Trump’s plan to accept free Air Force One replacement from Qatar raises ethical and security worries

• May 13, 2025

By CHRIS MEGERIAN, ZEKE MILLER and BERNARD CONDON

WASHINGTON (AP) — For President Donald Trump, accepting a free Air Force One replacement from Qatar is a no-brainer.

“I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer,” the Republican told reporters on Monday. “I could be a stupid person and say, ‘No, we don’t want a free, very expensive airplane.’”

Critics of the plan worry that the move threatens to turn a global symbol of American power into an airborne collection of ethical, legal, security and counterintelligence concerns.

“This is unprecedented,” said Jessica Levinson, a constitutional law expert at Loyola Law School. “We just haven’t tested these boundaries before.”

Trump tried to tamp down some of the opposition by saying he wouldn’t fly around in the gifted Boeing 747 when his term ends. Instead, he said, the $400 million plane would be donated to a future presidential library, similar to how the Boeing 707 used by President Ronald Reagan was decommissioned and put on display as a museum piece.

“It would go directly to the library after I leave office,” Trump said. “I wouldn’t be using it.”

However, that did little to quell the controversy over the plane. Democrats are united in outrage, and even some of the Republican president’s allies are worried. Laura Loomer, an outspoken conspiracy theorist who has tried to purge disloyal officials from the administration, wrote on social media that she would “take a bullet for Trump” but said she’s “so disappointed.”

Congressional Republicans have also expressed some doubts about the plan.

“My view is that it would be better if Air Force One were a big, beautiful jet made in the United States of America. That would be ideal,” said Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley.

And Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul flatly said he was a “No” on whether Trump should accept the plane. When asked to elaborate on his reasoning, Paul replied: “I don’t think it looks good or smells good.” The Republican shrugged when asked by a reporter if there were “constitutional questions.”

Trump will likely face persistent questions about the plane in the coming days as he travels to the Middle East, including a stop in Qatar.

Why does Trump want the Qatari plane?

The two planes currently used as Air Force One have been flying for nearly four decades, and Trump is eager to replace them. During his first term, he displayed a model of a new jumbo jet in the Oval Office, complete with a revised paint scheme that echoed the red, white and dark blue design of his personal plane.

Boeing has been working on retrofitting 747s that were originally built for a now-defunct Russian airliner. But the program has faced nearly a decade of delays — with perhaps more on the way — from a series of issues, including a critical subcontractor’s bankruptcy and the difficulty of finding and retaining qualified staff who could be awarded high-level security clearances.

The new planes aren’t due to be finished until near the end of Trump’s term, and he’s out of patience. He has described the situation as “a total mess,” and he has complained that Air Force One isn’t as nice as the planes flown by some Arab leaders.

“It’s not even the same ballgame,” he said.

Trump said Qatar, which hosts the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East, offered a replacement plane that could be used while the government was waiting for Boeing to finish.

“We give free things out,” he said. “We’ll take one, too.”

He bristled at suggestions that he should turn down the plane, comparing the potential gift to favors on the golf course.

“When they give you a putt, you pick it up and you walk to the next hole and you say, ‘Thank you very much,’” he said.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota expressed skepticism.

“I understand his frustration. They’re way behind schedule on delivering the next Air Force One,” the Republican told reporters. “Whether or not this is the right solution or not, I don’t know.”

Mississippi GOP Sen. Roger Wicker said that any plane “needs to be gifted to the United States of America.”

He added that it whether the U.S. should accept a Qatari plane warranted further inquiry. “There’ll be some questions about that, and this issue, I expect, will be vetted by the time a decision needs to be made.”

Will the new plane be secure?

The Qatari plane has been described as a “palace in the sky,” complete with luxurious accommodations and top-of-the-line finishes.

But security is the primary concern when it comes to presidential travel. The current Air Force One planes were built from scratch near the end of the Cold War. They are hardened against the effects of a nuclear blast and include a range of security features, such as anti-missile countermeasures and an onboard operating room. They are also equipped with air-to-air refueling capabilities for contingencies, though it has never been utilized with a president on board.

A former U.S. official briefed on the Air Force One replacement project said that while it would be possible to add some features to the Qatari jet, there was no way to add the full suite of capabilities to the plane on a tight timetable.

