Cold hard truth Mavericks fans must swallow about Nico Harrison's risky plan

Even after the Dallas Mavericks won the NBA Draft Lottery and selected Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 overall pick, it’s clear that fulfilling Nico Harrison’s plan is going to be a major challenge. Harrison’s plan after trading Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis was to push as hard as they could to win a title within the next few years, but things changed after drafting Flagg.

The Mavericks are now operating under a two-timeline approach, as they need to build around their 18-year-old franchise cornerstone in Flagg while also bringing in the right veteran pieces to win with his prized duo of Davis and Kyrie Irving. Harrison believed that Davis would push the Mavericks closer to a title than Doncic would, and now he has to ensure that he isn't wasting the present while also not compromising the future.

Walking a tightrope between two timelines hasn’t always worked well in the past, as teams typically perform best when they’re all in on winning now or building for the future, and Mavericks fans must accept the fact that the next few years may be a bumpy road as they embark on the Flagg era.

Nico Harrison's two-timeline approach will test Mavericks fans

Especially next season.

While the Mavericks will undoubtedly be one of the best teams in the NBA, Irving is set to miss an indefinite amount of time with a torn ACL. His recovery has looked good so far, as he was recently seen shooting threes without pain, but that doesn't mean that he will return right away.

Irving is only going to come back when he knows he is 100 percent healthy, and Mavs fans can't expect the team to be contenders without Irving in the lineup.

On top of the fact that Irving is currently injured, Flagg is also a rookie, and it's not going to be easy to be one of the top teams in the NBA with one of your top three players as a rookie. This isn't to say that Flagg isn't ready for the moment, as he looks to be one of the best rookie prospects this league has seen in some time, but it is extremely rare for a team to be a true contender while also starting a rookie.

If Mavericks fans thought that Harrison's plan to trade Doncic for Davis in order to win now was complicated, they won't be ready for the next few years as Dallas tries to balance winning now while also building around Flagg. This isn't a bad spot to be in, as Flagg will get to develop around a team filled with proven veterans, but Harrison having to focus on two different timelines is a challenge that no one may realize until after the season begins.

Being able to draft Flagg was truly the best possible move Dallas could've made this summer since they added a cost-controlled rookie who is ready to contribute to winning right now, but Harrison will quietly have to deal with bringing in young pieces to win for the future while also putting Davis and Irving in a great spot to win a title.

He has done a good job of this so far, as he locked up P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford to lengthy tem-friendly contracts this summer, and the challenge may not start until after this season or next season. If the Mavericks can't contend, then Harrison may be tempted with the idea of cashing in all of his veteran assets to build around Flagg, and this would make the Davis-for-Doncic swap look even worse.