Nico Harrison is still living in a delusion as Mavs face morbid Play-In fate

The Dallas Mavericks made the most shocking trade in NBA history ahead of the deadline, sending Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a single first-round pick. It came as a complete shock — and it still feels like a fever dream all these months later.

Dallas will face the Sacramento Kings in the Play-In Tournament on Wednesday with their season on the line. At 39-43, the Mavs are the No. 10 seed in a cutthroat Western Conference. Luka's Lakers, meanwhile, won 50 games and are the No. 3 seed.

Kyrie Irving is done for the season with a torn ACL. Davis has appeared in just nine games since the trade due to a nagging groin injury. The Mavs are beat up, incomplete and marred by a noticeable lack of continuity. It's hard enough to imagine Dallas getting past the Kings, much less winning multiple Play-In games and advancing deep into the playoffs.

Despite a strong public rejection of the trade and plenty of glaring on-court indicators, Harrison refuses to even acknowledge the downside of axing Dončić, a beloved figure in Dallas. The Lakers' new point guard dropped 45 points to massive applause in his return to American Airlines Arena last week. That will follow Harrison for an eternity.

Here's what Harrison told reporters in his first media session since the trade — one he conducted with hand-selected reporters and a zero-cameras policy.

"There's no regrets on the trade," he said. "Part of it is doing the best thing for the Mavs."

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Nico Harrison still claims Mavs did the best thing trading Luka Dončić to Lakers

Look, man. What can we say at this point? Harrison is on an extended ego trip. There is not a world in which he even comes close to accepting the reality of this situation. In his mind, he is convinced the Mavericks are better off. There is no moving him off this position. Even if Harrison does come to regret the trade later in life, I'm not sure he will ever publicly admit as much. He has staked his pride and his personal reputation one the world's biggest zag. It it what it is.

The reasons Harrison continues to push are nonsensical. He has said Dallas is investing in a three-year window. First, Dončić led the Mavs to the NBA Finals last season and is clearly a more valuable centerpiece than Davis. Second, the "defense wins championships" bit rings hollow when Dallas was a top-five defense in the postseason with Dončić on the roster.

Harrison's entire spiel about going all-in on a tight window rings hollow, to be honest. The goal should be to build a much longer, more sustainable window of contention. Why are the Mavs boxing themselves into three years? Davis is also six years older than Dončić and more injury-prone, historically. Using faux concern about Dončić's long-term durability to trade for an aging B-side with present injury woes is true galaxy brain stuff. There will never be a way to explain the inexplicable. He is living in a fantasy world chock full of his former Nike clients.

Dallas' complete unwillingness to engage with fan disappointment and skepticism around this trade is baffling and, frankly, insulting. All the Mavs' brass has done is attempt to dunk on Dončić, sullying his character in an effort to make themselves appear lightyears ahead, rather than decades behind. This Mavs roster would've done gangbusters in the '90s, but we live in 2025, and Dallas' three-big starting lineup with zero point guards probably won't get them very far.

Harrison has stamped his reputation for all of time. He will forever be known as the foolhardy GM who thought he was smarter than everyone else and tanked a potentially historic partnership between star and city. It's a bummer.