On June 25, the Dallas Mavericks will have the chance to select Cooper Flagg with the first overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
Before the big day comes around, Mavericks Governor Patrick Dumont must make a very serious decision to help create a better future for rising star Cooper Flagg in his first season with the team.
Dumont needs to immediately fire Nico Harrison and find a general manager who cares not only about the players' well-being, but the fan bases' as well.
Mavericks should fire Nico Harrison before drafting Cooper Flagg
Although Flagg fits Harrison's mantra of "defense wins championships," the Mavericks need to realize that Harrison cares much more about winning now than focusing on the future.
Harrison had continuously reiterated that the Mavericks' championship window was around three years when they first acquired Anthony Davis in the blockbuster trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. Since the Mavericks landed the first overall pick in the NBA Draft Lottery, Harrison has yet to speak or give his opinion on the excitement of potentially drafting Flagg.
The two main people who have spoken about Flagg are current Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd and Mavericks assistant general manager Matt Riccardi.
Kidd has expressed his excitement for Flagg multiple times, while Riccardi has even discussed how the ability to draft Flagg has expanded the Mavericks' championship window.
It seems like Harrison is more focused on a winning championship for Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis, rather than prioritizing Flagg and the 20-year championship runway his addition provides. This might be due to the fact that he has a solid chance of not being the general manager for the Mavericks for the majority of Flagg's career, as he may not even make it to the end of his contract, depending on how next season goes.
Although the smartest thing for the Mavericks to do is fire Harrison, it's not quite that simple.
Harrison holds a very strong relationship with Irving and Davis. Irving is currently eligible to opt out of his player option this offseason, and if Harrison were to be fired right now, it would increase the odds of Irving either leaving Dallas this summer or eventually later on.
The whole point of the Mavericks acquiring Davis was because of how highly Harrison has been intrigued with his game throughout his career. It would be a bit odd for Dumont to get rid of Harrison before the Mavericks even had the chance to see a healthy version of this roster.
The Mavericks must find a way to get rid of Harrison, prioritize Flagg, and find a way to win now and also win in the future. Dumont should no longer be okay with the way Harrison has ran things.
The Mavericks landed the No. 1 overall pick and the right to draft Flagg despite only having a 1.8 percent chance of doing so, and they can limit any future damage that Harrison could cause during the Flagg era by firing him now.
