Nico Harrison’s Cooper Flagg ‘Vision’ Sparks Outrage After Luka Doncic Trade

Dallas Mavericks GM Nico Harrison has faced a lot of brickbats for his decision to trade away Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Nico Harrison’s Cooper Flagg ‘Vision’ Sparks Outrage After Luka Doncic Trade

Nico Harrison claims landing Cooper Flagg was part of Luka Doncic trade vision (Image via FirstSportz)

When Nico Harrison traded away Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers at the beginning of February, he underestimated the heat going his way, especially from Dallas Mavericks fans. Now, he has drafted Cooper Flagg, essentially the Slovenian’s replacement, as their franchise cornerstone.

When he was receiving death threats, he was forced to hire additional security to protect his family. He also had to avoid sitting in his designated seat inside the American Airlines Center to shield himself from the constant barrage of boos and ‘fire Nico’ chants.

Those calls have not seemed to stop as fans still believe the GM has betrayed fans’ trust in the franchise. Even after winning the NBA lottery under questionable circumstances, fans believe Harrison denied them a chance to witness greatness.

Now, he has Cooper Flagg in the building, and there is a sense that the Duke standout will help the Dallas Mavericks win an NBA title as early as this season. When asked if Flagg’s addition would change fans’ perception of him, Nico Harrison replied:

Yeah, I think so… I think it will help. Most importantly, I think we’re in win now mode. We have a really good team and Cooper adds to that. So I think the fans finally start to see the vision.

Nico Harrison said

The former Nike executive’s words seem to suggest he had a vision to draft Cooper Flagg when he sent Luka Doncic away. Or, he was suggesting that the ‘win-now vision’ the Mavericks are in gets further help in the form of the Duke standout.

Fans go on a tirade over Nico Harrison’s ‘vision’ comments

When basketball fans heard Nico Harrison utter the words ‘vision’ along with drafting Cooper Flagg, they lost their minds. They believe the GM has been working without a true ‘vision’ in mind, which is why he brought in an injury-prone star in Anthony Davis.

They believe he does not realize that injuries can stop the potential of this team. There is more probability of that happening than Luka Doncic struggling with conditioning. Fans also believe that the Mavericks would be successful if he had embraced the Slovenians’ ways and figured out how to add to that.

Instead of being humble and mending his relationship with Mavs fans, these comments seem to infuriate them more. Fans believe Harrison is doubling down on his decisions instead of understanding what they felt and fixing the situation. Check out examples of those reactions below:

Nico Harrison might not want to admit that he did not estimate how fans would react after he traded away their most popular superstar. By doubling down using team security to silence protests, matters have gotten worse to the point where fans do not believe anything he says.

Cooper Flagg side eyes Nico Harrison

Cooper Flagg sat between Nico Harrison and head coach Jason Kidd during the press conference. ESPN’s Tim MacMahon asked if he felt he was the heir apparent as the face of the franchise after Dirk Nowitzki, and for some time, Luka Doncic.

Cooper Flagg, Nico Harrison and Jason Kidd
Cooper Flagg, Nico Harrison and Jason Kidd (Image via Dallas Mavericks/X)

When MacMahon mentioned the latter and said that, despite Nowitzki handing the Slovenian the baton of the ‘face of the franchise’, he added that those plans changed. At this time, the 18-year-old side-eyed his GM with a smirk on his face.

Flagg’s side-eye suggested he, too, believed the decision to trade away Luka Doncic was a grave error. Seemingly joking about it indicated that the Duke standout is also aware of the brickbats Nico Harrison has received for that trade.

It was probably a spur-of-the-moment thing from the Maine native, as he, along with everyone, knows such a trade would not happen without the blessings of the ownership. The GM might be facing the flak, but he is not the lone party to be blamed.

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