about Luca being sent to the Los Angeles Lakers. What is the overall feeling? It's easy to look online and just go, OK, people are saying this is rigged. What's the overall vibe for Mavericks fans right now? Besides, thank God we got something.

Yeah, I mean, honestly, it's we don't give a damn if it was rigged or not. We've got the chance to draft super flag after having Luca Dodge has been traded in the middle of the night for the Los Angeles Lakers without warning. Mavericks fans, for the most part, are excited about it because the season that they went through, the trade that obviously happened and missed the playoffs entirely after reaching the NBA finals a year ago, Mavericks fans have been through hell and back and they feel like, hey, if it means that we get the chance to draft Cooper flag, even with the odds that we had going into the draft lottery and we've got them, then so be it, because in a lot of ways, Mavericks fans feel like that is what is deserved to them after what they've been through for sure.

Kevin Gray Jr. is joining us, covers the Dallas Mavericks for the DLLS show. When you look at the team as it's constructed and we heard this from Nico, it's a short window, but we're also doing this for long range as well. Knowing that Cooper flag is going to be selected at number one, do you feel positive that this iteration of the team is going to win or is Anthony Davis going to be long gone and same for Kyrie? That's a big question.

How quickly can they get this to gel together? Because Kyrie Irving, who's most likely going to miss half the season, if not more, if he comes back from that torn ACL, the questions I've always been with Anthony Davis, can he stay healthy long enough to help the team make a deep playoff run? Of course he won the title with the Lakers back in 2020, played 76 games a couple of years ago with Los Angeles, but obviously he missed six weeks with a significant injury before returning to end the season. And obviously the window that Nico Harrison has talked about being a two to three year window to try to win a championship, he's trying to get one before he eventually leaves the job and goes off to do other things. So it's going to be very tricky because trying to play two timelines at the NBA, um, usually doesn't work.

So if the Mavericks are committed to continuing to try to win now, uh, they've got to get healthy as quickly as they can because they need some more playmaking to be able to stem the tide until Kyrie comes back, but they're going to try their best, uh, to win with what they have because they believe that their window is right now to do that, given the roster that they have. Well, Kevin, you talk about Nico. We don't know how long he's going to be sticking around. He's going to be making these decisions. He's had to be the face we did hear from the owner, Patrick Dumont. We didn't necessarily evoke too much confidence in the fan base, but Nico has had to kind of stand up and talk. He's had to be the forward face on this. Is he feeling a little like he got a life raft thrown his way? Is he kind of arrogant about what took place last night? Are we still waiting to see?

Well, I talked to a source, you know, close to the situation and, you know, Nico doesn't necessarily feel vindicated, uh, by the fact that the matters won the lottery. You know, he still feels like there is still plenty of work to do, but this was a, a necessary step to move forward, to try to get to ultimately where he believes this franchise should be, uh, which is competing for a championship and whether or not he's here, you know, two, three years down the road, all signs point to that. He, at least in his mind is committed to winning a championship in the way and the vision that he believes it should be one, which is defense winning championships. And if they go on to, of course, like Cooper flag, you know, he's a two way player that provides you versatility on the defensive end. You've got one of the best front courts, you know, and when healthy with Derek Lively, the second and Anthony Davis and Daniel Gafford, and then you put Cooper flag into that, you've got a really formidable defense and that gives you the chance to compete, you know, at the top of the Western conference Harrison feels like. So those decisions of how they supplement what is needed in terms of scoring to go along with that defense is going to be one of the big challenges this off season. But he feels like with the window he has and the players that he's going to have, this gives them the best chance to win now and however long he is staying in this job.

Kevin Gray covers the Dallas Mavericks down in the Metroplex. When you think about what this team needs, we know that Kyrie Irving is going to be gone for a good portion of the season. Obviously, Cooper flag is going to be a rookie Anthony Davis, God knows what he's going to do out there. What do you think this roster immediately needs to compete in the West next year?

Is that reaching too far? Well, immediately they need playmaking and ball handling. I mean, last year you saw how much of the toll it took on Kyrie Irving and the amount of load that he had the shoulder, you know, once Luca Doncic was traded, you know, once Anthony Davis went down with his injury, all the offensive responsibilities fell on Kyrie Irving's shoulder before ultimately, uh, he tore his ACL. Now they have, you know, a young guard and Brandon Williams who was able to step in and play nicely, uh, as things went on down the stretch, but he still gives you backup point guard vibe and not necessarily a starting guard at this point in his career. So for him, excuse me, for the team, they've got to be able to find some playmaking, some shot creation, uh, and guys that can go get their own shots and facilitate offense for Anthony Davis, for Derrick Lively and these bigs that they have, you know, they still got PJ Washington there. They may explore trade scenarios with him this summer given the fact that it's at this pay-a-day draft Cooper flag. So you could potentially turn some of the strengths that you have in terms of the surplus you have at center, you know, with Gafford being there and also, you know, the power forward spot with a guy in PJ Washington, and maybe you flip some of that into, uh, some guard play that can really help strengthen your roster, especially until Kyrie Irving comes back.

