Mavericks brutally burned as last season's nightmare lingers into Cooper Flagg era

Embarassing moments made for one of the most bizarre seasons in recent memory for the Dallas Mavericks last season. The Mavs couldn't get any healthier throughout the 2024-25 season, and were almost forced to forfeit games since they nearly didn't reach the minimum requirement of players to suit up. Whether guys were sick or injured, one of the most anticipated seasons after reaching the 2024 NBA Finals turned into one of the nightmare seasons that Mavs fans would want to forget.

The majority of the booing inside American Airlines Center last season was caused by Nico Harrison trading away Luka Doncic. After leading the league in scoring and all categories in the 2024 NBA Playoffs, to say that fans were flabbergasted to see him get traded to the Los Angeles Lakers would be an understatement. Harrison changed the whole future and philosophy of the Mavs' entire franchise in just one night, and fans were not pleased. It's why the Mavs were ranked at the bottom of the barrel on a new ranking of front offices across the NBA, and unfortunately, Cooper Flagg is going to have to deal with this in his rookie season.

CBS Sports' Sam Quinn ranked the Mavs as the No. 26 front office in the NBA, partially because of all the turmoil stemming from the controversial Doncic move. Now, with an 18-year-old generational star set to be the new face of the NBA at some point, it's sadly an issue that not even Flagg can solve.

Mavericks' front office woes may continue during the Cooper Flagg era

Of course, it's not the job of an 18-year-old to set an NBA front office straight, but if Harrison can make a ginormous move like get rid of Doncic, there's no guarantee that anybody will be safe, including Flagg himself. It's still early to tell if Flagg will be a Maverick for life, but if Harrison moves around players and coaches that Flagg likes one day, it's going to be very difficult for him to keep his allegiance in Dallas.

Flagg revealed that he was just as shocked as the entire world when the Doncic trade went down. Following the trade, Harrison's chilling comment of burying himself and Jason Kidd in about four years might come back to haunt Flagg, as Harrison is focused on winning a title as soon as possible. We can only predict what the organization will look like by then, but Flagg is not in the safest place with a recent history of turmoil in the Mavs' front office.

By the time Flagg becomes one of the few faces of the league, Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving will likely be in the last stages of their respective NBA journeys. Both guys have the authority in the locker room now, but it will be up to Flagg soon to be the go-to voice for the front office and be one of the leaders of the team.

It's rare to see an 18-year-old kid with as much poise, composure, and collectiveness to handle the pressure of being one of the best players in the world, but Flagg has been nothing but a pro during Summer League and in his interviews. He's showing why Harrison should set aside everything to make sure this young man is happy in Dallas.

Dumont had a chance to fix history and fire Harrison, but maybe Harrison's philosophy of defense will come through in the end. It won't be strictly because of his plan though. Instead, it will be that he got lucky landing one of the best prospects in history.