Mavs fire Nico Harrison

Summary

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The Athletic NBA Daily — "Mavs fire Nico Harrison"

Date: November 12, 2025
Hosts: Dave DuFour, Esperahenny, Andrew Schlecht, Christian Clark

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Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into one of the NBA’s most controversial front office shakeups: the Dallas Mavericks firing GM Nico Harrison, just nine months after the franchise-altering Luka Doncic trade. The hosts also recap the night’s biggest games—in particular, the Oklahoma City Thunder’s dominant win over the Warriors and the evolving Sixers identity in the wake of early injuries. The episode features expert analysis from beat reporters Andrew Schlecht (Thunder) and Christian Clark (Mavericks).

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Sixers’ Surprising Early-Season Identity

Segment: 02:39–07:57

• Sixers defeat Celtics without Embiid, move to 7–4:
  The team has adapted impressively despite Joel Embiid’s recurring knee soreness (not just injury management) and Paul George having yet to play this season.
• Emergence of Tyrese Maxey:
  “[He] has far surpassed Paul George in everyone's mind at this point.” (Dave DuFour, 04:09)
• Fast-paced, perimeter-oriented offense:
  “[They] are the speedster Sixers now. They run and they are so fast, especially on the perimeter. … Maxey is such an improved playmaker.” (Esperahenny, 04:48)
  • Quinton Grimes, VJ Edgecombe, and Justin Edwards (5 threes, mostly in the 4th) spotlighted for their offensive spark.
• Center rotation is quietly effective:
  Andre Drummond made a key defensive play late; Adam Bona provides low-usage stability.
• Reflection and tone:

  “This is … a refreshing thing from Philadelphia. Sixers fans deserve this through everything that they've been through for the last 10, 15 years.”
  (Esperahenny, 07:57)

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2. Thunder Dominate the Warriors — And Keep Surging

Segment: 07:57–14:39
Guest: Andrew Schlecht (Thunder beat writer, live from Paycom Center)

• Thunder hand Warriors a heavy loss; now 11–1 on the season.
• Chet Holmgren’s breakout performance:
  “Chet didn't miss a shot. … He's finally feeling comfortable with his three ball.” (Dave DuFour & Andrew Schlecht, 08:49–09:18)
• Teamwide improvement:
  “Everybody on the team has improved. And so now it's a matter of how do we … fit all of these different improvements into what we're doing?”
  (Andrew Schlecht, 09:33)
• A.J. Mitchell’s rise and ceiling:
  • “I'm getting dangerously high on what his ceiling can be. … We're talking All-Star.” (Esperahenny, 10:17)
  • “He looks completely comfortable … usually the game is so fast and so physical that it just takes them time to catch up. Not for A.J. Mitchell.”
    (Andrew Schlecht, 11:13)
  • Player comp:
    “He's a pinball. … He's elite at creating space by getting into the defender's chest.”
    (Dave DuFour, 12:36)
• Thunder resilience and schedule:
  Team won't have a back-to-back until January; talk of when their next loss might come.
• Light moment:
  “Shay and Chet sat the whole fourth quarter. … Shay didn't even do post game. He went home.”
  (Andrew Schlecht, 13:57)

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3. Dallas Mavericks Fire Nico Harrison — Fallout and Next Steps

Segment: 18:37–30:13
Guest: Christian Clark (Mavs beat writer)

Immediate Aftermath and Fan Sentiment

• Fan unrest reaches a boiling point:
  “They held a mock funeral for Luka Doncic. … They brought Khalifa’s ‘See You Again’ playing in the background.” (Christian Clark, 19:07)
• Interim GM structure:
  Matt Riccardi (assistant GM) and Michael Finley (VP) will serve as co-interim GMs while a search for a new permanent GM begins.
• Team in a “holding pattern”:
  Emphasis on improving health (Anthony Davis), integrating rookies (Cooper Flagg’s strong recent game), and uncertainty around Kyrie Irving.