I'm sure you've seen a whole hell of a lot more of Cooper flag and learn more just like everybody else has since the tournament, even more so up until now, what has impressed you the most about Cooper flag and what excites you about what he's going to be able to bring to the maps? I mean, the versatility that he has on both ends of the floor is incredible. I mean, last year as a freshman at Duke, he shot 38% from the three point line, but he also gave you 1.5 steals and 1.5 blocks per game, you know, as well, he can guard multiple positions on the defensive end. He's a relentless competitor.

And one of the things that, you know, I'm sure we'll get talked about more as we get closer to the draft night itself. This is a player that spent time with team USA and was in preparations with them as they got ready for their Olympic run. And the conversations coming out of there was that he was, you know, one of the standouts going up against Anthony Davis, going up against Drew Holliday and the best that the USA has to offer.

And he really turned a lot of heads in the, obviously you saw him lead Duke to a final four appearance in his lone season there. So there's a competitive edge to him. There's an intensity to him, uh, that he is going to bring to this team. Obviously he's still a rookie and will have some learning to do. Um, but the team that he will be going to has a lot of veterans leading that team and he'll be able to assimilate and learn from those guys. Um, but the size and athleticism that he presents and the combination of the skills that he has, uh, it's very rare for someone who's 18 years old and it's just getting started in terms of his basketball journey, uh, that has Mavericks fans quite excited about the potential of what Cooper flag is going to be. I'm glad Dallas Mavericks fans are excited about something. Kevin, I'm not all that excited about Anthony Davis or Kyrie. I think by the time that Cooper flag is really coming into his own, they're going to have to reset things around him.

I'm hoping that happens sooner than later, but this is the best case scenario, uh, given what we saw a few months ago. Uh, ultimately last question for you, for everybody who said, Hey, it's rigged. It's not rigged.

What do you say? I say that, uh, the script writers were cooking. Let's just say that when it came to the NBA draft lottery. Um, I mean, I believe that it's rigged and you say Kevin, well, of course you would say that because your team won the NBA draft lottery. Um, but there have been plenty of other situations where you can look at, especially 40 years ago with the New York Knicks and say, you know what, that whole Patrick Ewing thing that might've been rigged for sure. Um, but at the same time, I don't believe that it was given even the circumstance of how things played out, but again, to each their own when it comes to their conspiracy theory of choice in the NBA. I hear that. I'm pretty sure we're going to blink.

We'll have another conspiracy theory. I guess Adam Silver's is controlling everybody and everything. Hey Kevin, tell everybody where they could find, listen, watch you and everything. D L L S. Appreciate it, man. You can find me on X at Kevin Gray sports. I'm the pre and post game host for the DLS mass podcast. I also host our daily podcast that we do for DLS mass five times a week as part of DLLS sports on the all city network.

Uh, but the quickest way you can find me on that can give me a follow at Kevin Gray sports. Hey Kevin, thank you so much. It's good.

See, we went from a negative to a positive and now it's all good. Okay. That's right, Jay.

I appreciate your time, man. As always. Thank you. No doubt about it.

That Kevin Gray jr. You just heard him covers all things. Dallas Mavericks. Yeah.

There is no other way. And there are a lot of franchises. I could start naming them NBA, MLB. If you're the Sacramento Kings, wouldn't you like this type of a turnaround like ASAP? If you've been suffering forever, like the Pittsburgh pirates, wouldn't you like this type of turnaround? The Dallas Mavericks were holding a mock funeral for the GM just a few months ago. And now they end up with the number one overall pick. Like to only snap your fingers and just go from a nightmare to a fairytale.

Like, man, if everybody would only be so lucky. It's the JR sport re-show here with you coast to coast on the infinity sports network. We're going to take a break.

When we come back, Cooper flag. Yeah, he's going from college to the pros. I want to talk about an old man who, well, he went from the pros. I guess he found his girlfriend in college. Anyway, Bill Belichick had some thoughts today. Well, he was asked about his girlfriend. What else is new?

This time it was supposed to be about football. We'll hear from Bill Belichick. I'll get to your calls as well. You can hit me up 888-710-4ISN. That's 888-710-4ISN. But right now, let's get caught up to speed with everything going on in the world of sports. It's time for a news flash.