The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive program, said it would be a risk for presidents to fly on such a jet.

One of the most important features of Air Force One is the communications capabilities. Presidents can use the plane as a flying Situation Room, allowing them to respond to crises anywhere on the globe.

However, on Sept. 11, 2001, Republican President George W. Bush was frustrated by communications issues and ordered up massive technology upgrades over subsequent years to improve the president’s ability to monitor events and communicate with people around the world.

The new ones under development by Boeing are being stripped down so workers can replace the standard wiring with shielded cabling. They’re also modifying the jet with an array of classified security measures and communications capabilities.

Because of the high standards for ensuring a president can communicate clearly and securely, there are fears that Trump would be compromising safety by rushing to modify the Qatari jet.

“Disassembling and evaluating the plane for collection/spy devices will take years,” William Evanina, who served as director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center during Trump’s first term, wrote on social media.

He said the plane should be considered nothing more than “a gracious presidential museum piece.”

Is any of this legal or ethical?

Even for a president who has blurred traditional lines around public service and personal gain, Trump’s plans to receive a jumbo jet as a gift has rattled Washington.

The Constitution prohibits federal officials from accepting things of value, or “emoluments,” from foreign governments without congressional approval.

“This is a classic example of what the founders worried about,” said Richard Painter, a law professor at the University of Minnesota and former White House ethics chief under Bush. “But I don’t think the founders anticipated it would get this bad.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News on Monday that the details of the donation are “still being worked out” but would be done “in full compliance with the law.”

She dismissed idea the idea that Qatar wanted to influence Trump.

“They know President Trump, and they know he only works with the interests of the American public in mind,” she said.

Trump faced a legal fight over emoluments during his first term, when he opened the doors of his D.C. hotel to lobbyists, business executives and diplomats. His lawyers argued that the founders didn’t intend to ban transactions representing an exchange of a service like hotel space for money, only outright gifts. But some ethics lawyers disagreed, and it’s not clear if Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the Philippines and other countries were paying full price or more for when they used the hotel.

In his second term, Trump’s family business has been very busy overseas. In December, it struck a deal for two Trump-branded real estate projects in Riyadh with a Saudi firm that two years earlier it had partnered with for a Trump golf resort and villas in Oman. And in Qatar, the Trump Organization announced last month another Trump branded resort along the coast.

Four Democratic senators on the Foreign Relations Committee — Brian Schatz of Hawaii, Chris Coons of Delaware, Cory Booker of New Jersey and Chris Murphy of Connecticut — issued a statement saying Trump’s plan “creates a clear conflict of interest, raises serious national security questions, invites foreign influence, and undermines public trust in our government.”

“No one — not even the president — is above the law,” they said.

Condon reported from New York. Associated Press writers Matt Brown, Lolita Baldor and Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.

​ Orange County Register 

Lakers’ LeBron James uncertain about future after 22nd NBA season

• May 13, 2025

EL SEGUNDO — As LeBron James limped through Crypto.com Arena following the Lakers’ season-ending loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves late last month, dealing with what was later revealed to be a Grade 2 sprain of the medial collateral ligament (MCL) in his left knee, there was the customary uncertainty of what his future would look like.

And once it was his turn to address reporters and media members as part of his end-of-season news conference, the 40-year-old James acknowledged being unsure about his future not long after wrapping up his 22nd NBA season with the Game 5 defeat.

“I don’t know, I don’t have an answer to that,” he said when asked how many more seasons he’ll play. “Something [I’ll] sit down with my family, my wife and my support group and kind of just talk through it and see what happens. And just have a conversation with myself on how long I want to continue to play.”

James has a $52.9 million player option for the 2025-26 season as part of the two-year, $101.3 million contract he signed with the Lakers last summer.

He’ll have until June 29 to either opt into the player option, or decline the option and become an unrestricted free agent this offseason.

James expressed similar uncertainty about his future when asked about the areas he feels like the Lakers need to improve for next season after back-to-back seasons of first-round playoff exits.

“I don’t know. Obviously you don’t even … man, listen, it’s a business too,” said James, who was hurt during a knee-to-knee collision with Minnesota guard Donta DiVincenzo that night. “So you don’t know what the roster will look like next year besides the guys that locked into contracts. [Expletive], I got a lot to think about myself. So I don’t know what the roster will look like. I don’t know where I stand right now.”