Why Now? The Timing of the Firing

• Management wanted to give Nico’s vision time:
  Defensive, size-first team built around Anthony Davis.
  “They wanted to give it some time … but … it was untenable.”
  (Christian Clark, 20:14)
• Public pressure influenced ownership:
  “You can't have PJ Washington going to the free throw line … and them continuing to chant ‘fire Nico’.” (Christian Clark, 20:57)
  • Kelly Flagg, Cooper Flagg’s mother, retweeted these sentiments, showing even family members were aware of the unrest.

Is Jason Kidd at Risk?

• No, per Christian Clark:
  “J Kid … has five years left in his deal. … I think J Kid is here to stay.” (21:43)
  • Notably, Kidd had received interest from the Knicks and was promptly extended by Dallas in response.

What’s Next? Rebuild, Retool, or Stay the Course?

• Asset situation is complicated by Luka trade:
  Post-trade, Dallas controls only the Lakers’ 2029 1st-round pick from 2027–2030.
• Roster features tradeable veterans:
  Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, Daniel Gafford, and P.J. Washington highlighted as moveable assets, especially valuable to contenders.
• Rebuild around Cooper Flagg?
  • “Their timeline needs to be set up with Cooper Flagg. … This is the moment to sort of shift gears and change directions.” (Dave DuFour, 23:57)
• Fan relationship in focus:
  “Firing Nico Harrison was step one to repairing the relationship with the fans.”
  (Christian Clark, 25:25)
  • Patrick Dumont, Mavericks governor, released an open letter to fans alongside the firing, showing management’s acute awareness of PR issues.

Cooper Flagg’s Progress & The Rebuild

• Flagg’s rocky statline belies high upside:
  “One, he’s 18 years old … even LeBron was inefficient as an 18-year-old player. … Two, this has not been a good basketball situation. The dark cloud of [the] fluke trade has been hanging over.”
  (Christian Clark, 28:26)
  • Flagg’s role is shifting away from the failed “point guard experiment.”
  • “He's got an insane motor. Those guys always work out.” (paraphrased Doc Rivers, via Christian Clark, 29:09)
• Chemistry and hope:
  “It was great watching him up against Giannis … there’s a little bit of Giannis in him. … He seems coachable. … They've got some chemistry.” (Dave DuFour, 29:45)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Sixers’ new style:

  “They are the speedster Sixers now. ... Maxi is such an improved playmaker, and so in the crevices of the offense, he can find a Quinton Grimes attacking a closeout or VJ Edgecombe bursting through.” – Esperahenny (04:48)

• On Chet Holmgren’s progress:

  “Chet didn't miss a shot. ... The variety of shots, too. I think he's finally feeling comfortable with his three ball. ... Now it's just a matter of everybody on the team ... catch up to each other.” – Andrew Schlecht (08:49–09:33)

• On A.J. Mitchell:

  “He's a pinball. You watch the way he plays. ... He's elite at creating space by getting into the defender's chest.” – Dave DuFour (12:36)

• On the Mavericks’ fan response:

  “They held a mock funeral for Luka Doncic. … The mock funeral. I've never seen a mock funeral before. That was a lot of fun.” – Christian Clark (19:07)

• On the team’s direction post-Luka trade:

  “Their timeline needs to be set up with Cooper Flagg.” – Dave DuFour (23:57)
  “How do we repair this relationship with our fan base? This helps a little bit.” – Christian Clark (25:25)

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• [02:39] Sixers’ new look and identity
• [07:57] Warriors blown out by Thunder; Andrew Schlecht live
• [10:17] A.J. Mitchell’s ceiling and comfort
• [13:57] Thunder’s easy night; scheduling quirks
• [18:37] Mavs fire Nico Harrison: immediate aftermath and next steps
• [20:14] Timeline and rationale behind the firing
• [21:43] Jason Kidd’s status & organization stability
• [23:02] Team-building quandaries post-Luka trade
• [25:25] Fan relationship and PR repairs
• [28:26] Cooper Flagg’s progress & potential
• [29:45] Comparing Flagg to Giannis and future outlook

