Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant did not hold back in what he said about tanking teams in the NBA. On Monday, the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery took place. Usually, teams with the worst records tend to secure a top-three pick to potentially land a player who’s considered to be the top prospect. However, that wasn’t the case in the recent draft lottery as the Dallas Mavericks secured the No. 1 pick.
The Mavericks have the option to select a future star. In this case, many view Cooper Flagg from Duke to be the top selection. Before the event took place, Dallas had a 1.8% chance of landing the top pick in June. Teams like the Utah Jazz, Charlotte Hornets and Washington Wizards had better odds, with 14%.
To everyone’s surprise, the pick landed on the Mavericks, a team that almost made the playoffs after they lost to the Memphis Grizzlies in the Play-In Tournament.
After the results, Durant hopped on X (formerly Twitter) and revealed his thoughts. The two-time Finals MVP threw shade at tanking teams for missing out on drafting a generational talent.
“Tanking must be really stressful on a organization,” Durant said.
Tanking must be really stressful on a organization.
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) May 13, 2025
Only the Hornets earned a berth in the top four out of the three teams with the best odds of obtaining the first choice. They’re followed by the Jazz, who landed in the top five. The Wizards trail closely at the sixth spot.
The draft lottery results could help the Phoenix Suns in trading away Durant
The Phoenix Suns don’t have a draft pick in the foreseeable future after they used it to trade for Durant and Bradley Beal. However, the results of the draft lottery could change their situation.
While the Mavericks have the top pick, it’s unclear if they’ll use it to draft Flagg or trade for a star player. If they opt to trade the pick, the Suns could be a top candidate. Dallas has expressed their desire to build a win-now team. This is the reason they traded Luka Doncic away for Anthony Davis.
However, the unfortunate injury to Kyrie Irving could slow things down for the Mavericks. That is why trading for KD could be an ideal move for the franchise, while it can also help Booker have a co-star in Flagg.
With the 15-time All-Star, the Mavs’ mission to build a competitive team can come true. The Phoenix Suns, on the other hand, won’t lose the deal as they could potentially have a young, up-and-comer in Flagg.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