James followed up with ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, saying his decision is more about not knowing where he is at in terms of continuing to play generally, not whether he’d return to the Lakers.

Next season would be a league-record 23rd for James, who averaged 24.4 points while shooting 51.3% from the field (37.6% from 3-point range), 8.2 assists, 7.8 rebounds and a steal in 70 regular-season games.

He’ll likely be named to a record-extending 21 All-NBA team.

As of last weekend, James hadn’t had a conversation with his family and inner circle about his future yet.

“I haven’t had the conversation with the family yet as far as me going forward or whatever the case may be,” James said during an episode of the “Mind The Game” podcast that was recorded on May 4 and released last Thursday. “But we will see what happens.”

But the Lakers, at least outwardly, have been optimistic about James returning.

President of Basketball Operations Rob Pelinka referred to James, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves as the team’s “pillars” going into next season. It’s no secret that James had long admired Doncic before becoming teammates. Without being prompted, James spoke highly of Coach JJ Redick and his coaching staff after the season ended.

James also said that playing alongside his son, Bronny, this past season ranked No. 1 among all of his career accomplishments.

Bronny has a fully guaranteed $1.9 million salary for 2025-26, is partially guaranteed for $1.3 million of his $2.3 million salary for 2026-27 (his salary for that season would become fully guaranteed on June 29, 2026) and has a $2.5 million team option for 2027-28.

“It is not even close,” he added of playing alongside Bronny. “To be able to play the game that I love and to be able to be along with my son this whole year has been one of the most gratifying, satisfying journeys I’ve ever been on.”

But James’ contract status will loom over the Lakers until he makes a decision.

“LeBron’s going to have high expectations for the roster,” Pelinka said. “And we’re going to do everything we can to meet those.”

​ Orange County Register 

Trump starts his foreign trip with a crush of problems — and outsized certainty he has the answers

• May 13, 2025

By AAMER MADHANI and DARLENE SUPERVILLE

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump set out on a three-nation visit to the Middle East on Monday, a trip he had originally intended to use to focus on his efforts to press wealthy Gulf nations to pour billions in new investment into the United States.

But now Trump finds himself navigating a series of geopolitical crises — and searching for glimmers of hope in the deep well of global turmoil — that are casting greater import on the first extended overseas trip of his second term.

“This world is a lot safer today than it was a week ago,” Trump crowed to reporters as he sized up the foreign policy challenges he’s facing as he heads to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. “And a lot safer than it was six months ago.”

The president was brimming with an overabundance of confidence about some of the world’s most intractable problems, from tensions in South Asia to the future of sanctions in Syria to the war in Ukraine.

But behind closed doors, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim al-Thani, and Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed will be looking to get a bead on how Trump intends to push ahead on resolving the war in Gaza, dealing with Iran’s rapidly progressing nuclear program and addressing India-Pakistan tensions.

And after weeks of threats and cajoling, it remains to be seen if Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will listen to Trump, who is demanding they meet in Istanbul this week to discuss ending Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Trump, for his part, projected confidence that the meeting will happen and even seemed somewhat optimistic that the end to the conflict is near. He floated the idea of making a detour from his itinerary to visit Turkey if he thinks his presence would be constructive.

“I was thinking about flying over. I don’t know where I am going be on Thursday,” Trump said. “I’ve got so many meetings. … There’s a possibility there, I guess, if I think things can happen.”

But Ukraine’s allies remained deeply skeptical Monday about prospects for talks and whether Putin was serious about peace.

“If there is no ceasefire there cannot be talks under fire,” European Union commission vice president Kaja Kallas told reporters at a meeting on Ukraine in London. “We want to see that Russia also wants peace. It takes two to want peace, it takes only one to want war, and we see that Russia clearly wants war.”

Trump sees opening in Gaza

Just as Trump was preparing to depart Washington for the Saudi capital of Riyadh, the last living American hostage in Gaza, Edan Alexander, was released.

Trump and administration officials framed the moment — a goodwill gesture toward Trump by Hamas — as a chance to get foundering peace negotiations between Israel and Hamas back on track.