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Takeaways

• Sixers have established a fast-paced, entertaining style in spite of superstars missing time—a much-needed breath of fresh air for their long-suffering fans.
• The Thunder look unstoppable, powered by major leaps from both centerpieces (Chet Holmgren, Shay Gilgeous-Alexander) and rookies (A.J. Mitchell).
• The Mavericks’ disastrous Luka trade and mounting losses forced their hand on Nico Harrison; the interim front office inherits a tricky, asset-poor roster but has promising young building blocks in Cooper Flagg and Derek Lively.
• Fan sentiment is a driving force in Dallas now, and management is focused on rebuilding goodwill—starting with bold moves and transparent communication.

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For those who missed it:
This episode brims with raw honesty, fresh perspectives, and plenty of on-the-ground reporting. From locker-room chemistry in Philadelphia and OKC to fan-driven decisions in Dallas, it’s a can’t-miss recap and analysis of an NBA landscape still reeling from blockbuster moves and breakout stars.

Transcript

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[Dave DeFore]

Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily for November 12, 2025. I'm Dave DeFore here with Esperahenny. Coming up, the Sixers get another big win. The warriors got just destroyed by the Thunder. We're going to talk to Andrew Schlect about the Thunder start the season and Nico was fired. Christian Clark's here to talk about it. Big day. Good morning everybody. Good morning.

[Esperahenny]

S Morning sir.

[Dave DeFore]

Not as craz On Tuesday night, as it was Monday night. I know you were sad to not be on the show. Monday night.

[Unknown Host 1]

It was.

[Dave DeFore]

Look, well, you got a Monday night take. You just have been sitting on for. For a full day. It was like, honestly, the best day of the season.

[Esperahenny]

Dude, the Heat didn't run a single screen until the final play.

[Dave DeFore]

Amazing.

[Esperahenny]

Oh, my God. It was unreal. I can't believe it.

[Dave DeFore]

That was.

[Esperahenny]

You guys got popcorn worthy basketball for like five hours in a row.

[Unknown Host 2]

We.

[Esperahenny]

Tonight did not get much.

[Dave DeFore]

It was not great. Yeah, you. We had planned to just do this whole thing because we assumed the warriors and Thunder, it would be a big matchup, but the Thunder just took their chain. I mean, the warriors just got absolutely bullied to the point where Draymond is like, well, we've got some personal agendas in the locker room already.

[Esperahenny]

Raising.

[Dave DeFore]

Committed to winning. Yeah. Yeah. Getting weird already for the Warriors. I'm sure we'll have more on that this week. But before we get to Andrew Schlect, I want to talk about the Sixers. The Sixers, they won a tight game against the Celtics. They moved to 7 and 4. And the start that they've gotten off to this season, totally different than last year. They still have the injury luck, right? Like, the injury luck is not much better to start.

[Esperahenny]

Paul George not played a game. Yeah, that's exactly right.

[Dave DeFore]

Joel Embiid has missed a bunch of games, including last night's game, which he did not miss for injury management. He missed for knee soreness, and I do think that's important to note. S. This is something that it looks like now they're having to manage a situation rather than manage a comeback. And so, you know, of course, with him and his knees, that's always a concern. But they've managed to find an identity in spite of missing who the guys who are theoretically their. Their two best players. Although I would say Maxi has far surpassed Paul George in everyone's mind at this point. They.

[Esperahenny]

I mean, you talk about identity, but, like, they are the speedster Sixers now. They run and they are so fast, especially on the perimeter. They do such a great job of, like, zipping around the perimeter as well. Maxi is such an improved playmaker, and so in the crevices of the offense, he can find a Quinton Grimes attacking a closeout or VJ Edgecomb bursting through the seams of an offense. Justin Edwards tonight, who was awesome, he knocked down five threes. Most of those in that fourth quarter. The Sixers were. Were kind of getting into was like, if you look at this Sixers team, which is by the way, a top five offense to start this year, they have found themselves an identity without Embiid. And it's because truthfully, like between Andre Drummond and Adam Bona, like they kind of have guys who can just be your regular low usage big and then all of these guards who can score the ball, who can shoot the ball, who can make decisions on the fly. And I actually think that's like, that's a perfect identity have for a team that might end up being a surefire playoff team. I don't know how you feel about that.

