Mavericks' Cooper Flagg draft party heartbreakingly excludes legendary detail

In just one week from now, Cooper Flagg will be a member of the Dallas Mavericks. After what was arguably the craziest and unluckiest season in franchise history, the basketball gods have decided to reward the Mavericks with Flagg after the longest season ever.

The culture of the Mavs came into question when Luka Doncic was traded. The fans, and even former players like Dirk Nowitzki, have shunned the team for the highly controversial move. Most don't blame Nowitzki for being uncomfortable with the move, as the team completely ran in the opposite direction of loyalty.

With the Mavs organization hyping up the No. 1 draft pick, Flagg will be the most anticipated pick in franchise history, which is backed up by some of the most famous athletes in Dallas. This is a perfect opportunity for the organization to clean up its spat with Nowitzki, but don't expect much.

Nowitzki not attending draft party shows how south things have gone

The Mavs draft party will be hosted by Mark Followill and Jeff "Skin" Wade, along with Mavericks legends throughout the years. Nick Van Exel, Mark Aguirre, Rolando Blackman, Josh Howard, and Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers will headline the party at the American Airlines Center to celebrate the Mavs drafting Flagg. There are other surprise guests in store, but we likely won't know who they are until draft night.

One of those surprise guests could be Nowitzki, but the truth is, he's been extremely quiet ever since the trade. Him going to see Doncic in his Los Angeles Lakers debut told us all we needed to know about his thoughts toward Patrick Dumont and Nico Harrison.

Nowitzki had mentored Doncic ever since they had the fortunate opportunity to become teammates for one season. Since then, Nowitzki has had nothing but love for Doncic, and has gone public to say that Doncic has already surpassed him as the Maverick in team history. It looked like Nowitzki was heartbroken by the Doncic trade, but the rift between Nowitzki and the Mavs seemed to have started a lot sooner than that.

When beloved Mavericks trainer Casey Smith was fired by Nico Harrison over a video call when Smith's mother was about to pass away, it must've hurt Nowitzki knowing that one of his favorite Mavs staffers was left in the dust in one of the worst ways possible. Smith was one of the more recognizable faces on the sideline, and in a way, the move left Nowitzki himself in the dust.

The only way that Harrison and Dumont could fix this toxic situation that they started is to invite Nowitzki back, for what could be a much-needed reunion in Dallas for when Flagg is picked. The fans need it, but more importantly, the organization desperately needs it.

Nowitzki not being one of the listed guests after being the face of the franchise truly shows how badly things have gone between him and the franchise over the last few years, and the Mavericks must fix things before it's too late.

Especially with Flagg arriving soon.