After the franchise-altering trade of Luka Doncic, the Dallas Mavericks have been handed what some describe as a miracle.
The team defied the odds Monday night, winning the NBA Draft Lottery for the first time ever.
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WATCH HERENow, the team is poised to pick Duke phenom Cooper Flagg.
“I haven't let go of the envelope,” Mavs CEO Rick Welts told 온라인카지노사이트 5, holding the envelope used to reveal the lottery winner.
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SIGN UP Welts says he’s barely slept since learning the team would pick first in the NBA Draft next month.
“I can’t imagine a more dramatic change in fortune that any team has really experienced than the one we're experiencing today,” said Welts.
Fans protested in February when the team traded Luka Doncic to the Lakers.
“It's been a challenge, you know, for everybody associated with the Mavs since, especially I put our fans at the top of that list,” said Welts. “I don’t know if I've ever felt the kind of emotional connection that these fans have with this team. We strained that with a lot of people by moving a player that people loved.”
Welts says the plan was to let time and wins bring fans back.
“What wasn't in our plan was winning the draft lottery,” he said.
Tuesday, the NBA released video of the draft drawing, which shows the behind-the-scenes moment when, despite a 1.8% chance, Dallas was selected first.
When the pick was announced publicly, a room full of Mavs executives in Chicago, including Welts, erupted in cheers in a video the team posted on social media.
Peter Carton teaches sports management at SMU.
“It did come about in a miraculous way,” said Carton. “Hope springs eternal in sports, and so the hope now is with Cooper. He is the No. 1, arguably, sought-after draft pick.”
“That will change the fortunes of this team,” said Welts, who wouldn’t confirm whether 18-year-old Flagg will be the team’s pick. But, he said, phones have already been “ringing off the hook.”
“People asking if they can get back those season tickets that they gave up a couple of months ago,” said Welts.
Welts, who began as Mavs CEO on Jan. 1, says he’s most happy for fans and also for GM Nico Harrison.
“He’s been the focus of a lot of negative attention over the past 100 days, and to have that cloud lifted the way it was last night, I think for anybody that knows him, we’re happier for him than anybody,” said Welts.
The NBA Draft is June 25–26 in Brooklyn.