[Dave DeFore]

Do you think like a college basketball team? A little bit to me that has elite fast guards like you mentioned. I mean, they, they can put you in a blender and they're fun. Drum and Bona especially, I think bring out the best in those guys. They can run the floor with them. They're rewarded for it. Drummond actually made the, the big defensive play at the end of the game, knocking the ball out of Derrick White's hands. You know, these guys are active and there's a, a stark difference in the minutes that we've seen where Embiid has been out there and these guys. Obviously Joel Embiid looks diminished, but you know, the guard play has been excellent. Kelly Oubre hit the game winner on a put back in this game, just threw a heady, smart play. Kelly Oubre, he's been awesome. Heads up play, been great this year, making plays. You know, I just. They're a fun team. You know, this is, again, we're going to probably talk a lot about a few teams pivoting now that we're getting close to December 15th and we've talked since the start of the season. How do the Sixers pivot and get behind where their momentum is, which is behind Maxi, Behind Edgecombe, behind McCain and, and this, this fast team that they've kind of stumbled on, fast and young. I just don't know how they do it.

[Esperahenny]

I think it's like a natural pivot too. Like they, they, they don't necessarily have any expectations for Joel Embiid. They don't have expectations for Paul George. Like, it would be a plus if those guys were healthy and they could play. But there's no lingering, this team needs to contend right now type of expectations. It's just, hey, we're a young, fun, quick team and we're going to grind out a lot of wins. They play competitive basketball night to night. Like most of the games that you watch them, they're in A close game because of how young they are. They make mistakes, but then they make up for it with their entertainment. So it's just. It's fun hoops, which is a refreshing thing from Philadelphia. The Sixers deserve this. Sixers fans deserve this. Through everything that they've been through for the last 10, 15 years.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah, last year was pretty sad. This has been a lot more fun. Okay, we're going to go to Andrew Schlecht live from Paycom center after the Thunder just dismantled the Warriors. Andrew, I. Look, I know you're getting bored at this point, but we thought the warriors was. Were at least going to bring a little bit of fight. And the Thunder just punched him in the face repeatedly.

[Andrew Schlecht]

Yeah. When you look at this game on paper, and I was saying this is somebody before the game, like, hey, this is probably the second best team that Thunder have played all year. And that was not the case. The. The warriors defense was nowhere to be found. I think this was a. The case of, like, them having a real center and the Thunder just picking them apart, and the Thunder having essentially two centers out there the whole time and two centers at all times that can pass and I can find guys.

[Dave DeFore]

Well, Chet didn't miss a shot. Come on, man.

[Andrew Schlecht]

Like, not missing a shot helps, certainly. And, like, the variety of shots, too. I think he's finally feeling comfortable with his three ball. I was asking him about it after the game, and he was just saying how he would. He watched, like, game tape of himself during the playoffs and, like, how slow he looked and how he knew that he wasn't getting lift on his jumper, and he just feels so much better.

[Dave DeFore]

Well, he's OD on the tray ball now, right?

[Esperahenny]

Good reference, Dave.

[Dave DeFore]

I'm proud.

[Andrew Schlecht]

Wow, Dave, Good stuff.

[Esperahenny]

I didn't know you had that in you.

[Andrew Schlecht]

That's neither. I didn't either. Chet certainly has it in him.

[Unknown Host 1]

He.

[Andrew Schlecht]

He looks really good. And offensively, defensively, he talked about how he's improved, like, so much through the off season, and now it's just a matter of everybody on the. He said everybody on the team has improved. And so now it's a matter of how do we kind of catch up to each other? Like, how do we fit all of these different improvements into what we're doing? And you're starting to see a little bit of that sneak in here.

