Draft night inventory: Mavericks win the cornerstone, Trail Blazers trade is a success, Bailey is forced to intercept by the Jazz

After the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft held on Thursday, a new group of winners and losers suddenly emerged in the league.

On the one hand, the Dallas Mavericks got a potential cornerstone of the team building Cooper Flag. On the other hand, Es Bailey fell out of the Tanhua position he occupied for most of the 2024-25 season.

The following will list the most popular players and teams on the winners and losers list.

Winner: The Mavericks

After a possible most turbulent season in the history of the Mavericks (and one of the most turbulent seasons in the history of the league), the Mavericks received a wonderful and far-reaching hope in the draft lottery draw.

The Mavericks have a 1.8% chance to win the No. 1 pick, and the lottery draw also favors them. Now, they get Flag, a forward who is expected to be the number one scorer, with excellent organizational skills and potential to be selected for the best defensive team.

Flag has almost no shortcomings.

The vacancy that Flag needs to fill is huge (or perhaps almost impossible to complete) after the catastrophic deal about Luka Doncic. Moreover, the current lineup fit is somewhat unsatisfactory. Although the Mavericks may have made some statements in pre-draft communication, Flag is almost certainly a forward player, and the team is currently crowded in frontcourt positions.

But this is a talented player who can overcome these two obstacles. And once the Mavericks have time to build a lineup around Flag that will suit him more, they may return to the championship ranks.

Loser: Es Bailey

After an unusual pre-draft practice process - Bailey rejected individual and group trials from teams who could have given him a higher pick - the winger who might have been well-projected at Rutgers, slipped to the fifth pick on Thursday by the Utah Jazz.

For many rookies, this was nothing wrong. But Bailey was the second-ranked high school student in the United States and for most of the 2024-25 season, he was recognized as the third pick in the mock draft. More importantly, as ESPN reporter Jonathan Givony reported on the live broadcast, Bailey has made it clear that he doesn't want to go to the Jazz (and the Jazz knows that too).

The first report about Pele was this negative news, which was far from ideal. And it sounds like Pele might take some time to accept the team that picked him.

But what Bailey is going to be one of the most stable teams in the past 30-40 years, and this young team will give him a lot of mobile phones.

This may not be what Bailey wants, but it is probably what suits him best.

Winner: Dylan Harper

There is no big suspense about the second pick. It became clear shortly after the lottery draw, with the San Antonio Spurs retaining the draft pick and choosing Dylan Harper.

and it is not difficult to see the reason.

Harper is a smooth and explosive playmaker who can rely on his personal abilities or pick-and-roll to tear the defense. And in Rutgers' basketball team, which does not have much talent except him and Bailey, he averages 19.4 points and 4.0 assists per game.

Now, Harper will have the opportunity to use these skills on a team with Victor Vinbanyama and De Aaron Fox. The receiver Harper is going to work with is a type he has never partnered with before.

And if Vinban Yama can stay healthy in the new season, Harper will have a chance to enter the playoffs in his rookie season.

is certainly worth celebrating to become the No. 1 pick, but Harper is probably the best place to go among all the top five rookies.

Loser: The Wizards

The Washington Wizards look ready to take advantage of Pele's pick before the draft. Judging from the weeks leading up to the draft, the sixth pick the Wizards have seemed to be Pele's lower limit.

And if Pele ends up at the sixth pick, he will be an extremely reasonable choice as a productive scorer to come to the Wizards with high-level defensive stars (Bilal Coolibali and Alex Saar).

But, just before the Wizards were about to make a choice, they heard the Jazz call Bailey's name (although he refused to try out for the Jazz).

Now, we have no way of knowing what the Wizards’ internal draft plan is. And Trey Johnson himself looks like a potentially dynamic offensive player. He averaged 19.9 points and hit 2.7 three-pointers, while shooting 39.7% from three-pointers and 87.1% from free throws. But it is certainly difficult for some people in the Wizards management to be so close to a player like Pele, who has outstanding resumes.

Winner: The Trail Blazers

Every year, many teams trade draft picks up or down in the draft, but not many teams can get such a huge reward as the Portland Trail Blazers.

Just before Cedric Coward was selected with the 11th overall pick, ESPN reporter Shams Charania reported that the Trail Blazers will send him to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for a 16th overall pick, a 2028 first-round pick and two second-round picks.

Again, this is definitely a huge gain for a player who is not the top ten. And despite its strong performance in the end of the 2024-25 season, the Trail Blazers are unlikely to compete at a high level in the short term. In the future, collecting more assets (whether in the draft or trade) for operation will be a very wise choice, even if Coward has the potential to become a reliable winger.

Author: Andy Bailey

Translator: GWayNe