After the trade quake around Luka Doncic, the Dallas Mavericks win the draft lottery of the NBA despite minimal chances. Is the team more luck than mind?
It was a moment of collective ecstasy. Exuberant joy. Cheers. A mood that should have long since been not allowed in the holy halls of this NBA team. We are talking about the Dallas Mavericks, who won the Draft Lottery of the best basketball league in the world for the first time in team history.
It was all the joy in a clip that the team shared on social networks. On this, those responsible for General Manager Nico Harrison, who pursue the lottery in a conference room and freak out uninhibitedly at the crucial moment. A drastic day for the team.
A lot was protested against Nico Harrison after the Doncic Trade
“I am so happy for the Mavericks fans,” cheered CEO Rick Welts: “I’ve only been to Dallas since January 1 of this year. I am just amazed at the depth of the emotions and the attachment that fans have with this team … I can’t imagine a better day for the MAVS fans today. It will really be something special.”
Mavericks win despite the mini chance
What makes what happens so special: Of the 14s of the 14s to participate in the Lottery – those teams that did not make it into the playoffs – the Mavericks only had a little chance of the first pick. Micky 1.8 percent to be precise.
The chances of other teams were much higher. The Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards and Charlotte Hornets were the weakest teams of the current season with their 14 percent high hopes – and were bitterly disappointed.
For one or the other, it may look grotesque and sometimes also as outrageous happiness that it is the MAVs of all people who clear the large price this year. The team, especially GM Harrison, had caused bare horror in the basketball world in early February.
For months of bad mood in Dallas
Franchise player Luka Doncic, darling of the masses, was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis and other picks. This was followed by tears at Doncic, death threats against Harrison and a gigantic outcry among fans.
The fact that Davis also injured himself in his first game, a little later the second remaining superstar Kyrie Irving failed and the playoffs whether the bankruptcy in the Play-in tournament were missed at the end, rounded off a more than unhappy season.
After the Doncic trade, which is generally considered to be an epic mistake, the supporters, but above all, should now feel hope again.
The upswing at the MAVS
If Harrison does not make a more than just absurd decision within a few months, an extraordinary talent in Dallas will play with Cooper Flag in the coming season. The forward of the Duke Blue Devils is considered by far the most promising candidate on the number 1 pick in the draft.
For months there were almost exclusively negative headlines around the Dallas Mavericks. With the winning of the lottery, the mood around the Texas franchise should now experience a good upswing. A relieving feeling that General Manager Harrison in particular urgently uses.
But not everyone was enthusiastic about the news. As soon as the MAVs were announced as the winner, the term “Rigged” trended at X, which means as much as manipulated.
Lottery manipulated the NBA?
Even in the past, the Draft Lottery was not always immune to suspicion of manipulation, after the decision this year, meanwhile, conspiracy theories immediately buzzed through the network.
“The NBA has manipulated the draft lottery 100% to reward Dallas for the approval of the Luka-Trade managed by the league. You can’t imagine that,” wrote a user.
Barstool -Sports moderator Jeff Lowe formulated: “Hahaha, nobody in the world will ever believe that the Draft Lottery was not manipulated this year.”
NBA stars horrified
And some NBA stars or ex-players were also shocked by the result. “I mean, come, man,” was read on Kevin Love’s account. Bill Simmons formulated: “Oh, piss off. Come on.” LeBron James simply posted a number of laughing emojis.
The decision -makers in the MAVS front office should not care about these reactions. After the most incredible trade in NBA history, bad luck and missing the playoffs, the Mavericks are now back.
Even if the 18-year-old Cooper Flagg will probably not be able to heal the Doncic wounds so quickly.