“This was a step taken in good faith towards the United States and the efforts of the mediators — Qatar and Egypt — to put an end to this very brutal war and return ALL living hostages and remains to their loved one,” Trump posted on social media after Hamas extended the offer Sunday. “Hopefully this is the first of those final steps necessary to end this brutal conflict.”

While Trump pumped up Alexander’s release as a potential turning point, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was far more subdued. Israel, notably, has not stepped back from plans to expand its war in Gaza.

Netanyahu’s office, in a statement Monday, underscored it had “not committed to a ceasefire of any kind or the release of terrorists” in exchange for Alexander.

“The negotiations will continue under fire, during preparations for an intensification of the fighting,” the prime minister’s office statement said.

Trump takes a different tone on Syria

As he prepared to leaved Washington, Trump also said he’s weighing removing sanctions on the Syrian government. It’s an issue that’s top of mind for the three Gulf leaders, who have rallied behind the new government in Damascus and will want Trump to follow through.

“We may want to take them off of Syria, because we want to give them a fresh start,” said Trump, adding that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urged him to do so.

The comments marked a striking change in tone from Trump, who has been deeply skeptical of Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa.

Al-Sharaa took power after his Islamist group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), led an offensive that toppled former President Bashar Assad in December.

The Trump administration has yet to formally recognize the new Syrian government. Sanctions imposed on Damascus under Assad also remain in place.

Cajoling India and Pakistan with trade

Trump also took credit for his administration keeping India and Pakistan from returning to a state of all-out war amid the deadliest fighting in six years between the nuclear armed neighbors.

The president said he and aides were ultimately able to talk sense to India and Pakistan’s leadership and guide them away from further escalation by dangling carrots, while also threatening both nations with sticks.

“I said, ‘Come on, we’re going to do a lot of trade with you guys,’” Trump said. “’If you stop it, we’ll do trade. If you don’t stop it, we’re not going to do any trade.’ People never use trade the way I used it.”

The situation remains tenuous. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Monday that his country has only “paused” its military action and will “retaliate on its own terms” if there is any future terror attack on the country.

Big differences remain in Iran nuclear talks

The president will arrive in the region after his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, held the fourth round of nuclear talks Sunday in Oman with Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi.

As the talks continue, the Trump administration has sent mixed messages about what nuclear work Iran would be allowed to do under a potential deal.

Senior administration officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have said that Tehran would be required to import enriched material to run nuclear reactors for civilian purposes. Trump, however, said this past week that his administration hasn’t made a decision on the issue.

It’s also unclear if Trump will insist that Tehran give up support of Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Houthi militants in Yemen as part of any nuclear deal.

Whatever his negotiating frame may be, Trump seemed confident that Iran is engaging rationally, and that he will cement a deal soon.

“You can’t have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said of his demand for Iran. “But I think that they are talking intelligently.”

However, the two sides still appear a long way from any deal, even as time passes on a two-month deadline imposed by Trump.

Madhani reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. AP writer Jill Lawless contributed from London.

​ Orange County Register 

Man gets 35 years to life for 2019 killing of USC student

• May 13, 2025

A man who killed a USC jazz student during an attempted robbery just blocks from the university campus six years ago was sentenced on Monday, May 12, to 35 years to life in state prison.

Ivan Hernandez, 29, pleaded no contest in January to first-degree murder in the March 10, 2019, killing of 21-year-old Victor McElhaney, whose mother was a member of the Oakland City Council.

McElhaney was shot in the head just after midnight near Maple Avenue and Adams Boulevard and died at a hospital.

A student at USC’s Thornton School of Music, he was with friends when they were approached by three or four men in their 20s during an attempted robbery that led to the shooting, authorities said.

McElhaney mentored young musicians and taught at the Oakland Public Conservatory of Music.

Shortly after the killing, his mother, Lynette Gibson McElhaney, said her son “believed that music could heal the world of violence and sickness and addiction.”

The year after his death, USC announced the creation of the Victor McElhaney Memorial Jazz Drumming Endowed Scholarship, awarded annually to support an undergraduate drummer who reflects the spirit and ideals he represented.

McElhaney was an active member of USC’s Center for Black Cultural and Student Affairs, a member of the USC Thornton’s Afro Latin American Jazz Ensemble and various student combos.

