It’s official. Cooper Flagg is finally a member of the Dallas Mavericks. With that comes the massive expectation of becoming the future face of the franchise and hopefully leading them to a championship. Not too long ago, that role belonged to Luka Doncic, before Nico Harrison abruptly traded him at the February deadline, making him the most hated figure in Dallas. While the GM is hopeful that drafting Cooper would help reduce the fans’ anger toward him, the former Blue Devil’s unusual reaction at the introductory presser has brought Nico’s mistake to the forefront yet again.

During his latest media appearance, when ESPN’s Tim MacMahon asked Flagg, “There’s statue of Dirk outside the arena. Obviously, he was the face of this franchise for a long time. He kind of handed the baton to Luka. The anticipation was he would have been the face for a long time. Plans changed…” Before MacMahon could finish his question, the Doncic query caught Cooper’s attention, and he immediately gave a side-eye to Nico, trying his best to control his laughter.

It was as if Cooper was hinting that Nico was the reason Mavs changed their plans for Luka. Since the Doncic trade, “Fire Nico” chants have echoed the city of Dallas. There has been constant backlash against the GM, even threatening Nico and his family’s security. Even when Flagg got drafted first overall, fans continued the “Fire Nico” chants at the Mavs’ Draft Watch Party at AAC. It’s clear that people have neither forgotten nor forgiven the GM’s mistake.

However, Nico is optimistic about Flagg’s arrival mending his reputation among fans. “I’m hoping so. I’m assuming so a little bit, maybe,” he remarked. Moreover, he shared a similar sentiment during Cooper’s introductory presser: “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.”

While Flagg is just a rookie, a player of his skill set could have an immediate impact on the Mavs’ success. He averaged 19.2 points and nearly eight rebounds in his maiden college season. Adding him alongside Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, and Klay Thompson could make Dallas an instant title contender. That’s what Nico is counting on.

But Flagg’s viral reaction has brought some unwanted attention the GM’s way.

NBA World dissects Cooper Flagg’s viral reaction as concerns rise for his future in Dallas

Sure enough, fans noticed the former Duke star’s hilarious reaction to the Luka query and began analysing what it meant. Comments like “OMG that got me in tears,” and “Even he was shocked about that stoopid az trade smh,” began flooding in.

One netizen even compared Flagg’s reaction to Nico’s viral side-eye from earlier this season. It happened during a live game after the Luka trade, as cameras caught the GM giving a concerned side-eye while the Mavs were getting blown out by the Grizzlies and Anthony Davis was sitting on the bench, hurt. The five-second sequence summed up the entire Mavs’ season.

Meanwhile, one fan believed Flagg’s reaction hinted that they had come prepared for such questions and MacMahon’s query reminded him of it, “That’s the, ‘this is why we had a 90-minute conversation and slideshow about what to and what not to say’ side eye.” Of course, Mavs do not wish to add any more fuel to the Luka trade fire.

However, one netizen began fearing for Flagg’s future in Dallas following his reaction as he wrote, “Nico boutta trade him.” Obviously, that’s not going to happen because Flagg is the future of the Mavs’ franchise. If Nico somehow blows this window like he did with Luka, he might never get another chance at redemption and could even lose his job.

So Cooper Flagg is not going anywhere anytime soon. What are your thoughts on his reaction?