Commentary: Nico Harrison was gifted Cooper Flagg, who's not here to be Luka Doncic. So now what?

Nico Harrison made the easiest call of his brief, tumultuous career Wednesday by accepting the gift of Cooper Flagg, thus recapturing the Mavs' future and nullifying intervention by local authorities. The Flagg era began at 8:11 p.m., when the announcement by the commissioner officially lifted the black cloud over the franchise. Barring any additional catastrophes, anyway. The question is, now what? The Player Most Likely to Succeed of this draft class is advanced enough at 18 years old to do just about anything Jason Kidd might ask. He could bump P.J. Washington to the bench, guard across the board, even run the point occasionally. No matter where he plays, Flagg will give the Mavs' creaking core some much-needed juice. Which is enough, at least for now. He's not coming to Dallas to replace Luka Doncic, if that's what you were thinking. Different skill set. Luka is a basketball savant. Flagg's value is that he does a little bit of everything well and is only too happy to do it. Think Scottie Pippen — a pretty nice thought, at that. Given Flagg's skill level, work ethic and competitiveness, the question here isn't what he'll do his rookie season. He'll do fine. The question is what happens all around him. Can Nico find a suitable replacement for Kyrie Irving until the point guard comes back in January? Kyrie's new three-year deal reportedly frees up $5.7 million for the midlevel exception. SportsDay alum Marc Stein reports the Mavs are the "leading suitors" for D'Angelo Russell, long a target for one Mavs administration or another. Only 28, DLo has already played for four teams and the Lakers and Nets twice. He wasn't so good last season. Averaged 12.6 points over 58 games while shooting just 31.4% on 3-pointers. He might be due a bounceback. Then again, he might not. Dennis Schröder, anyone? He plays defense, a Nico mantra, but doesn't offer much as a scorer. The problem with aiming low for a sub at point guard is he might end up playing a bigger role than you'd like. Kyrie's coming off an ACL injury in his left knee. Throughout a potential Hall of Fame career, his preternatural ability to stop, start and change directions in a blink has made him seem younger than his birth certificate suggests. But time outruns us all. Kyrie's 33. He's got a lot of mileage on those beat-up wheels. How much of his silvery quickness will he still be able to summon in January, February, March? Beyond Kyrie's case, how much does Klay Thompson have left? He wasn't bad last year while averaging 14 points. But, if Nico doesn't add anything else, you'd think Thompson would have to pick up most of the scoring load lost in Kyrie's absence. He had a hard time last year getting his points night after night. Of course, Anthony Davis can still fill it up. Capable of being the focus of the Mavs' offense as long as he's upright. In a best-case scenario, the Mavs probably have enough talent with the addition of Flagg to compete in the West. Even before Wednesday, they gave Oklahoma City fits. But a good general manager doesn't hope for the best. He prepares for the worst. As we've learned, occasionally to our horror, Nico isn't afraid to shake things up with a trade. He's got a lot of material at his disposal in the Mavs' crowded frontcourt. Imagine that. I'm old enough to remember when they couldn't suit up one decent center, much less three. Davis, Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II would all probably finish in a ranking of the organization's best centers ever. Could Nico part with one of them to bring a scorer for the backcourt? If the GM doesn't make a move, and Thompson keeps fading or Davis gets hurt or Kyrie's just not the same, it could put a serious dent in Nico's "win-now" philosophy. Expecting Flagg to fill the role seems a little much at this point. They might find he's ready for it, but that's not the way to plan. As good as he is, he deserves a longer runway. Flagg's high school coach predicts he'll become a bona fide star his fourth or fifth season, which, not so coincidentally, dovetails with what looks like the end of the Davis/Irving era. If it seems like a long time to wait, consider that the kid will still only be 22 or 23. I know what you're thinking. Luka was already an MVP candidate at that age. A five-time All-NBA player at 25. True enough. But, as we witnessed, Luka was special. He still is. Flagg isn't Luka, but that's not an indictment. No one is. One of these days, in the six displays sitting shoulder-to-shoulder in a hallway of the Mavs' practice facility, they'll be forced to add another to account for the newest face of the franchise. Either that or sub out Lively's jersey in the cubicle labeled "The Road Ahead."