Zach Lowe: “I don’t want to hear Nico Harrison talking about how now Mavs fans are finally starting to see his “vision”. There’s no vision that includes ‘You know what we’re gonna do… We’re gonna lose in the play-in and win the lottery with 1.8% chance, and then the fans will see my vision.’ “

17 comments

  1. Chatgpt says the odds to draft a multi time 1st nba is .15%. This is lower than Flagg lotto of 1.8%.

    Seems like one is harder to gain even if there’s a 1st overall pick in the mix. Flagg looks awesome but thats still a huge risk to take while having a dominant star already in luka.

    Also the vision didn’t include open bidding, more first picks, ripping every available asset from the team, and being a non dick abt trading the face of the franchise.

    A few more firsts and reeves if they really wanted to do the trade would have been the other have of the deal.

    Danny Ainge and Presti would have asked for the moon and maybe gotten if that was what they are trading out.

  3. He somehow couldn’t see how putting so much pressure on Kyrie to make up for Luka’s absence would lead to his injury.

  5. Zach is 100% right when it comes to Nico and fans are right to hate Nico but fans themselves have not allowed themselves to truly celebrate Cooper, and have not allowed themselves to truly back Cooper, because they are stuck on Luka and compare him to Luka. That’s toxic. Cooper is awesome and charting his own path but it doesn’t seem like it’ll be enough for some fans because Luka Luka Luka Luka. That’s exhausting.

  8. A lot of fans think Cooper Flagg was part of the trade under the table and still don’t see it.

  10. Nico did F up but I’m more displeased with how Coop is being used. I get wanting him to handle the ball and get experience but ease him into it. Give him a release valve in a BWill or DLo. He will be good but he needs time and to be put in the best situation for his skill set now

  11. I just don’t understand fans still going to the games and supporting this mess of organization…

  12. People just can’t understand how getting Flagg actually destroyed his vision. He now has a rookie that has to play instead of one of his guys. His vision has been completely broken by that lottery win. /s

  15. Basically Nico Harrison thinks he is a coach and a basketball genius. As Tim Cato reported, Harrison became obsessed with beating Boston after Dallas made the finals, and obsessed with building the team around a player he felt was a true 2-way force. He clearly tried to shop Luka to Milwaukee for Giannis, but was rebuffed. AD is a player only NH valued as a top 10, 15 player on an equivalent level. Nico traded Luka for a guy he believed was an almost equivalent to play alongside Kyrie.

    Basically, we all know that logic is absolutely bullshit and that Dallas lost against Boston because of their lack of offence rather than poor defence. He’s ripped the heart out of the team and the soul out of Dallas basketball.

    The only thing that can heal this is a full reset with a new FO. Sadly, I can see this waiting until after the end of next season. Nico will argue that Kyrie’s injury justifies waiting until AD and Kyrie can start a season together. This season is an unofficial gap year / stealth tank for whatever Dallas can get for its last pick until 2031, though I expect Dallas to trade Kyrie and AD for picks by 2028 when Harrison’s 2-year championship window ends.

    So, what can we do as Dallas fans? We are essentially stuck watching the vision of Nico Harrison for the next two years, a literal slap in the face of Dallas fans who were unanimously invested in Luka. The only thing that brightens this is Cooper Flagg and possibly Derek Lively, Brandon Williams and Max Christie. The reality is that these young players will be blooded now, but in two years they will be expected to be significant rotation players in a rebuild project.

    But let’s be in no doubt. Nico Harrison has destroyed the Dallas Mavericks as we knew them, and only a total reset can allow us to move forward.

  16. Guys, I gotta speak my peace. This isn’t a perspective, this is about who I am.

    I am a new Dallas fan, relatively speaking. I started following them in 2021, the year after the Bubble when the trade for Dinwiddie would eventually allow the Mavs to go to the conference finals. I was new to basketball and during the pandemic, with the lack of activity in the outside world, watching Dallas allowed me to feel connected to something bigger. I fell in love with the team, especially Brunson for his incredibly work rate, and Luka with his absolutely audacious skill. I loved the role players too – Dorian Finney-Smith, Reggie Bullock, Maxi Kleber. As a novice, I loved watching these flawed players work their hardest to drive Dallas forward.

    When Brunson left I was sad, but not devastated. The season that followed was poor. But it allowed us to capture Dereck Lively II.

    The next season was incredible, going to the finals. I felt that Dallas had a contender and when they added Naji Marshall and Quentin Grimes I only felt more certain.

    But what’s missing from this is that during these years I also moved house several times, became a father, and then moved country with my young family. These have been tough years of growth and change, happy, but also difficult. When you become a dad, your world can get smaller, focused on day to day tasks and keeping the household going. You have less time for friends, even yourself. During this time, following Dallas Mavs and Luka’s journey allowed me to feel connected to something bigger. I felt certain I would watch Luka in Dallas for years to come, and I’m sure like for so many fans, it gave me happiness to know I would have the privilege of watching this epic journey.

    Nico Harrison didn’t care about that. He didn’t care about loyalty. He didn’t care about the fans. He deprived us of a dream we held dear.

    I was devastated. I can’t imagine what this was like for full on MFFLers. I was only a ‘new’ fan. Or so I thought.

    So when I say what I’m about to say, I mean it: what Nico Harrison did feels personal. I know he didn’t mean it personally to me, to derive ‘me’ of ‘my’ happiness. But what he did was a total failure of the immense responsibility he had to the fans as the FO. He didn’t just trade Luka, he deprived us of a journey that was our story too.

    I genuinely think he owes us an apology, a genuine apology for what he has put us through. I know so many fans lost sleep, lost energy, and lost even enthusiasm for basketball because of the trade. It’s because sports is more than business. It’s deeper than that.

    I don’t know what I’m trying to say anymore or who this is to other than: I have to get it out there. What Nico Harrison did was not just a basketball error or ‘the dumbest decision of all time’. It was wrong in a deeply human sense.

  17. I think it’s more apparent than ever that Nico knew he would trade Luka and get the first pick.

    It’s the only scenario that makes sense.

    His vision was based on a rigged draft pick.

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