2025 NBA Draft: Cooper Flagg to Mavs, Potential Paul George Trade & Other Newsworthy Rumors Ahead of the Draft
by Lou Aguila | by Abdel Zairi
In a move widely anticipated by NBA fans around the world, the Dallas Mavericks will use their No.1 overall pick to select Duke Blue Devils standout Cooper Flag, a shifty 6-foot-9 forward who is believed to possess incredible two-way upside.
Many basketball experts pointed out that the addition of Flag to an already loaded Mavericks squad bannered by All-NBA stars Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis pushes the club back to title contention, with some even considering the Mavs as the biggest threat to the Oklahoma City Thunder’s reign.
Cooper Flagg Makes Mavs A Title Contender
As of this writing, the Thunder, the reigning and defending NBA champions, are the top NBA betting pick to repeat next season at +220. They are followed by the Cleveland Cavaliers (+800), the Houston Rockets (+850), who just added a Bona Fide scorer via trade this week, the Eastern Conference finalist New York Knicks (+900), and the Orlando Magic (+1200), rounding out the top 5.
The Mavericks, currently outside the top 10 on NBA Futures, are expected to move up once they officially draft Flagg and retain most of their core players from last season, most especially Irving, who can opt out of the final year of his contract this summer.
Without a doubt, the 2025 NBA Draft is by far the biggest story of the week, and Flagg is at the front and center of it all.
However, there are other newsworthy transactions and rumors surrounding the association that basketball fans and even NBA betting enthusiasts should pay close attention to if they want to stay informed and get ahead of the game.
As everybody learned from the previous editions of the draft, the event, which has been expanded to two days beginning last year, is not only a platform where teams select their future cornerstones in the form of promising college basketball stars or mysterious foreign talents.
In most cases, the draft becomes a marketplace, where executives and decision-makers from 30 NBA teams exchange proposals and negotiate trade deals, some of which are so massive that they change the league's landscape in the coming season (Remember the Ray Allen trade to Boston in 2007?).
Speaking of trades, there are already a bunch of deals taking place in the days leading up to the draft. And by the look of it, there could be more as teams try to reshuffle their roster in an attempt to stay in title contention. In contrast, others pulled off complicated transactions to avoid the luxury tax threshold, which would prove costly for the owners.
Noteworthy Trades Ahead of the Draft
Here are some of the key mix-ups that happened pre-draft and are undoubtedly influencing the respective teams as we head into the main event:
Heating Up In Houston
The Houston Rockets acquire Kevin Durant from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the 10th overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, and five future second-round picks.
The Rockets pulled the trigger on this deal, which would position the resurging team in title contention starting next season. Houston sacrificed several trade assets and key pieces from its 52-win run last season, such as Green and Brooks, to acquire an all-time great in Kevin Durant, who averaged 26.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 4.2 assists while shooting 52.7 percent during the 2024-25 NBA season.
After getting upset by the No.7 seed Golden State Warriors in the playoffs, the Rockets identified the need for a legitimate scorer next to budding big man Alperen Sengun and two-way wingman Amen Thompson. Green, who led the Rockets with 21.0 points per game on 42.3 FG%, only averaged 13.3 points on 37.2 FG% and 29.5 3PT% in the seven-game averages. Dillon Brooks scored 14.0 points per game on 42.9 FG% in year 2 with the Rockets, but his numbers dropped to 12.3 points per game on 44.4 FG% in the playoffs.
Big Moves In Boston
The Boston Celtics traded Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers for point guard Anfernee Simmons and two second-round picks.
NBA Insider Sham Charania of ESPN reported that the Celtics are sending one of the core pieces of their 2024 NBA championship run to the Blazers in exchange for the young, athletic guard Anfernee Simons.
Jrue Holiday, a two-time NBA champion, averaged 11.5 points in two seasons with the Celtics, establishing himself as their premier wing defender during his tenure with the team. Simmons is a 26-year-old 6-foot-3 guard who benefited from the Damian Lillard trade to the Milwaukee Bucks, averaging 22.6 points during the 2023-24 season and 19.3 points during the 2024-25 season.
Simmons gives the Celtics another reliable scorer and facilitator next to Jaylen Brown as the team waits for Jayson Tatum’s return from a ruptured Achilles.
The Celtics also dodged paying the remainder of Holiday’s contract (104.4 over 3 years), as president of basketball operations Brad Stevens looks for the best option to lessen the team’s luxury tax bill ahead of the 2025-26 season where the Celtics are not expected to contend for the title with Tatum on a yearlong rehabilitation.
Porzingis to Atlanta
The Boston Celtics send Kristaps Porzingis to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Georges Niang and a second-round pick. Terrence Mann and Atlanta’s No. 22 pick will go to the Brooklyn Nets, which serve as a conduit party in the deal.
In another stunning cost-cutting move, the Celtics traded another starter and key piece to their 2024 title run to the rebuilding Hawks in exchange for essentially nothing. Boston is implementing cost-cutting measures to avoid paying millions in luxury tax, a year in which the Celtics are expected to take a step back in contending for a title.
Hoops Rumors writer Dana Gauruder tried to explain these deals in his piece dated June 24.
“The trade, coupled with the agreed-upon Holiday deal with Portland, will allow the Celtics to drop below the second tax apron by $4.5MM"
Spotrac contributor Keith Smith tweets. The two deals will reduce their projected luxury tax penalty by nearly $210MM, estimates cap expert Yossi Gozlan.
Porzingis averaged 20.1 points on 51.6 FG% in his first year with the Celtics and played a crucial role in helping Boston win their first tile in almost two decades. After playing 57 games in year 1, Porzingis only played 42 games in his second year with the team as various injuries continued to hamper his availability. Porzingis only averaged 7.7 points on 31.6 FG% and 15.4 3PT% in this year’s playoffs and hardly made an impact in the second-round series against the New York Knicks.
Notable NBA Draft Rumors
The Philadelphia 76ers are contemplating trading up with Paul George in play. The Sixers own the No. 3 pick in this year's draft, with Dylan Harper of Rutgers or VJ Edgecombe of Baylor being possible choices for the Eastern Conference team. However, NBA insider Chris Mannix reported that he had heard rumors suggesting Philadelphia might be open to trading up, and that Paul George, their prized free-agent acquisition this summer, could be involved.
“I’ve heard some of that over the last 24 hours—that they could be looking to trade back with Paul George to do something there,” Mannix said on the Ringer’s Bill Simmons Podcast.
The OKC Thunder looks to move up from No.15 – Jonathan Givony of ESPN is reporting that the reigning NBA champion is eyeing to move up in the trade order, probably trying to move into the top-10 by trading one or a combination of their first-round picks (No.15, No. 24, No. 44). Givony mentioned the Toronto Raptors, who own the No.9 spot, as a potential trade partner for the Thunder.
The Lakers are not pursuing Jazz forward John Collins – the purple-and-gold are not interested in exploring NBA draft trade deals for Utah’s big man John Collins, as reported by NBA insider Marc Stein. The Lakers are reportedly scouring the markets for a big man who would beef up their thinning frontline. Collins, who averaged 19.0 points and 8.2 rebounds last season, would provide the Lakers with an interior presence that the team has missed since trading Anthony Davis for Luka Doncic. Another Jazz player, Walker Kessler, is also being linked to the Lakers as a potential trade target. The Lakers will only pick once in the draft, but they have to wait until Day 2 since they only own the No.55 pick.
