CHICAGO (AP) — The town of Newport, Maine, has a population of about 3,200 people. There’s a bowling alley, a popular local diner that serves breakfast all day, a hunting club and it costs only $6 to license your dog. It is a quintessential small New England town. It is not known for developing NBA stars. Cooper Flagg was undeterred.

The Mavericks reportedly plan to draft Cooper Flagg, and the Duke prospect will help them contend in the Western Conference.

While some fans and media love to speculate about trades, the Mavericks are not playing that game. They will keep the No. 1 pick.

On Wednesday, LeBron James' famous agent Rich Paul joined The Pat McAfee Show to share his thoughts about the tantalizing potential of Paul joining the Mavericks, which he said would give him time to blossom in a healthy way at the NBA level.

The forward led Duke to an 89-62 win over SMU in an ACC matchup at Moody Coliseum. Flagg scored 24 points on 7-of-12 shooting, coming down with a team-high 11 rebounds. His highlights included a poster dunk on 7-2 SMU center Samet Yigitoglu.

The Mavericks felt that Doncic didn't give them the best chance to win a title — despite the fact that they made the NBA Finals just a year ago — constantly repeating the phrase "defense wins championships" as the explanation for the deal.

The Mavericks plan to select Cooper Flagg and will not entertain the possibility of trading away the No. 1 overall draft pick for a proven superstar, sources told ESPN.