Nico Harrison: "There's no regrets on the Luka Doncic trade. Part of it is doing the best thing for Mavs"

[41Dirk41]

Saddest thing about this situation is that the Lakers without Doncic&LeBron are better than the Mavs with street clothes... The most impressive plot twist from "Shutter Island" hahahahahaha

[41Dirk41]

An easy 44+12 night for Doncic... Another Halloween night for Nico Harrison

[Archx]

Yeah well... Luka is doing things since Wilt with the Lakers and Mavs are doing things since.... Nico.

[HMFFL]

Three straight 40+ games.

44, 49, 43

[41Dirk41]

Street clothes started and finished 12 games after the trade.I mean TWELVE GAMES.

[HMFFL]

Street clothes started and finished 12 games after the trade.I mean TWELVE GAMES.

And some people expect him to produce in the playoffs. If we face Denver we still need a player to help AD with Jokic. Same with Wemby. Jalen Duren is a guy I wanted but now the secret is out...He's having a great season.

[joesha1698]

[Curtis] Nico Harrison's answers to each of the questions he was asked in his meeting with the Dallas media this morning

Harrison on how he responds to the outraged fanbase and why does he think Patrick Dumont should not take them up on that advice to fire him:

“Well, the beauty of Dallas is it is a passionate fanbase. For us to reach our goals, we need that fanbase. And to be honest with you, every trade I’ve made since I’ve been here has not been regarded as a good trade. 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. You didn’t see it right away, but eventually everyone agreed that it was a great trade. When I traded for Gaff and Lively, it was like, ‘Oh, he gave up way too much.’ These guys are 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 going forward is defense wins championships, and we’re built on defense. This trade cements us for that.”

Harrison on if he felt like the Mavs maximized the return for Luka, given Cuban’s “get a better deal” statement:

“When you look at this trade, we targeted AD. With our philosphy of defense wins championships, we wanted a two-way player to lead our team and that was Anthony Davis. Everyone’s going to have their criticism. I’m not sure what Mark (Cuban) said, but that’s a better question left for him. But we got what we wanted.”

Harrison on if he could do it over again, would he do it the same way given the reaction from the fan base:

“Yeah, there’s no regrets on the trade. Part of my job is to do the best thing for the Mavericks, not only today, but also in the future. Some of the decisions I’m going to make are going to be unpopular. And that’s my job and I have to stand by it. One last thing, I’ll also add that every trade I’ve done has been met with high scrutiny, and so eventually, I’ll earn the trust of this community back. Some of these trades are going to work out and they have at a high level.”

Harrison on if he sees himself in Dallas long term. Does he want to be this team’s GM in 2028, 2029?

“Yeah, I have three years left on my contract. I see myself finishing it out. In terms of Dallas, this is our home. My family, they’re going to finish school here. This is where we live, so this is where I’m living.”

Does Harrison feel like there was any underestimation on what Doncic meant to this fanbase and with that in mind, what did this trade do to his relationship with the fanbase?

“I don’t think there was an underestimation, but clearly we knew afterwards, his impact on the fanbase. I do think our intended roster we put on the floor would’ve subsided a lot of the fanbase’s vitriol, you know, because they would be out there winning. Obviously, with a lot of the injuries we weren’t able to do that and that increased and brought a lot of people that may not have even had an opinion. So that’s unfortunate.”

Does Harrison have any have any concerns about your ability to attract top talent to the Mavericks in the future, given the fallout from the trade?

“No. I don’t. I think that’s one of the reasons why I’m here. But it’s not just me. It’s Dallas. It’s one of the fifth largest metroplexes in the US. It’s a great city to live in. The fanbase is amazing. Part of the ”Fire Nico" chants, although, you would rather the fans cheer for the team and me not be the story. It’s a great fanbase and you need that fanbase to win. I think that’s an attraction. J-Kidd, a Hall of Fame point guard, is your coach. I think all of that helps to attract. It’s not just the Nico Harrison show. But to answer your question, no that won’t affect our ability to attract free agents.”

https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/mavericks/2025/04/15/mavericks-gm-nico-harrison-addresses-luka-doncic-trade-fan-outrage-future-in-dallas/

Nico Harrison on if he feels an obligation to Mavericks fans: "No, my obligations are to the Dallas Mavericks, what's in the best interests of the Dallas Mavericks. That's the most important thing."

https://streamable.com/6hib5b

Tim MacMahon: "Luka was gonna sign the supermax. Why didn't you sign him and then if you really wanted to trade him [...]"
Nico Harrison: "Well there's no guarantee he would sign a supermax"
MacMahon: "He has guaranteed it, he was bawling on the bench"
Nico: "Well like I said, we can agree to disagree"

https://www.youtube.com/live/m9FsmK6Mals?si=kL3t2-LUUSpFyy30

Dallas Mavericks CEO Rick Welts on the Luka trade: "The Golden State Warriors once traded Monta Ellis for Andrew Bogut... They got better because they had a guard named Steph Curry and Steph Curry came in and made the entire fanbase love him."

https://streamable.com/izemha

The media needs to stop. This is an organizatonal decision at the highest level. Nico is clearly the fall guy. These questions should be directed at the new owners who are hiding beind the sceens while the guy their paying takes the heat. They wanted Luka gone with no fan fare....and Nico had to do it in the middle of the night as quiet as possible. That's what I believe. I'll go a step further and suggest their was a handshake agreement between the Lakers owner and the Mavs owner before Nico even got word of this trade. This is speculation but I believe anyone still blaming Nico are being willfully ignorant at this point.

