Fired Mavs Employee’s Vision Helped Cooper Flagg’s ROY Win Over Kon Knueppel, Says Carmelo Anthony

Then there were reports of the then-GM trading Cooper Flagg for a win-now approach. But that never materialized as Flagg successfully completed his first year in Dallas and became the second-youngest winner (19 years, 112 days as of April 12, the final day of the regular season), behind only LeBron James (19 years, 106 days in 2003-04). As Carmelo Anthony pointed out, Flagg joined Michael Jordan as the only rookies to lead their team in four stats. But in the middle of the season, as Coop was finding his feet, Nico Harrison was shown the exit door.

The former GM explained Cooper Flagg’s significance for his bold plans

Fire Nico chants were obvious and loud inside the American Airlines Center. But since they drafted a superstar with as much potential as Flagg, it somehow eased the fans’ displeasure. In June last year, Harrison admitted, “We’re in ‘win now’ mode, and we have a really good team, and Cooper adds to that. I think the fans can finally start to see the vision.” Unfortunately, that vision never came true.

After a 3-8 start marred by injuries and inconsistent play, the Mavericks owner decided to pull the plug on Harrison’s ideas. In February, they traded Davis, who came to Dallas just a year ago, signifying the end of the process of what Nico was building. They completely gave the keys to Cooper Flagg during his rookie tenure.

It was a roller coaster journey for him, too. The Duke alum is expected to be surrounded by veterans like AD and Irving. But injuries to them limited that possibility. Since then, he was trusted to be the primary ball handler, a high-intensity role that he had never truly embraced before the NBA. Head coach Jason Kidd insisted on this plan, and the results are for everyone to see. Coop led his team and won the ROTY.

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