DALLAS - One can blame Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison for a lot of things.
Well, OK. For one thing.
But now, as the Mavs have lucked out and executed their opportunity to draft Duke superstar Cooper Flagg No. 1 overall in the 2025 NBA Draft, can you blame him for succumbing to a bit of hyperbole?
On the heels of inexplicably trading away the face of his franchise, Luka Doncic, to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis and a bag of non-magic beans, Harrison has been blessed with a career-saving gift ...
As his Mavs had a minute 1.8-percent chance to win the NBA Draft lottery, it happened.
And now there is a likely new "face of the franchise'' to line up alongside established stars in the rehabbing Kyrie Irving, former Splash Brother Klay Thompson and Davis.
"What Nico Harrison, the general manager of the Dallas Mavericks, is building is arguably the best frontcourt in the NBA,'' claims ESPN insider Shams Charania, who mentions Dallas' two bigs in Dereck Lively and Daniel Gafford. "This is a deep front line that we're seeing right now."
So yes, even many in the media acknowledge that Harrison had reason to be thrilled after the pick.
But how thrilled?
"It's a generational talent,'' Nico said of Flagg. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance.''
OK, so that might be a tad much. Flagg has all the tools, no doubt, as an athletic, 6-9, 205-pound forward who averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game for Duke as a freshman while also bringing a notably high level of defensively intensity and overall intellect.
But "generational''?
And "once in a lifetime"?
That may be a bit much.
At the same time, Nico Harrison, when it comes to "a generational talent'' who offers "a once-in-a-lifetime chance," should know one when he sees one.
After all, he just traded away that very thing.