Unhinged ESPN trade pitch would land Devin Booker while sending Nico Harrison packing

As soon as the Dallas Mavericks netted the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft and the right to select Cooper Flagg last month, fans and media have speculated what it would take for Nico Harrison to trade this pick. While it has already been reported that Dallas plans to draft Flagg and not trade the pick, recent mock trades have gotten fans wondering if Harrison would ever consider moving the pick in just over three weeks on draft night. It seems extremely unlikely, but a recent mock trade by ESPN could be enough to get him and the rest of the front office thinking.

ESPN proposed that Dallas sends the Phoenix Suns the No. 1 pick, P.J. Washington, Naji Marshall, Klay Thompson, and Caleb Martin for Devin Booker, a 2025 first-round pick (No. 29 overall), a 2028 first-round pick, and a 2029 first-round pick swap, and while this mock trade got Mavericks fans to stop scrolling due to the wonder of what a big three of Booker, Anthony Davis, and Kyrie Irving would look like, this is a trade that would likely get Harrison fired on the spot.

Winning the Flagg sweepstakes was the one way that the Mavericks could have had happen to them to get fans to stop complaining about the Luka Doncic trade (warranted or not), and while they are still upset that Doncic is no longer on the team, the excitement for this new era of Mavs basketball is through the roof.

Nico Harrison would lose his job immediately if he accepted this trade

If Harrison decided to trade Flagg to the Suns, one of their rivals, for Booker and future first-round capital, it would dig him even further into a hole of having to win an NBA Championship right now, and Dallas would lose all of their depth.

If it isn't obvious from watching this year's NBA Playoffs, depth matters just as much as star power, and having three star players with lower-end role players around them has proven to be a formula that doesn't work anymore. Depth matters as much as it ever has to win the NBA Finals, and the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers are a testament to that.

Harrison and the Mavericks can't go all in on their current core of Davis and Irving with Booker while completely ignoring the 20-year championship window they were handed with Flagg coming to town, and even though Booker is only 28 years old and is just reaching his prime, he wouldn't be worth trading Flagg for.

Regardless of how scary of a big three Dallas would have.

Flagg was the best possible player the Mavericks could have gotten their hands on this offseason, and Patrick Dumont and Harrison can't throw that opportunity away. From everything that has been reported, Dumont understands how fortunate Dallas was to land the No. 1 pick, and they don't want to trade that away, even for a proven superstar.

Dumont's thoughts on landing the No. 1 pick combined with the fact that he is looking for another executive to work in the front office alongside Harrison as a form of checks and balances shows that Harrison likely couldn't even make this trade if he wanted to, as he no longer has the full trust of the Dumont's to make whatever roster decisions he pleases.

Mavericks fans should fully expect Flagg to become a Maverick on June 25, but if Brian Gregory and Matt Ishbia somehow convinced Harrison to make this trade for Booker, he likely wouldn't last another day in the Mavs' front office.