The Dallas Mavericks land at nine in the NBA Draft and Louisville's Mikel Brown Jr. is right in that range. He addressed his back, said he fits perfectly next to Flagg and called Dallas the best city in the country.
The Mavericks landed at the ninth pick on Sunday night, and within hours, the most interesting name at that spot was already talking about Dallas.
Locked on Mavericks podcast host Isaac Harris caught up with Louisville guard Mikel Brown Jr. immediately after the lottery results came in, and the conversation went exactly the way Dallas fans needed it to go.
Brown's back has been the only question mark attached to his name all spring. He missed 14 games this season with a lower back injury and never returned after reinjuring it against North Carolina in late February, sitting out the ACC Tournament and both rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
On Sunday night, he addressed it directly. "Those two months I really didn't touch a basketball, honestly," Brown told Harris. "I think that helped a lot. I just really needed rest from a long season. I feel amazing right now. I feel better than ever."
The full injury picture is worth understanding. The first stretch kept him out eight straight games from December 13 through January 23. After returning, he aggravated the same area against North Carolina on February 23, played just 21 minutes off the bench at Clemson a week later, and never came back.
He finished the year watching Louisville lose to Michigan State from the bench in street clothes.
The Cardinals went 8-5 without him and 16-5 with him. For a player projected as high as third overall before the season, the back is the only thing keeping this from being a top-five conversation in June.
He also made clear that Dallas specifically is a situation he would welcome.
"Looking at the roster, you got Kyrie. It's a great person to learn from. You got Jason Kidd as head coach, top five point guard of all time in my book. And then obviously you got Cooper. I think I'll fit in perfectly with their system. He can play on the ball, he can play off the ball. I can play on the ball, I can play off the ball as well. I think just interchangeable."
When Harris asked what it would feel like to land in Dallas, Brown did not hesitate. "Surreal, because I think Dallas is the best city in the country. It's my favorite city in the country. I have a lot of family in Texas as well."
Bleacher Report's Sam Vecenie wrote that Brown's best flashes have been those of a top-five pick and that there may not be a more dynamic ball-screen playmaker in college basketball when he is healthy.
When healthy this season, he averaged 18.2 points, 4.7 assists, and 3.3 rebounds while shooting 52 percent from the field in five of his best games.