[Observation] James is really not bullying me! Draft lottery is really a game of capital?

Sports Weekly All-Media Reporter Li Hui

Coincidence? A game of capital? The lottery ceremony of the 2025 draft show once again sparked deep thoughts.

The Mavericks, who have only a 1.8% chance, will eventually win the No. 1 pick, and they will soon have three No. 1 picks: Davis, Irving and the new generation of American son Flag. Flag is called the most powerful No. 1 pick after Zion Williamson in 2019, and some even regard him as a white version of LeBron James, with the ability to change the league landscape.

However, such a super newcomer was not selected by the Jazz, Wizards and other teams who were struggling last season, but the Mavericks fell into the Mavericks. This inevitably makes people question: Is the NBA draft lottery already decided?

In February this year, the Mavericks made perhaps the most shocking deal in NBA history. They sent away the super genius Luca Doncic, who was trained by the team and selected for the best team for five consecutive years, in exchange for the 32-year-old superstar Anthony Davis. This deal made Mavericks fans angry, and Mavericks general manager Nick Harrison was even threatened with death. At that time, this deal was questioned by many people as the league's will, in order to allow the Lakers to have a new money tree after James retires and to allow the Lakers to continue to maintain full competitiveness in the future.

Now, as the Mavericks "draw" the No. 1 pick with an extremely low probability, these previous conspiracy theories have become more authentic, because the result is more like a compensation from the League for the Mavericks, that is, the League ordered the Mavericks to send Doncic to the Lakers, and the compensation is to send Flag to Dallas.

In fact, this is not the first time such a "macro regulation" in the league. Zion Williamson, the son of the previous generation of the United States, also experienced it personally. In the 2019 offseason, the Lakers had basically reached an agreement with the Pelicans for Anthony Davis. As a result, at the draft lottery ceremony that year, the Pelicans also won the No. 1 pick with a lower probability (6%). Davis was still a member of the Pelicans when the draw was in progress, but then he was traded to the Lakers as people expected, while the Pelicans had the No. 1 pick of that year and selected Zion, which is undoubtedly the league's compensation for a small-scale team like the Pelicans.

As an evergreen who witnessed the development of this league for more than 20 years, as a historical superstar, LeBron James has long known such regulation of the league. In a previous show, James publicly stated that many of the top picks were the results arranged by the league, such as when he went to the Cavaliers, such as Ewing went to the Knicks in 1985, and Rose joined the Bulls in 2008 (only 1.7% probability).

As James said, there are indeed many No. 1 picks in NBA history who are known to be acquainted without drawing lots. Typical of the past 15 years include Davis going to the Pelicans in 2012. Before that season, the Pelicans just sent Chris Paul away. For example, the Spurs draw Chinese Ban Yama in 2023. For the French, there is nothing better than going to a team with Parker, Dior, and extremely good at cultivating international players.

Looking back, the Mavericks are equivalent to exchanging Doncic for Davis, Christie and super newcomer Flag. In this situation, do you still think that the Mavericks are the loser in the trade? Or, will there really be so-called losers in such a large trade?