Nico Harrison made it clear: he doesn’t regret the trade of Luka Donsic, even after a nightmare end Dallas Mavericks‘ season. Mavs’ top decision makers met the media on Tuesday for the second time since Doncic Trade. Harrison Prohibited cameras and recording devices The quotes coming out of the press conference, however, are still shocking given how poor the Mavericks’ Don Chic deal was.
Harrison reiterated that he had no regrets about Donsic’s dealings. He stuck to the script about why he made the move: he believes defense would win the championship, and he didn’t think Don Sic would become a reliable part of Dallas’ future in the Super Max Extension, which was scheduled for the summer. Hours after the Don Chic trade took place, Harrison leaked to the media that his philosophy was a “defense victory championship.” Which line do you think he repeated on Tuesday?
Mavs GM Nico Harrison and CEO Rick Welts have finished an hour-long session with Dallas-based media selection members.
“Defense Winning Championship” was the most frequently uttered phrase.
There is full coverage @espn This afternoon.
– Tim McMahon (@espn_maccamahon) April 15, 2025
Someone should probably tell Harrison Mavs gave a better defensive rating with Doncic this season More than they did with the player he was traded to, big man Anthony Davis. Davis was injured in his first game at Mavs. This is no surprise to injured players. For Dallas, things got worse from there. Multiple starters have fallen from injuries, including Kyrie Irving’s devastatingly torn ACL stays well in the upcoming season. Thanks to Harrison’s Doncic Trade, Mavs has no hopes for the present or future.
It has always been an irrepreneurial decision to trade Doncic for the package Dallas returned. It is clear that Mavs’ leadership is completely paranoid in how they viewed Doncic and how they approached trade. When faced with the dire consequences of previous trade, Dallas CEO Rick Weltz compared it to another unpopular trade in 2012 when the Warriors dealt with Monta Ellis.
.@tim_cato I said @dlls_mavs That Mavs CEO Rick Welts compared Luka Dončić’s trade with his former Team Warriors, who traded Monta Ellis for Andrew Bogut in 2012.
I’m incredibly not in contact.
– Mavs Film Room (@mavsfilmroom) April 15, 2025
There is no comparison between the two transactions. Ellis never created an All-Star team in his career. Doncic had already nodded five first-team All-NBA NODs to his name by the age of 25, and he had just led the Mavericks to the 2024 NBA Finals. Ellis was partially traded to clarify the room for a prevailing young security guard named Stephen Curry. Mavs has no one nearer to doing what Luka does.
Do you need a better comparison of this transaction? Try the Bay Blues Deal. That didn’t work very well Red Soxeven if head coach Jason Kidd thought it would be cool to hear the comparison.
Another issue related to the transaction was Donsic’s looming Super Max extension. This is a five-year, $346 million contact that Dallas doesn’t want to pay him this summer. The player never turned down a Super Max contract, and Donsic essentially confirmed that he would sign the deal (he no longer qualifies for Super Max). Lakers). Harrison said there is no guarantee that Don Sic will sign Super Max. He stuck to the gun even after ESPN’s Tim McMahon was pushed back by him.
McMahon: “Luka was going to sign Super Max. Why didn’t you sign him, and if you really want to exchange him, Nico: “There’s no guarantee he’ll sign Super Max.” McMahon: “He assured me that, he was baiting on the bench.”
– Jared Christopher (@jaredlchris) April 15, 2025
There are many conspiracy theories about Don Chic trade, but it feels like Harrison is sure his team won’t win the championship with Luka on the roster. Harrison was a close associate of Kobe Bryant in his heyday, and he hadn’t seen Bryant’s killer mentality at Don Sic.
Harrison is also out of his heart about this, but the important thing is that he really believes it. If he is fired, the lines they will place in Harrison’s professional grave are:
Nico: “My duty is to the Dallas Mavericks. It’s the greatest benefit of the Dallas Mavericks, and that’s the most important thing. Some of these decisions are probably not popular with Dark and the fans, but my duty is to the Dallas Mavericks.”
– Tim Cato (@tim_cato) April 15, 2025
Harrison’s timing with this Media Blitz was also strange, and it happened a day after the Dallas Wings drafted Page Bookers No. 1, a day after MAVS played an elimination game in the NBA Play-in Tournament in a 9/10 matchup. Why couldn’t this wait until the season officially ended?
NBA fans have been talking about the Don Chic deal for decades. Harrison may still defend it, but it was a bad trade the moment he made it, and it got even worse in the short term.
If Mavs want to regain the goodwill of their fans, they should start by firing Harrison. Anthony Davis trading will be the next step. Especially considering that Kyrie Irving is coming out most or all of next season. Harrison’s legacy is already safe. He is the stupidest man in modern sports history. Luke still writes his own legacy, and now it will be with the Lakers. The faster this is, the better everyone will be.
