Cooper Flagg is headed to the Dallas Mavericks, who may have found their next franchise superstar less than five months after trading one away.

The Mavericks took the Duke forward with the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft Wednesday night, selecting the 18-year-old from Maine who was the college player of the year in his lone season.

Mavericks fans were furious when Dallas traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 1, some immediately threatening to end their support of the team.

But the ones who stuck around may quickly love Flagg, who averaged 19.2 points and 7.5 rebounds while leading Duke to the Final Four.

He joined Elton Brand, Kyrie Irving — who now becomes his teammate — Zion Williamson and Paolo Banchero as Duke players drafted No. 1 since 1999, and he returned the draft to its longtime start with a one-and-done college player.

That’s the way the draft began every year from 2010 until Banchero’s selection in 2022, but the last two No. 1 picks, Victor Wembanyama and Zaccherie Risacher, are both from France.

Pre-draft moves: The Mavericks and Kyrie Irving have agreed on a three-year, $119 million contract with the All-Star guard still recovering from a torn ACL that will sideline him into the 2025-26 season, a person with knowledge of the deal said Tuesday night.

Irving is declining the $43 million player option in the final year of his current three-year contract, the person told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal isn’t expected to be finalized until the start of the new league year on July 6.

The new contract will align Irving with co-star Anthony Davis, who joined the Mavericks in the seismic trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Lakers in February. Davis has three years remaining on his contract, with a player option that now will be the same season as Irving in 2027-28.

The agreement with Irving came on the eve of the NBA draft, with the Mavericks poised to take Flagg with the No. 1 overall pick after winning the draft lottery despite having just a 1.8% chance to do so.

Irving also is a Duke alum, as is young center Dereck Lively II. Once the nine-time All-Star returns from his injury, perhaps in December or January, all three among Irving, Lively and Flagg figure to be in the starting lineup if they are healthy.

The 33-year-old Irving came to the Mavericks in a 2023 trade after a tumultuous tenure with the Nets. The idea then was to pair him with Doncic, and a year later the duo led the Mavs to the NBA Finals for the first time in 13 years. The Celtics won that series in five games last June.

The stunning decision to send Doncic to the Lakers elevated Irving’s status, although Davis’ championship pedigree with the Lakers essentially put the two on even footing. Irving, who has averaged 23.7 points and 5.6 assists over 14 seasons, and LeBron James won a title together with the Cavaliers in 2016.

Davis went down with a groin injury in his Mavericks debut, and before he could come back, Irving sustained his knee injury about a month after the Doncic trade.

Skeptics were plentiful when the Mavs traded for Irving, who wanted to leave the Nets after 3 1/2 seasons of disappointments on the court and plenty of drama off it.

Earlier in the season he was dealt to the Mavericks, Irving was suspended by the Nets for what became eight games after the team said it was dismayed by his repeated failure to “unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs.”

Irving also missed much of the 2021-22 season because of his refusal to get vaccinated against COVID-19, which left him essentially ineligible to play in the Nets’ home games for much of the season because of New York City rules put in place in response to the pandemic.

There has been no such drama in Dallas, and Irving has enjoyed a resurgence in his career. He was on an expiring contract when the Mavs traded for him. During the 2023 offseason, Irving stayed with the Mavericks on a three-year deal with a player option in the final season. Now he’s about to do it again.

More coverage: Go to today’s eNewspaper for a complete recap of Wednesday night’s first round of the NBA Draft.