The Dallas Mavericks have moved on from Nico Harrison and seem to be ready to re-establish ties with Mark Cuban, but there's still a long way to go before they find lasting success.
The Dallas Mavericks took the first step in undoing as much of the damage as possible. Ten months after he traded Luka Doncic, general manager Nico Harrison was relieved of his duties. Of course, the Mavericks are still a long way away from returning to the top of the Western Conference, but they seem to have a clean slate.
Winning the draft lottery helped. If Cooper Flagg weren't in town, the Mavericks would be rudderless and have limited options aside from embracing a multi-year rebuild. At least with Flagg, they have a foundational piece to build around, even if they lack draft capital.
Their 2026 first-round pick is the last time Dallas will control its own draft destiny until 2031. In order to recoup (reCoop? Sorry!) as many future assets as possible, the Mavericks have long been urged to trade Anthony Davis.
Daniel Gafford, Klay Thompson, and anyone else over 26 years old with any value whatsoever will likely be shopped, too.
Flipping Davis for draft picks is the second of one former player's four-step plan to return the Mavericks to relevance.
"I think they should hire Dirk," said former Maverick Chandler Parsons on FanDuel TV's Run It Back. "I would shop Anthony Davis. I would try to recoup picks. I would try and build around for the existing time with PJ Washington and Cooper Flagg, and I would bank on Kyrie Irving."
After Doncic was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, Mavericks' legend Dirk Nowitzki distanced himself from the franchise, but he seemed to change his tune slightly after Harrison was fired. Maybe he would have an interest in taking on rebuilding the Mavericks as a side hustle on top of his broadcast duties with Amazon.
"This move should have happened this summer," said Nowtizki after Harrison was fired. "I didn't want this negative energy and this black cloud over the Cooper Flagg era."
Mark Cuban, who owned the team for most of Dirk and Luka's tenures, seems to be back in the front office in some capacity. For most of the 2020s, the Mavericks were a solid team, and it looks like they want to turn back the clock.
Of course, the Mavericks won't be able to get Doncic back anytime soon, but if Flagg continues to improve, the future could be bright. Between Washington and Dereck Lively II, the Mavericks have ample supporting talent. If Irving returns to full health, expect the Mavericks to at least be relevant in the coming seasons.