[Dave DeFore]

And tonight they're 11 and 1s. Yeah.

[Esperahenny]

Yeah, they're very good.

[Dave DeFore]

Come on. That's a. That's elite smackdown.

[Esperahenny]

It's unfair. It's unfair. We're Improving throughout the season. Yeah.

[Dave DeFore]

Once we figure out how to play together. S. What was the one seed two.

[Esperahenny]

Years in a row?

[Dave DeFore]

We won the title.

[Unknown Host 2]

Yeah.

[Esperahenny]

You know, Shay recently said he's like, we.

[Unknown Host 2]

We didn't.

[Esperahenny]

We didn't win the way that I wanted us to win. You know, that is. That is top tier stuff. Andrew, I want to ask you about A.J. mitchell because I'm getting dangerously high on what his ceiling can be like. We're talking all Star. We're talking a guy who, like, yeah. Might end up being an all star level player. Maybe not this season, but eventually. How do you feel about A.J. mitchell and his future with the Oklahoma City Thunder?

[Andrew Schlecht]

Yeah, I think the thing that sticks out, especially for a young player that gets handed. I mean, he was handed this role a lot because J Dub is out and they've missed guys throughout. Like, Aaron Wiggins is missing time right now. They've. Lou Dort's missing time. Like, they just need somebody to play the guard position. And he looks completely comfortable. And I think that's the thing that sticks out the most, is, like, young guards, usually the game, like the NBA game, is so fast and so physical that it just takes them time to kind of catch up. Not for A.J. mitchell. Like, he was just. He's just comfortable instantly. He looked like he looked like this to a degree when he first started last year. He's clearly improved a ton. But, like, it's his comfort level. Like, he's playing against guys that he watched as a kid out here.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah.

[Andrew Schlecht]

Tonight. Like, guys that he watched play in the NBA Finals. Like, that just has to be a weird experience in general, like playing against Steph Curry and Draymond Green and these guys. But the fact that he is just incredibly comfortable driving, like, he's scoring in multiple ways. He's an instant paint touch. He's a guy that can help his teammates defensively, too, is an area that I think he's improved a lot that can keep him on the floor for long stretches. So, yeah, I think that it's like Sam Presti and his team did it again, you know, with this guy. They clearly targeted him at the draft the way they methodically traded up. Go back and look at, like the. Like the transaction log for them to get AJ Mitchell because they had to trade up multiple times to get him. Very intentional. Like, they wanted this guy on the team.

[Esperahenny]

It's like he went.

[Dave DeFore]

I once wrestled Greg the Hammer Valentine, so I can relate to AJ Mitchell playing against guys that he watched in the Finals. Also. I have a player comp for A.J. mitchell.

[Esperahenny]

Okay.

[Dave DeFore]

He's a pinball. He's a pinball. You watch the way he plays. He bounces around, the way he uses body. He is very like, he's elite at creating space by getting into the defender's chest. I love him. I've been. I mean, Andrew, you know, like in our group chat, I'm pretty much talking about AJ Mitchell every single time the Thunder play. He look. He looks excellent. Yeah. Found money. He.

[Esperahenny]

He like, he plays like he went to the school of Shay Gil. Just Alexander when it comes to basketball. Right. Like very herky jerky. Just knows how to get to his spots, especially in the mid range area. You talked about the paint touches, but he, he's actually in the top tier of the league right now when it comes to paint touches.

[Andrew Schlecht]

Yeah.

[Esperahenny]

And so I don't know, I think he has a very high ceiling. It's just about opportunity. Andrew, I also wanted to ask you, when do you think OKC is going to lose next? Because they don't have a back to back. Because, look, the reason they lost to Portland second night of a back to back, couple injuries, et cetera, they don't play a back to back until January 4th.

[Dave DeFore]

When are they losing?

[Christian Clark]

Well, wait, tomorrow night.

[Dave DeFore]

They play the Lakers tonight.

[Andrew Schlecht]

Tomorrow night?

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah, that's right.

[Andrew Schlecht]

On this court right here, they play the Lakers.

