Pablo Torre says multiple owners believe the 2025 draft is rigged for the Mavericks
Although appearance of Cooper Flagg it made the pill much easier to swallow, Dallas Mavericks fans are still in disbelief that the team traded Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers. Nico Harrison has since been fired as general manager, and the team recently cut losses from that disastrous trade by sending Anthony Davis to the Washington Wizards.
After the Doncic trade, fans were left wondering why Dallas would make such an inexplicable move. After the team lucked out with Flagg in the draft lottery, a conspiracy theory emerged that the league office directed Harrison and the Mavericks to send Doncic to the Lakers, promising the team the first pick in the draft in return.
Now, sports journalist Pablo Torre is providing some credibility to that speculation.
“I will tell you that I remember being at an event, and I talked to two NBA owners. It was the day after the NBA lottery. And those two owners both said, ‘This is obviously fixed.’ I’m not saying it’s set up for the Mavs. “I’m just saying it’s not just you, Will and people on the Internet, who are saying, ‘This seems fixed to me, and I believe it is,'” Torre said at the Chapo Trap House, according to the Pro Football Network.
The theory suggests that the NBA wanted to bring Doncic to the bigger market in Los Angeles and give the Lakers another superstar to transition to in the years after LeBron James.
Flagg, meanwhile, already looks like a superstar on the rise, displaying his impressive combination of size, athleticism and defensive instincts to burst onto the scene as one of the best young players in the league today.
Either way, the Mavericks will take the floor next on Friday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
2026-02-19 16:32:00
