Cooper Flagg’s Mavs Visit Opens Eyes for Nico Harrison & Co Amid Celtics Trade Rumor

There’s a week for the NBA draft. But the most enticing news around the event is well known. Cooper Flagg is bound to become a Dallas Maverick. They accidentally leaked it, but even without it, it was well known. Likewise, the coveted number one pick visited the Nico Harrison and his teammates for dinner. However, it quickly became the ground for the Duke phantom to showcase his hunger.

He doesn’t have to work out or prove himself to the Mavericks’ top brass. Yet, before the dinner, Flagg insisted on going through a complete workout. “He just always goes the extra mile,” Nick Angstadt noted about the upcoming NBA prospect. But it’s good that he did. The Mavs knew they were getting a star.

But now, they have seen his work ethic and persistence, a trait famously adored by Nico Harrison.

On Locked on Mavericks, Angstadt detailed Mark Stein’s analysis of the workout. “I’m told Flagg, not surprisingly, then insisted Wednesday on spending roughly an hour on the floor showing off his skills to a much larger larger gathering of organizational representatives and also not surprisingly made a very favorable first impression,” he noted.

Surely, this gets the Mavericks fans tingling. Flagg is touted to become a future star in the NBA. He has the attention. Still, his attention to detail remains effervescent. He wants to prove himself on every step of the way, although his ceiling is well-known. That’s what the Mavs are getting. A teenage dynamo who is unwilling to settle and remain stagnant.

This was more of a statement. Although he is a rookie, the underlying intention of his arrival is a signal of a transformational phase for the franchise. Flagg wants to win from the outset, and what better way to forward his intentions than by showing off on the court.

But winning will take more than Flagg. Harrison wants to make the Mavericks a deep roster. His preference is to add a veteran, and one man is appearing in the rumors.

Is Jrue Holiday the solution for the Mavericks?

The Dallas Mavericks aren’t looking to make any major additions in the offseason. When healthy, they have a stellar roster which the ownership strongly believes in. What Harrison is hoping to add is some veteran experience. Maybe somebody who has been on multiple championship-winning teams to share their wisdom and cultivate a winning culture.

That has led to rumors about their interest in Jrue Holiday. The formidable defensive guard is likely to leave the Celtics, who are looking at making cost-cutting moves. His skills would be sublime for a team looking to win. But although the Mavericks are eyeing a short window to capitalize, Angstadt isn’t sure Holiday is the right man.

“Jrue Holiday doesn’t really make a lot of sense for me if I’m the Dallas Mavericks. He makes a lot of sense if Kyrie is healthy and if you have some contracts you want to get rid of and you want to dump and want to send to Boston. The Mavs don’t have contracts that I want to dump right now,” he explained on Locked on Mavericks.

The 35-year-old still has three years remaining on his $134 million extension with the Shamrocks. Angstadt views that price tag to be too steep considering the two-time champion will be 38 in his final season. As tempting as adding him seems, there may be other alternatives who are affordable and even younger.

Still, it’s surely a trade the Mavericks’ top brass could consider. They need somebody to initiate in the absence of Kyrie Irving. Additionally, Holiday’s defensive anticipation can help Dallas become a defensive powerhouse. It would be a gamble. But if it pays off, the next three years could be bright in Dallas.