Just tossing this out there in case Cooper Flagg’s scrolling the Barstool blog in 2025’s Year of the Snake. The Dallas Mavericks just pulled off a wild win in the NBA Draft Lottery Monday night despite having just a 1.8% shot at the top pick. Thanks to the league’s new goofy format, they were technically a “playoff team” this year. If they hadn’t lost that play-in game to the Grizzlies, they wouldn’t have even qualified for the lottery.
The crazy part? They probably wouldn’t have been in this spot at all if GM Nico Harrison hadn’t pulled off what might go down as the worst trade in league history, shipping Luka Doncic to the Lakers for Anthony Davis. Even if Luka hits 800 pounds and never touches a basketball again, and AD somehow goes on a title streak, that deal is still an epic fail. Why? Because Harrison didn’t even hustle to shop Luka around. No calls, no market check, just handed him over. It was such a clown move that fans started whispering it was all a setup to tank the Mavs and move the team to Vegas.
Now that Dallas scored the first pick, the rumor mill flipped—some folks think the NBA rigged the lottery as a thank you for sending Luka to LA. I’m not buying the tinfoil hat version. The whole thing hinged on them missing the playoffs, and that’s a hard bet. Maybe Adam Silver slid Harrison a soft “I got you,” and things just lined up. But none of that changes the vibe: Mavs fans are over Nico Harrison. They were fuming after the Luka trade, and protests outside the arena made that loud and clear.
The fanbase can’t stand him. Around the league, Nico Harrison’s become a total punchline. Every move he makes feels like an L. He’s letting go of well-liked Mavs staffers while they’re at home caring for a dying family, and even pushing a legend like Dirk Nowitzki away from the team. It’s a bad look all around.
Kicking fans out for speaking their voice.
Every time he grabs a mic or rolls up to some secret, no cameras press conference. He somehow manages to make the situation even messier.
I can’t speak for Mavs fans, but I’d bet that when they won the lottery, while they were stoked about landing Cooper Flagg, it still probably felt like a gut punch to see Nico Harrison benefit from his own failures. Once again, dude fumbles up the ladder. That has to be a weird, bittersweet vibe. Imagine being a fan and realizing your team’s future is somehow tied to a guy you can’t stand. That’s rough.
And now, Cooper Flagg has a shot to pull off the most legendary power move ever. He could be the hero Dallas didn’t know it needed. Heck, maybe even a hero to basketball fans everywhere. I could be overestimating his influence or how deep the fanbase’s frustration runs, but just picture this: Flagg comes out and says, “I’m not playing for Dallas unless Nico Harrison is fired.” That would break the internet. And honestly? It just might work. Outside of Nico’s own family, I doubt a single fan would choose him over Flagg. The whole basketball world would lose it, in a good way.
Even if Flagg did it just to be petty, fans would probably still ride for him. But honestly, it might make sense for him long-term too. He saw what went down with Luka Doncic, a star who carried the franchise, loved by everyone, only to get shipped out like it was nothing. Why would Flagg want to trust a GM who pulled that kind of move? Especially now, in the NIL era, where he could go back to college and still rake in serious cash. Sure, an NBA rookie deal might get him $60 million over four years, but another year in college could bring in close to $10 mil. That’s not exactly a broke-boy decision.
Of course, you could argue it’d still be a wild move, considering the Mavericks are actually a pretty sweet setup for him. Take Nico out of the equation, and the starting five he’d be walking into might be one of the best lineups a No. 1 overall pick has ever joined. So yeah, drama aside, it’s kind of a dream spot.
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