Mavericks pulled off the summer's biggest heist thanks to Nico Harrison

Entering the 2025 offseason, there was plenty of uncertainty surrounding the Dallas Mavericks after they had just been bounced by the Memphis Grizzlies from the Play-In Tournament. Kyrie Irving tore his ACL in March, Anthony Davis was clearly laboring as he had recently returned from his adductor injury, and their shooting was putrid to end the season.

The Mavericks' future was looking bleak, but winning the NBA Draft Lottery and selecting Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 overall pick changed that. Flagg turned the Mavericks' future into one of the most promising futures in the NBA, as he is one of the most talented prospects that we've seen in some time, but the Flagg pick isn't the only move that Nico Harrison and Dallas aced this summer.

Harrison's best move of the summer was arguably the Daniel Gafford extension, as he signed a three-year, $54 million deal to remain in Dallas for the next four seasons.

Daniel Gafford's extension is an absolute steal for Dallas

The Mavericks didn't want to trade Gafford, as Harrison and Jason Kidd seem to heavily believe in the two-big lineups, and Harrison doubled down on his vision by giving his center a big payday. About $18 million for Gafford is an absolute steal, and Harrison and the Mavericks front office did a great job of making sure he got what he deserved while also navigating the various rules within the new CBA.

Due to Gafford's contract being signed for the perfect amount, the Mavericks narrowly avoided a six-month trade restriction. Even though Harrison and the Mavericks seem dedicated to keeping Gafford as one of their key pieces for now and the future, a trade restriction could've been a disaster.

Depending on how the beginning of the regular season goes with Irving sidelined, the Mavs may be forced to make a trade to get additional backcourt help, and Gafford's contract ensured that he could be included in these talks if Dallas did decide to go in that direction. The Mavericks' plan to roll with D'Angelo Russell, Dante Exum, and Brandon Williams as their point guards while Irving is out is a risky one to say the absolute least, and keeping their options open by making sure that they could trade Gafford if they wanted to is important.

This isn't to say that they will definitely trade Gafford, as he has been a key piece for Dallas over the last year and a half, but it's undeniable that he was in some trade whispers last season before the trade deadline. Gafford silenced these whispers by playing some of the best basketball of his career, though, proving exactly why the Mavs couldn't afford to trade him.

With Davis and Dereck Lively II having shaky injury histories, the Mavs keeping Gafford for the time being was crucial, as he has proven that he can be a dominant starter or an energy-filled bench guy who can fill up the stat sheet. Gafford has thrived in any and every role that Kidd has assigned him ever since he arrived in Dallas, and Mavericks fans will be seeing plenty more of him over the next few years.

Gafford's contract extension keeps him in Dallas through the end of the 2028-29 season, and this move by Harrison to give him a new deal helped them make sure that they wouldn't lose him for nothing next summer. Mavericks fans still have nightmares from the front office not giving Jalen Brunson an extension before he hit free agency in the summer of 2022, and Dallas won't have this problem this time around.

With Gafford's new contract, the Mavericks ensured that they kept one of their best centers of this decade in Big D for years to come, but if things were to go south, he'd be a positive trade asset for any team across the league that needs frontcourt help. This move was quietly one of Harrison's best moves of the summer, and fans will understand just how much he aced this move when Gafford is throwing down alley-oop slams and blocking shots at the rim next season.