​ Orange County Register 

Civil rights agency moves to fire judge fighting Trump directives

• May 13, 2025

By CLAIRE SAVAGE

The federal agency tasked with protecting workers’ civil rights has moved to terminate a New York administrative judge who has resisted compliance with directives from the White House, including President Donald Trump’s executive order decreeing male and female as two “immutable” sexes.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in response to Trump’s order has moved to drop at least seven of its own pending cases representing transgender workers alleging discrimination, and is classifying all new gender identity-related discrimination cases as its lowest priority, signaling a major departure from its prior interpretation of civil rights law.

EEOC Administrative Judge Karen Ortiz, who in February criticized the agency’s Trump-appointed head, Acting Chair Andrea Lucas, in an email copied to more than 1,000 colleagues, on Wednesday was placed on administrative leave. She also received notice that the EEOC leadership sought to fire her, accusing her of “profoundly unprofessional” conduct.

“Of particular concern, your February email was ultimately circulated to multiple press outlets, potentially resulting in significant reputational harm to the agency,” according to the notice, which included a PDF of a March 10 article by The Associated Press about Ortiz, along with other materials.

An EEOC spokesperson said on Monday that the agency had no comment on Ortiz’s termination proceedings. But in its notice to Ortiz, the agency said its action “does not pertain to the content of your disagreement with the Agency policy, but rather the disrespectful and disparaging manner in which you have conveyed your message.”

In her February mass-email criticizing the agency’s efforts to comply with Trump’s order, Ortiz wrote to Lucas that “You are not fit to be our chair much less hold a license to practice law,” adding: “I will not compromise my ethics and my duty to uphold the law.” The letter was leaked on Reddit, where it gained more than 10,000 “upvotes.” Many users cheered its author.

The EEOC subsequently revoked her email privileges for about a week and issued her a written reprimand for “discourteous conduct.”

Ortiz’s actions were cited in an April 18 White House proposal aimed to make it easier to fire some federal workers. It listed Ortiz as an example of bureaucrats who “use the protections the system gives them to oppose presidential policies and impose their own preferences.”

Ortiz said she was unfazed after being called out by the nation’s highest office. Trump “just gave me an even bigger platform,” she said in an April 19 message to The AP.

The EEOC has undergone tumultuous change since Trump took office. He fired two of the three Democratic commissioners of the federal agency in an unprecedented move that swept away what would have been a key barrier to his campaign to dismantle diversity and inclusion programs, end protections for transgender and nonbinary workers and other priorities. One of the dismissed commissioners, Jocelyn Samuels, filed a lawsuit challenging her termination, arguing her removal was a violation of the Civil Rights Act that created the agency to be an independent and bipartisan protector of the rights of workers. The move also left the agency without the quorum needed to make key decisions. But last week, Trump tapped an assistant U.S. attorney in Florida, Brittany Panuccio, to fill one of the vacancies. If Panuccio is confirmed by the Senate, the EEOC would regain a quorum and establish a Republican majority 2-1, clearing the path to make major policy changes, including revising agency guidance on how to implement existing civil rights laws.

Since February, Ortiz said she has continued to “raise the alarm” and convey her opposition to the agency’s actions, including in an April 24 email to Lucas and several other internal email groups with the subject line, “If You’re Seeking Power, Here’s Power” and a link to Tears for Fears’ 1985 hit “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.”

“Take in the lyrics,” Ortiz wrote to Lucas. “Ponder what you’re allowing yourself to be a part of.”

Her ability to send emails was again promptly revoked.

Ortiz said she plans to fight the termination, and is strategizing with her attorneys and union on how best to respond. She may reply to the dismissal notice within 15 days, and has the right to request a time extension, an attorney, a union representative, or another representative of her choosing, according to the document, which was acquired by The AP. A final decision will be issued after the reply period has passed.

“I’ve been quite the thorn in the agency’s side,” Ortiz said Monday in a phone interview with The AP. “But, you know, it’s warranted.”

The Associated Press’ women in the workforce and state government coverage receives financial support from Pivotal Ventures. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

​ Orange County Register 

Orange County scores and player stats for Monday, May 12

• May 13, 2025

Support our high school sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribe now

Scores and stats from Orange County games on Monday, May 12

Click here for details about sending your team’s scores and stats to the Register.

