Mavericks extend the mastermind that constructed their NBA Finals squad

As the Dallas Mavericks get ready for their NBA Finals series against the Boston Celtics, the squad is giving the man who built this current squad a contract extension. According to Marc Stein on X, Dallas is heading into the Finals with Harrison locked up.

It's unclear the amount of money that Harrison was given or the number of years he was given but one could assume that extension was top-market.

This comes after the GM built a great supporting cast around Luka Doncic in the last couple of years. This includes trading for a second star in Kyrie Irving, who was acquired two trade deadlines ago after the entire league gave up on him for numerous off-the-court issues.

The franchise also made several moves at the trade deadline which allowed them to land two key contributors in P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford. These two big men have been extremely crucial in the Mavericks' playoff run as defenders, screeners and play-finishers. Washington was acquired in a trade with the Hornets where Dallas gave up Grant Williams, Seth Curry and a 2027 first-round pick.

Williams was signed last offseason by the Mavericks and then subsequently traded after the former Celtic wasn't performing up to his contract. Trading for Gafford required only Richaun Holmes and a 2024 first-round pick (from the Thunder that the Mavericks own). Holmes was acquired last offseason with a first-round pick as the Kings wanted to send him elsewhere so they could free cap space.

With the Mavericks getting ready for the Finals, it's clear that Nico Harrison's fingerprints are all over this roster.

Mavericks extend Nico Harrison before fight with Celtics in NBA Finals

In addition to the mid-season trades that Harrison made at the deadline, the GM also decided to draft Derrick Lively II in the first round at No. 10 overall. The Mavericks were able to make this selection after making the controversial decision to rest their stars at the end of the last season after it was clear that the franchise was not going to make big noise in the playoffs — the Knicks would have received this pick due to a previous trade if it fell out of the top 10.

Despite a couple of mistakes, Nico Harrison has made a lot of the right decisions over the last season and a half and certainly earned this extension.