RealGM

Nico Harrison, along with new Dallas Mavericks' CEO Rick Welts, held an hour-long session Tuesday morning with a select group of Dallas-based media. The controversial trade of Luka Doncic for a package headlined by Anthony Davis dominated the discussion. Harrison's only other media availability since the trade was a brief pregame session the following day in Cleveland

"There's no regrets on the trade," said Harrison. "Part of my job is to do the best thing for the Mavericks, not only today, but also in the future, and some of the decisions I'm going to make are going to be unpopular. That's my job and I have to stand by it."

Harrison was asked about the widespread criticism he has received from Mavericks' fans since the trade.

"Well, the beauty of Dallas is it is a passionate fan base," Harrison said. "For us to reach our goals, we need that fan base. And to be honest with you, every trade I've made since I've been here has not been regarded as a good trade, and so sometimes it takes time. When I traded for Kyrie, it was met with a lot of skepticism and it was graded as a terrible trade and you didn't see it right away, but eventually everyone agreed that that was a great trade. When I traded for [Gafford] and [Washington] again, it was like, 'Oh, he gave up way too much. These guys aren't going to help us.' Now that trade, you saw the evidence a lot sooner. So I think a lot of times trades take a little bit of time.

"But our philosophy, like I said, going forward is defense wins championships and we're built on defense. And this trade cements us for that."

Via Tim MacMahon/ESPN

The money alone that Luka would bring to the Mavs makes this deal stupid.

Dude shut up

Did the Commissioner’s bidding for him. The long term impact of this heist, will further hinder the NBA

If he wins a title over there, there will definitely be regrets.

That's not the statement I would have gone with. Probably the biggest trade blunder in NBA history and he doubles down on it? That's not how to win back the fans.

I'd have gone with a "Dear Fans, I'm sorry." not "No regrets", . . . or say nothing at all.

No good way to fix the aftereffects of this big a blunder. But I'd have gone with something like this.

What else you expect him to say? He is taking this line all the way to the unemployment office.

Boneman2 wrote:Did the Commissioner’s bidding for him. The long term impact of this heist, will further hinder the NBA

Exactly.

This guy is Ivy League graduate. My goodness common sense is so underrated.

hyberx wrote:What else you expect him to say? He is taking this line all the way to the unemployment office.

Sound humble

This puffed up chest nonsense only makes people question your intelligence.

The best thing for the Mavericks was not restricting trading partners to just the Lakers.

Indomitable wrote:

hyberx wrote:What else you expect him to say? He is taking this line all the way to the unemployment office.

Sound humble

This puffed up chest nonsense only makes people question your intelligence.

Yeah it doesn’t make him look smart to say ‘you thought Gafford for a 1st was a bad deal too, so clearly you’re not as insightful as I am about these things.’

I don’t care about humility but this isn’t a good way to spin this deal. Unless Luka turns into a total POS and tanks the Lakers within like 2 years, this deal still looks ridiculous to basically all of us. Gotta explain that a little or at least understand why we’re not right in our takes.

If he really believed in the deal he would just say ‘man I know this looks insane now—like crazier than any deal you’ve ever seen—but I think you’ll get it later, just please understand and let it play out.’

Barcs wrote:If he wins a title over there, there will definitely be regrets.

Not really. If Luka wins a title in LAL, that does not mean he would have won a title in DAL. It's apples and oranges. I expect that the Lakers would find a way to win a chip in the next 10 years, with or without Luka. Players go to LAL, they don't go to DAL. The roster they will be able to put together in LAL will be different than what they were going to be able to put together in DAL.

Well sure there are 2 layers. Sure, he doesn't regret trading Luka but he should regret not getting more in return for Luka when you look at a deal like the Rudy Gobert deal to Minnesota or the Paul George deal to Los Angeles.

Honestly one of the most tragic moves I've ever seen a fanbase subjected to. But Adam Silver didn't care because LAL is more important for this desperate association. Sad.

I’m guessing Nico is not winning the executive of
The year of award

Boneman2 wrote:Did the Commissioner’s bidding for him. The long term impact of this heist, will further hinder the NBA

I suspect it wont hinder the nba at all. The league doesnt cater to die hards, it caters to casuals and the lakers having a star player they got for pennies on the dollar is a great way to attract casuals

What else is he gonna say. Classic double down.

Luv those Knicks wrote:That's not the statement I would have gone with. Probably the biggest trade blunder in NBA history and he doubles down on it? That's not how to win back the fans.

I'd have gone with a "Dear Fans, I'm sorry." not "No regrets", . . . or say nothing at all.

No good way to fix the aftereffects of this big a blunder. But I'd have gone with something like this.

Watch on YouTube

You do that and you're fired the very next week for "owning the failure".

jmbish87 wrote:

Luv those Knicks wrote:That's not the statement I would have gone with. Probably the biggest trade blunder in NBA history and he doubles down on it? That's not how to win back the fans.

I'd have gone with a "Dear Fans, I'm sorry." not "No regrets", . . . or say nothing at all.

No good way to fix the aftereffects of this big a blunder. But I'd have gone with something like this.

Watch on YouTube

You do that and you're fired the very next week for "owning the failure".

Ownership probably approved the trade anyway, hek, they probably encouraged it. I don't believe any GM would only talk to 1 or 2 teams before trading a top player. That's just silly. This trade stinks of ownership worrying about spending too much.

So, he can't say the truth, and he gets fired if he says "sorry we messed up", but better to say nothing than to say no regrets. IMHO.