Nico Harrison has been the most hated man in the NBA since shipping out Luka Dončić at the trade deadline. Winning the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft gives him a chance to take one more big swing.
It's old news now that Dallas' much-maligned GM pulled off(?) what could arguably be the wildest trade in NBA history, old news that immediately following the infamous Luka Dončić trade, outside sources projected that the Mavericks were to lose out on tens of millions of dollars for the remainder of the 2024-25 season alone, according to ESPN's Tim McMahon. The 'Fire Nico!' chants, jersey burning videos, and season ticket cancellations were already a done deal before Anthony Davis debuted in the most AD way (heinously good stats and the perfect eye test before his lower body gave out).
What followed were more injuries and more losses.
Fast-forward to the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery, and you know that Nico Harrison and the Mavericks got their 'get out of jail free' card. There are already reports that the Mavs plan to play it safe, keep the pick and take consensus number 1 pick Cooper Flagg off of the silver platter he's being served on. But the safe thing was to keep Luka Dončić.
Harrison doesn't always do the safe thing.
Even if Cooper Flagg was scouted as the second coming of Kevin Garnett or better (he's not), the Luka trade and its subsequent fallout displays an amount of predictability, and perhaps common sense, that Dallas' front office simply lacks with Harrison at the helm. And based off of the rising 2025-26 season ticket prices and his statements regarding the Mavs' future, Harrison seems predisposed to move boldness, if only to prove himself right.
Flagg is, by all accounts, the far-and-away best player in the 2025 class, but few is the scout that would put him in the same breath as LeBron, Wemby, or even Zion as far as game-changing potential or athletic tools. Flagg's most differentiating qualities are how his basketball IQ and relentless drive match up with NBA-level athleticism at a young age. But these are not qualities for a scrambling GM to build around with a three-to-four year championship window, partnered with two aging, injury-prone stars well into their 30s.
But the power in Flagg's pick is how well he fits in with the rest of the NBA. Teams would love to have an athletic forward or smaller big with the sheer willpower to change the culture of a franchise -- especially those who are looking to rebuild, and quickly. Especially if they, say, have an unhappy, but undeniable, superstar with a championship pedigree that the Mavs can match salary for ...
Trading the No. 1 pick to get Giannis seems like the kind of thing Nico Harrison would do
Giannis. Dallas could pursue Giannis Antetokounmpo. Whether they succeed is up to them, but the likelihood that Nico Harrison hasn't already made the call or sent the email is extremely low. Giannis stands as the great trade prize of the 2025 offseason, he is open to leaving Milwaukee, and he wants to win now. He gets his two sidekicks with Kyrie and AD, and if they give out, Giannis is still more than great enough on his own to keep Dallas afloat. He's had as clean a bill of health as any 30-year-old can claim in the NBA, Nico Harrison already seems like the type of GM to believe in the 'Power of the Big Three' mantra held half the league in thrall in the 2010s (thanks LeBron), and he might be the only big enough name to justify raising season ticket prices for in the wake of the Luka fiasco.
And it's going to destroy Dallas, either way. Give it two years and a championship or Finals appearance, give it 5, Nico Harrison still won't be forgiven for mortgaging Dallas' future on Anthony Davis, regardless of whatever move he pulls going forward. If he was willing to walk back his statement on Dallas' championship window, kowtow to the anger of Dallas' fan base, then Cooper Flagg would have the potential to be the recovery move of the decade for the Mavericks. Reset your culture around him, make whatever deals you can make for AD and Kyrie to stockpile draft assets and young talent, rebuild like how OKC did and pre-KD Brooklyn tried to do. You have the assets to do it.
But that's not the Nico Harrison we've all come to know. That Nico Harrison seems more likely to double down on his championship hopes for the Mavs, go down swinging, and swinging as hard as he can before his career on the Mavericks is snuffed out. And the path to doing that goes through the Greek Freak.
And when AD and Kyrie are gone, and Giannis moves on, the Dallas Mavericks will be in the basement again, clutching their (maybe) one post-Dirk Larry O'Brien trophy, staring with tears in their eyes at Luka's Lakers and wherever Cooper Flagg is, and cursing the name Nico Harrison all the same.