The Dallas Mavericks entered the season with sky-high expectations. They had the No. 1 overall pick in Cooper Flagg and one of the tallest lineups in the league. However, nothing has gone according to plan. Before the season began, there was already a warning to temper expectations for immediate success from the rookie phenom.
“The Dallas Mavericks are asking too much from Cooper Flagg. Fans should temper expectations for his rookie season. Flagg is a generational prospect and will be a standout for years to come, but year one will feature struggles as he adjusts to the NBA and being a primary creator. The Mavs have nobody to blame but themselves,” The Smoking Cuban’s Tyler Watts wrote.
After Monday’s loss, things have gone from bad to worse in Dallas. It appears GM Nico Harrison may be watching his job slip away.
“There's a whole lot of things that ain't good with the Mavericks. And hey, at this point, I believe it is a matter of when, not if, Nico Harrison will be fired," ESPN’s Tim MacMahon said. "There is a very, very strong likelihood that it will be mid-season."
Flagg set a career high in points on Monday, but the Mavericks still came up short. To make matters worse, an all-too-familiar chant echoed throughout the arena.
“The Mavericks' 13-point lead had been sliced to one when the home crowd broke into the first "Fire Nico!" Chants amid a surreal Monday night at the American Airlines Center. The fans' calls for embattled general manager Nico Harrison's termination occurred multiple times throughout the fourth quarter, overshadowing No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg's career-high 26-point performance and the Milwaukee Bucks' 116-114 comeback win that dropped Dallas to 3-8,” MacMahon wrote.
Those chants have become a weekly occurrence, overshadowing what should have been a night of optimism. Flagg appears to be finding his rhythm in the NBA, but the focus in Dallas remains elsewhere — and not in a good way.
Harrison’s reputation continues to take hits. He moved on from his generational player, landed the No. 1 pick, and still hasn’t delivered results for frustrated fans. That’s what happens when a franchise parts ways with the superstar who never should have been traded in the first place.