Things took a turn for the worst for the Dallas Mavericks after general manager Nico Harrison traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers last February. Fans were furious the team gave away its franchise player for a subpar return, injuries to key players like Kyrie Irving mounted, and the architect of the 2024 Western Conference champions was fired on Tuesday, November 11.
The lone bright spot in the entire debacle for Dallas was that it won the 2025 NBA Draft lottery and selected Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 overall pick. The 18-year-old phenom out of Duke was considered one of the best college prospects of this decade, a player who could potentially replace Doncic as the franchise cornerstone.
Flagg spoke for the first time on Harrison’s firing on Wednesday, November 12. He had nothing but nice things to say about the man who drafted him before focusing his answer back on his on-court performance.
The rookie is beginning to establish himself in the NBA, averaging 15.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists while playing primarily at point guard, which is not his natural position.
Cooper Flagg Speaks on Nico Harrison Firing
After the Mavericks’ 123-114 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday, November 12, Flagg was asked to share his thoughts on Nico Harrison’s firing.
“It’s about basketball,” Flagg said, per Joey Mistretta of ClutchPoints. “He seemed like a really great guy… At the end of the day, I’m here to play basketball. Whatever goes on above me, it’s above me. I can’t worry about it too much. Just going to keep trying to show up and be who I am and try and get better every single day.”
Keeping the focus on the court has certainly been a challenge for all of the Mavericks players given the turmoil over the last several weeks, especially with “Fire Nico” chants reverberating through American Airlines Center at every home game.
“These guys, they can hear those things,” head coach Jason Kidd told Christian Clark of The Athletic on Wednesday. “And they feel really disrespected. It’s hard to keep guys here when they start to think the home team is not home, and it becomes a visiting place. Hopefully, that changes tonight.”
Cooper Flagg Finding His Footing In Rookie Season
Flagg is beginning to adjust to the professional game and find his shooting stroke through the first 12 games of his career. He had his best game the night before Harrison was fired against the Milwaukee Bucks, scoring 26 points on 60% shooting from the field. He also had a 22-point game in a 139-129 win over the Toronto Raptors on October 26.
Flagg’s fit in Dallas’ rotation has been a work in progress, to say the least. The Mavericks do not have a true point guard at the moment with Irving making his way back from a torn ACL, and the team has tried to make Flagg the primary ball handler. The rookie ran the point occasionally during his one season at Duke, but his skillset is much better suited to playing as an off-ball forward.
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