[Esperahenny]

Okay.

[Dave DeFore]

National television.

[Esperahenny]

I retract that.

[Dave DeFore]

Putting the Thunder in a back to back.

[Andrew Schlecht]

Yeah, well, and it's funny because I thought, okay, this will be an interesting one because the warriors, that's a good team. They're probably gonna have to play, you know, big minutes, but I mean, Shay and Chet sat the whole fourth quarter. And Hartenstein as well, who's, well, probably going underrated. And all of this, like they like they got to sit for this. I mean, Shay didn't even do post game. He went home. So like he's doing just fine. So I'm really interested to watch tomorrow night.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah. You're not counting it. Anyways, it's gonna be weird, guys to see Shay and Luca against each other. And then they're gonna be world teammates at the All Star game and destroy us.

[Esperahenny]

There you go.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah, true. All right, guys, stick around. After the break, we have Christian Clark to talk about what the Mavericks did with Nico Harrison.

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[Dave DeFore]

The Dallas Mavericks have finally given what their fans have been chanting, begging, pleading, protesting, writing signs about. They finally delivered and fired Nico Harrison. Here to talk about it, our man that covers the Dallas Mavericks, Christian Clark, who has had the most interesting tenure of any beat writer in his time with the Mavericks. Nine months after trading Luka Doncic, Nico Harrison out the door. Where do they go now?

[Christian Clark]

Dave, you left out one thing the fans did. They held a mock funeral for Luka Doncic.

[Esperahenny]

They did.

[Christian Clark]

They brought Khalifa's see you again playing in the background. Yeah, you left, you left out that part of it. The mock funeral. I've never seen a mock funeral before. That was, that was a lot of fun. Where do they go now? Look, they said they're gonna, they're gonna conduct a wide ranging search for like the permanent replacement to be their general manager. Right now Matt Riccardi, who was the assistant gm and Michael Finley, who was the number two VP in the front office are going to be co interim GMs. They're going to be in a holding pattern. You know, they're going to try to get Anthony Davis healthy. They're going to keep putting Cooper flag out there. He actually played great on Monday. Thought that was his best game. You know, we'll see what happens with Kyrie here. But they're in a holding pattern while they try to get the right guy to succeed Nico Harrison.

[Esperahenny]

Christian, what took so long? Like, what was it that made it. Now I know the Mavs are kind of stumbling to start the season, but why now versus, I don't know, three months ago in the off season when all of this was really bubbling to the point where it was, you know.

[Christian Clark]

I asked somebody, you know, with, with knowledge of ownerships thinking right before the start of the season, hey, where's you guys headed at on Nico Harrison? And I was told, look, this was his vision. You know, they wanted to be this defensive team, they wanted to be this enormous team. And Nico Harrison greatly valued Anthony Davis. We wanted to give it some time to, for him to be able to realize that vision. And Patrick Dumont signed off on this too. You know, I think on some Level. Patrick Dumont was like, okay, like, I played a part in this. Like, Nico drove this decision. But, like, I'm the one who ultimately said yes. So I think they wanted to be patient. They just got off to such a terrible start this year. I don't think they could. I mean, it was. It was untenable. That's the word I keep using. It was an untenable situation. I mean, you can't have PJ Washington going to the free throw line with 1.2 seconds left trying to tie the game and them continuing to chant fire Nico. Somebody on Twitter made that point. You know who retweeted that? Kelly Flag, who's Cooper Flag's mother. Like, this was becoming an untenable situation.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah. What about Jason Kidd? You know, this has been a rough start to the season, but I don't think anybody would point the blame at. At anything Jason Kidd has done. I mean, the roster itself. I mean, you just don't have any guards again, no. Kyrie. AD's been injured quite a bit. I mean, is this a situation in which maybe Jason Kidd's job is also in jeopardy here?