[Bob8]

[Curtis] Nico Harrison's answers to each of the questions he was asked in his meeting with the Dallas media this morning

Harrison on how he responds to the outraged fanbase and why does he think Patrick Dumont should not take them up on that advice to fire him:

“Well, the beauty of Dallas is it is a passionate fanbase. For us to reach our goals, we need that fanbase. And to be honest with you, every trade I’ve made since I’ve been here has not been regarded as a good trade. 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. You didn’t see it right away, but eventually everyone agreed that it was a great trade. When I traded for Gaff and Lively, it was like, ‘Oh, he gave up way too much.’ These guys are 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 going forward is defense wins championships, and we’re built on defense. This trade cements us for that.”

Harrison on if he felt like the Mavs maximized the return for Luka, given Cuban’s “get a better deal” statement:

“When you look at this trade, we targeted AD. With our philosphy of defense wins championships, we wanted a two-way player to lead our team and that was Anthony Davis. Everyone’s going to have their criticism. I’m not sure what Mark (Cuban) said, but that’s a better question left for him. But we got what we wanted.”

Harrison on if he could do it over again, would he do it the same way given the reaction from the fan base:

“Yeah, there’s no regrets on the trade. Part of my job is to do the best thing for the Mavericks, not only today, but also in the future. Some of the decisions I’m going to make are going to be unpopular. And that’s my job and I have to stand by it. One last thing, I’ll also add that every trade I’ve done has been met with high scrutiny, and so eventually, I’ll earn the trust of this community back. Some of these trades are going to work out and they have at a high level.”

Harrison on if he sees himself in Dallas long term. Does he want to be this team’s GM in 2028, 2029?

“Yeah, I have three years left on my contract. I see myself finishing it out. In terms of Dallas, this is our home. My family, they’re going to finish school here. This is where we live, so this is where I’m living.”

Does Harrison feel like there was any underestimation on what Doncic meant to this fanbase and with that in mind, what did this trade do to his relationship with the fanbase?

“I don’t think there was an underestimation, but clearly we knew afterwards, his impact on the fanbase. I do think our intended roster we put on the floor would’ve subsided a lot of the fanbase’s vitriol, you know, because they would be out there winning. Obviously, with a lot of the injuries we weren’t able to do that and that increased and brought a lot of people that may not have even had an opinion. So that’s unfortunate.”

Does Harrison have any have any concerns about your ability to attract top talent to the Mavericks in the future, given the fallout from the trade?

“No. I don’t. I think that’s one of the reasons why I’m here. But it’s not just me. It’s Dallas. It’s one of the fifth largest metroplexes in the US. It’s a great city to live in. The fanbase is amazing. Part of the ”Fire Nico" chants, although, you would rather the fans cheer for the team and me not be the story. It’s a great fanbase and you need that fanbase to win. I think that’s an attraction. J-Kidd, a Hall of Fame point guard, is your coach. I think all of that helps to attract. It’s not just the Nico Harrison show. But to answer your question, no that won’t affect our ability to attract free agents.”

https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/mavericks/2025/04/15/mavericks-gm-nico-harrison-addresses-luka-doncic-trade-fan-outrage-future-in-dallas/

Nico Harrison on if he feels an obligation to Mavericks fans: "No, my obligations are to the Dallas Mavericks, what's in the best interests of the Dallas Mavericks. That's the most important thing."

https://streamable.com/6hib5b

Tim MacMahon: "Luka was gonna sign the supermax. Why didn't you sign him and then if you really wanted to trade him [...]"
Nico Harrison: "Well there's no guarantee he would sign a supermax"
MacMahon: "He has guaranteed it, he was bawling on the bench"
Nico: "Well like I said, we can agree to disagree"

https://www.youtube.com/live/m9FsmK6Mals?si=kL3t2-LUUSpFyy30

Dallas Mavericks CEO Rick Welts on the Luka trade: "The Golden State Warriors once traded Monta Ellis for Andrew Bogut... They got better because they had a guard named Steph Curry and Steph Curry came in and made the entire fanbase love him."

https://streamable.com/izemha

The media needs to stop. This is an organizatonal decision at the highest level. Nico is clearly the fall guy. These questions should be directed at the new owners who are hiding beind the sceens while the guy their paying takes the heat. They wanted Luka gone with no fan fare....and Nico had to do it in the middle of the night as quiet as possible. That's what I believe. I'll go a step further and suggest their was a handshake agreement between the Lakers owner and the Mavs owner before Nico even got word of this trade. This is speculation but I believe anyone still blaming Nico are being willfully ignorant at this point.

