Nico Harrison didn’t have to publicly state that his best interest is in the Dallas Mavericks and not the fan base — we already know that. But now, he’s just scrambling for answers when it comes to the Luka Dončić trade.
Because honestly, trading away a franchise superstar for an aging, injury-prone star doesn’t sound like doing the "best thing" for the team. If I’m not mistaken, Dončić has been to as many NBA Finals as Anthony Davis.
Nico: "My obligation is to the Dallas Mavericks, it's what's the best interest of the Dallas Mavericks, and that's the most important thing. Some of those decisions are going to be unpopular maybe to Dirk and maybe to the fans, but my obligation is to the Dallas Mavericks."
— tim cato (@tim_cato) April 15, 2025
If we’re being honest, Davis is only an NBA champion because of LeBron James. The Mavs don’t get to the Finals without Dončić. And it’s clear they won’t get back anytime soon. To make matters worse, the Mavs need to win two play-in games to get into the NBA playoffs. The Los Angeles Lakers are the No. 3 seed.
I don’t have a problem with Nico Harrison defending his move, he’d look even more foolish for trying not to defend it. But if your job is to not take Mavs fans or even a Mavs legend into consideration and only focus on the best direction for the team, you can’t fail at both of them.
Nico Harrison is scrambling to justify just how bad of a move it was to part ways with Luka Dončić less than a year after he led the Mavs to the NBA Finals
Harrison doesn’t care about the direction of the Dallas Mavericks or the fan base. Because if he did, he would know just how bad of a move this was. He would know there’s no possible way to justify this as a logical move.
Even if the Mavs had Kyrie Irving healthy, Davis wasn’t going to be the difference. Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford did enough to anchor down the interior. Maybe the Mavs could have gotten someone like Myles Turner who can stretch the floor.
Maybe even get a player like Domantas Sabonis, who could have been out the door with De’Aaron Fox at the trade deadline. But no, instead of giving Dončić more help, he sent him out the door altogether.
How does that further the Mavs’ goal of winning the franchise’s first championship since 2011. It doesn’t. Which is why him clamoring about doing what’s best for the team and not the fan base is his way of trying to justify the move.
Harrison is doing nothing but digging a crater in continuing to talk about the move. At best the Mavs need to go on a miraculous run. Maybe then Mavs fans can begin to think about reasoning with his logic.
Even then, that may not be enough. Mavs fans gave Dončić a homecoming every player dreams of. It shows just how bad of a move it was and just how out of touch Harrison is as a general manager.