[Christian Clark]

No, I don't. I don't think so. If you think back to this summer, so much goes on with the Mavs. It's easy to forget. But Jason Kidd, you know, the New York Knicks were interested in hiring him as head coach. Maverick said, no, we're not letting you leave. They rewarded him with an extension. J Kid, from my understanding, has five years left in his deal. Jason Kidd has a lot of years and money left in his deal. I don't see him going anywhere. You know, this happened. The extension happened right before the season. If the Mavs had thought, like, all right, maybe J Kid is gone, too. I just. I just don't see him getting that extension. So I think. I think J Kid is here to stay. You know, I think he's got, like, more power even than, you know, he did yesterday. I mean, I think he's here. I mean, JK loves Cooper Flag, too. That's one thing you can tell. Like, loves coaching Cooper Flag.

[Esperahenny]

So naturally, the conversation goes to, what do the Mavs do next? Now, I know part of that is the front office and figuring out who's going to lead the charge there. But the natural conversation ends up being, are they going to trade Anthony Davis? Are they going to trade Kyrie Irving? Are they going to trade Klay Thompson? Are they going to pivot to building and rebuilding around Cooper Flag? I mean, there's so much conversation about the 2026 draft class and how hyped it is and the star prospects that potentially could be there. Do you see this team making a pivot midseason?

[Christian Clark]

I think they will make some sort of pivot. I don't know how large that pivot will be. I honestly, I don't have a sense for you today whether they will truly explore Anthony Davis trades this season. They are in a tricky place from a team building perspective because they used a lot of their first round picks to strengthen their roster around Luka Doncic. They do not control any of their first round picks from 2027 to 2030. Now they do own the Lakers 2029 first round pick. That's the only first round pick they got back at the Luka trade. But there's a problem here. You know, it's like Cooper Flag already good, going to continue to get better. How do you continue building around him when you don't control any of your own draft picks from 2027 to 2030? You know, I imagine when they start like vetting candidates, this is what they're going to ask them. Hey, what's your, what's your team building plan to, to get this roster that can compete around Cooper Flag four years from now?

[Dave DeFore]

I mean, I, at this point, from a, from a team building perspective, the, the smarter move is to try to recoup some assets and to get younger and cheaper. Their timeline needs to be set up with Cooper Flag. You know, you've got Derek Lively's nice center that maybe could grow alongside him, but it seems to me like they have a bevy of valuable assets that teams like, especially contenders, are going to be looking for every, like how many teams could use Daniel Gafford, you know, big man P.J. washington, D.J. washington. So it's not just Anthony Davis who would have a big market. Like, to me, this is a situation where this team is not good. Whatever dream they have of Kyrie Irving coming back and contributing this season is pretty insane because we know how medical science kind of works, at least historically. Unless there's some miracle happening. I just don't see a world in which this team like, okay, we're going to stink this year, but to, but, but next year we're going to be super competitive. It feels like this is the moment to sort of shift gears and change directions. I mean, do you feel like they can do that after the season that they traded Luka Doncic? I mean, like we're kind of getting into the fan conversation now because that really is a bridge that needs to be Repaired. It's probably the biggest one. I mean, they just fired the GM because the fans were pissed. So, like, how do they. How do they bridge that gap and move on to whatever's next?

[Christian Clark]

Yeah, I mean, firing Nico Harrison was step one to repairing the relationship with the fans. That was the. The biggest, most important thing that had to happen. They did it. Patrick Dumont, the Mavericks governor, released an open letter to Mavericks fans. Interestingly enough, the Mavericks sent this out with the press release announcing Nico Harrison's fire. I mean, look, this is on their minds. How do we repair this relationship with our fan base? This helps a little bit. If you wanted to, like, retool around Flag, trade good veteran players, I think they could sell that. I just don't know if they're going to ultimately decide this is the best course of action. I don't have that. That answer for you today, but they could sell that for sure. You know, Like, I. I mean, there's. There's no question about it. Like, you have a guy to be excited about. Like, they're so lucky they got this guy in the draft because, oh, my God, this would be nuclear winner if they hadn't got Cooper Flag.

