Dallas Mavericks GM Nico Harrison was widely panned this season for trading Mavs cornerstone Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and some spare change. He became a laughingstock, criticized by fans and pundits alike and mocked with an overzealousness unseen before.
Perhaps that was all warranted. Who trades a 26-year-old franchise player who just led the team to the NBA Finals a season ago and who happens to love Dallas?
Maybe only Nico.
So, yes, laugh at Nico Harrison all you want.
Don’t look now, though. With a lucky bounce here and there, that same Nico Harrison might be getting the last laugh after all.
Mavs Defy the Odds, Get Top Pick for 2025 NBA Draft
The Mavs had a minuscule chance—just 1.8% to be exact—of nabbing the first overall pick for the 2025 NBA Draft, otherwise known as the Cooper Flag Sweepstakes. Then, Lady Luck smiled on Nico and the Mavs and gifted them the coveted pick, one that could potentially turn a franchise around in a good way.
It’s an incredible stroke of luck for the Mavs, to say the least. Just three months after trading a generational talent in Luka, they’ll get yet another chance to draft someone equally talented, a player some analysts say is also a generational talent.
Indeed, Flagg is a superb prospect. The 18-year-old National College Player of the Year last season averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.4 blocks for the Duke Blue Devils. He’s also 6-foot-9, boasts elite athleticism, and has terrific touch from pretty much anywhere on the floor.
Mavs Can Control Offseason
With the draft’s first overall pick, the Mavs will be able to add a top-tier, NBA-ready talent without letting go of their core group led by Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, Daniel Gafford, and Max Christie.
On that note, a starting five of Gafford, Davis, and Flagg at the frontcourt and Thompson and Irving at the backcourt—with Christie, Dereck Lively II, PJ Washington, and Naji Marshall—and looks like a legitimate title contender.
That is, if the Mavs even want to go after Flagg. With Nico’s unpredictability, it’s well within the realm of possibility that he’ll explore the market for an established superstar for a package centered on that no. 1 pick.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is reportedly open to getting traded, is one name to potentially keep an eye on in case Dallas opts for a seismic trade in the offseason. The Mavs’ no. 1 pick plus a few pieces here and there might even entice a team like the Phoenix Suns to part with Devin Booker or a franchise like the Boston Celtics to let go of former Finals MVP Jaylen Brown.
Whatever the case may be, the Mavs have the ultimate trade asset coming into this offseason, and it’s all because of a lucky bounce here and there.
So, who’s laughing at Nico Harrison now, eh?