The deadline for submitting information is 10:45 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 p.m. Saturday.

MONDAY’S SCORES

BOYS TENNIS

CIF-SS PLAYOFFS

Quarterfinals

DIVISION 1

Marina 9, Notre Dame/SO 9 (Marina wins on games, 73-64)

DIVISION 5

Capistrano Valley 10, Mark Keppel 8

Fullerton 14, Rosemead 4

​ Orange County Register 

Tustin man gets more than 17 years in prison for leading a drug trafficking ring active in Australia and Papua New Guinea

• May 13, 2025

LOS ANGELES — An Orange County man was sentenced Monday to more than 17 years behind bars for leading a drug trafficking ring that ran bulk quantities of methamphetamine to Australia and Papua New Guinea concealed in shipments of car parts and instant noodles.

Hoang Xuan Le, 43, also known as “Big Bro,” of Tustin, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner, who ordered him to pay a fine of $50,000 along with the 210-month prison sentence, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Le pleaded guilty in November 2024 in Los Angeles federal court to one count of conspiracy to export controlled substances.

From July 2020 to October 2021, Le and co-defendant Tri Buinguyen, 40, known as “Bro,” of Garden Grove arranged for the export of the drugs via air cargo and ocean freight, falsifying the shipments on manifests and customs documents, federal prosecutors said.

By relying on “military-grade” encryption software and messaging apps to coordinate shipments, the defendants communicated with vendors and customs officials under fake names and email accounts to disguise the drugs as legitimate commercial products, according to federal prosecutors.

In his plea agreement, Le admitted to overseeing at least two shipments of narcotics from the United States to the Indo-Pacific region. In August 2020, he directed the shipment of nearly 66.1 pounds of methamphetamine concealed in metal boxes to Australia. From April 2021 to September 2021, Le directed the shipment to Papua New Guinea of about 330.7 pounds of the drug concealed in food storage buckets. Law enforcement intercepted both shipments.

On Feb. 24, Buinguyen was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison and fined $50,000 for his role in the conspiracy. He pleaded guilty in November 2024 to one count of conspiracy to export controlled substances, admitting his role in the two drug shipments, plus additional shipments of methamphetamine concealed in ready-to-eat meal packets that were delivered to New Zealand and intercepted by law enforcement there, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Co-defendants Trung Buinguyen, 41, of Lakewood, and Narongsak Champy, 29, of Long Beach, were charged with one count of conspiracy to export controlled substances and one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Law enforcement was seeking both defendants.

​ Orange County Register 

Mavericks win NBA draft lottery with 1.8% odds

• May 13, 2025

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer

CHICAGO — The ping-pong balls have spoken: Cooper Flagg might be headed to Dallas to start his NBA career.

And a fan base that lost Luka Doncic this season might have a new star to cheer for.

The Mavericks won the NBA draft lottery on Monday night, giving them the No. 1 pick in next month’s draft – and the first chance to take Flagg, the freshman who led Duke to the Final Four in his lone college season and the consensus player of the year.

Dallas bucked huge odds to get it done, with only a 1.8% chance to win the lottery coming into Monday. A Mavs team that reached the NBA Finals in 2024, then scorned its fans by trading away Doncic to the Lakers, left Chicago with the biggest prize.

San Antonio – with back-to-back Rookies of the Year in Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle – will pick second, Philadelphia will pick third, and Charlotte will pick fourth.

Flagg averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists while leading Duke to the Final Four in his lone college season. He shot 48% from the field, 39% from 3-point range, 84% from the free-throw line and was The Associated Press’ national player of the year.

And he’s had success against NBA players already. Last summer, when the U.S. Olympic team was holding its training camp in Las Vegas in advance of the Paris Games – where the Americans won gold yet again – Flagg was part of the select team brought in to scrimmage against the Olympians.

Flagg, who was 17 years old at the time, more than held his own in those workouts.

Utah will pick fifth, Washington sixth, New Orleans seventh, Brooklyn eighth, Toronto ninth, Houston 10th, Portland 11th, Chicago 12th, Atlanta 13th and San Antonio 14th.

More to come on this story.

​ Orange County Register