[Esperahenny]

Yeah, it really would be, Matt. I can't even imagine how this situation would have gone down if they didn't get that 1.8% lottery luck and landed Cooper Flag, because, I mean, yeah, heads would roll. And you see, now in this situation, heads are rolling. Like, I think the. The Mavs are in a very tricky situation when it comes to fan PR and making the fans themselves happy. Now that you see this chapter is closed, so to speak, with Luka Doncic and Nico Harrison, how do you move on as a fan? How. How does that part get repaired moving forward with this organization?

[Christian Clark]

I mean, I honestly think it's going to be much better, even starting as soon as Wednesday. Like, I think this is the thing that they wanted, you know, like, we made this horrible trade, and no one is being held accountable. Like, Nico's just going out there and saying insane things like, after they draft Cooper Flag, fortune favors the bold. I think fans are starting to see the vision now after a stroke of just pure luck. Like, you need luck. Everybody needs luck to win. But to say, I think fans are starting to see the vision after you hit on a 1.8% chance of getting the number one pick. That's not making you look good. It's not making you sound smart. It's not making the fans think, oh, I'm a sound decision maker. So I think this Helps instantly. I think the vibe Wednesday will be much better. Like, I wouldn't be surprised if it's like a celebratory atmosphere on Wednesday.

[Dave DeFore]

You don't normally see that sort of cognitive dissonance outside of Twitter, you know. Yeah, hey, pat me on the back for this, this dumb luck that I had, Christian. I, I believe it's going to be a long season, but I do think it's going to be another interesting one for the Mavs. Let's talk Cooper Flag really quick before you get out of here. As you mentioned, he probably had his best game in the NBA the other night. I mean, he was going head to head with Giannis, had a chance there at the end to win the game. I think he got fouled though, by the way on it was not a slip. I feel like he got pushed. But, you know, we, we kind of got robbed at an attempt there for him to win the game. What have you thought about Cooper Flag so far to start the year? I mean, again, you, you mentioned just the, the sheer dumb luck to get a guy and he does feel like a guy.

[Christian Clark]

Yeah, I mean, look, I think if you just look at the basketball reference page or his stats on NBA.com it's like, oh, wow, this guy was supposed to be, you know, like the best prospect in forever. Why is he so inefficient? But I think a lot of that's just, you know, I think one, he's 18 years old and look at LeBron James stats when he was 18 years old. Even LeBron was like inefficient as an 18 year old player. And two, this has not been a good basketball situation. The dark cloud of fluke trade has been hanging over. I think crucially they also don't have shooting. There was a good amount of shooting around Cooper. Like it is a cramped floor. They tried this Cooper Flag at point guard experiment for the first eight games or so. They've shelved that. They, you know, d' Angelo Russell started some games and these, you know, Brandon Williams has been starting these last two games. I think that's made things a little bit better. Cooper Flag is going to be fine. He's going to be really good. You know, I think if I were building around the number one type of player I'd want next to him is like a stud lead ball handler creating guard who could just like stretch the floor. Like, I think Cooper Flag is attacking closeouts and playing in transition and flying around defensively. That's when he's really, really going to pop and you know, Doc Rivers, I think, had some good comments about Flag last night before the game. He's like, look, this guy's very athletic. He's got an insane motor. Like, those guys always work out, you know, I think. I think it's just safe to bet on him because he's got those things.

[Dave DeFore]

I mean, it was great watching him up against Giannis because I do think there's a little bit of Giannis in him. Again, the high motor, he seems coachable. Seems like he gets along pretty well with all the players there. Like. Like, they've got some chemistry. I don't know, man. I'm excited. You know, we. We. We like when these guys that are hyped are good. And Cooper, Flag seems pretty good, so. All right, guys, go and follow Christian Clark to set the notifications on the athletic app, because I'm sure the stories coming out.

[Esperahenny]

It's gonna be a lot.

[Dave DeFore]

Are gonna be quite busy this week. Christian, thank you so much for joining us. Thanks to Esperahenny, as always. I'm Dave Dufour, and this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.

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