This's half year old...

[41Dirk41]

[Curtis] Nico Harrison's answers to each of the questions he was asked in his meeting with the Dallas media this morning

Harrison on how he responds to the outraged fanbase and why does he think Patrick Dumont should not take them up on that advice to fire him:

“Well, the beauty of Dallas is it is a passionate fanbase. For us to reach our goals, we need that fanbase. And to be honest with you, every trade I’ve made since I’ve been here has not been regarded as a good trade. 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. You didn’t see it right away, but eventually everyone agreed that it was a great trade. When I traded for Gaff and Lively, it was like, ‘Oh, he gave up way too much.’ These guys are 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 going forward is defense wins championships, and we’re built on defense. This trade cements us for that.”

Harrison on if he felt like the Mavs maximized the return for Luka, given Cuban’s “get a better deal” statement:

“When you look at this trade, we targeted AD. With our philosphy of defense wins championships, we wanted a two-way player to lead our team and that was Anthony Davis. Everyone’s going to have their criticism. I’m not sure what Mark (Cuban) said, but that’s a better question left for him. But we got what we wanted.”

Harrison on if he could do it over again, would he do it the same way given the reaction from the fan base:

“Yeah, there’s no regrets on the trade. Part of my job is to do the best thing for the Mavericks, not only today, but also in the future. Some of the decisions I’m going to make are going to be unpopular. And that’s my job and I have to stand by it. One last thing, I’ll also add that every trade I’ve done has been met with high scrutiny, and so eventually, I’ll earn the trust of this community back. Some of these trades are going to work out and they have at a high level.”

Harrison on if he sees himself in Dallas long term. Does he want to be this team’s GM in 2028, 2029?

“Yeah, I have three years left on my contract. I see myself finishing it out. In terms of Dallas, this is our home. My family, they’re going to finish school here. This is where we live, so this is where I’m living.”

Does Harrison feel like there was any underestimation on what Doncic meant to this fanbase and with that in mind, what did this trade do to his relationship with the fanbase?

“I don’t think there was an underestimation, but clearly we knew afterwards, his impact on the fanbase. I do think our intended roster we put on the floor would’ve subsided a lot of the fanbase’s vitriol, you know, because they would be out there winning. Obviously, with a lot of the injuries we weren’t able to do that and that increased and brought a lot of people that may not have even had an opinion. So that’s unfortunate.”

Does Harrison have any have any concerns about your ability to attract top talent to the Mavericks in the future, given the fallout from the trade?

“No. I don’t. I think that’s one of the reasons why I’m here. But it’s not just me. It’s Dallas. It’s one of the fifth largest metroplexes in the US. It’s a great city to live in. The fanbase is amazing. Part of the ”Fire Nico" chants, although, you would rather the fans cheer for the team and me not be the story. It’s a great fanbase and you need that fanbase to win. I think that’s an attraction. J-Kidd, a Hall of Fame point guard, is your coach. I think all of that helps to attract. It’s not just the Nico Harrison show. But to answer your question, no that won’t affect our ability to attract free agents.”

https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/mavericks/2025/04/15/mavericks-gm-nico-harrison-addresses-luka-doncic-trade-fan-outrage-future-in-dallas/

Nico Harrison on if he feels an obligation to Mavericks fans: "No, my obligations are to the Dallas Mavericks, what's in the best interests of the Dallas Mavericks. That's the most important thing."

https://streamable.com/6hib5b

Tim MacMahon: "Luka was gonna sign the supermax. Why didn't you sign him and then if you really wanted to trade him [...]"
Nico Harrison: "Well there's no guarantee he would sign a supermax"
MacMahon: "He has guaranteed it, he was bawling on the bench"
Nico: "Well like I said, we can agree to disagree"

https://www.youtube.com/live/m9FsmK6Mals?si=kL3t2-LUUSpFyy30

Dallas Mavericks CEO Rick Welts on the Luka trade: "The Golden State Warriors once traded Monta Ellis for Andrew Bogut... They got better because they had a guard named Steph Curry and Steph Curry came in and made the entire fanbase love him."

https://streamable.com/izemha

The media needs to stop. This is an organizatonal decision at the highest level. Nico is clearly the fall guy. These questions should be directed at the new owners who are hiding beind the sceens while the guy their paying takes the heat. They wanted Luka gone with no fan fare....and Nico had to do it in the middle of the night as quiet as possible. That's what I believe. I'll go a step further and suggest their was a handshake agreement between the Lakers owner and the Mavs owner before Nico even got word of this trade. This is speculation but I believe anyone still blaming Nico are being willfully ignorant at this point.

This's half year old...

Yes.

I don't think Harrison will speak anymore, they will eat him alive

[Archx]

For Bob and 41Dirk41.... let it fill their rage

[Mr B]

For Bob and 41Dirk41.... let it fill their rage

[41Dirk41]

For Bob and 41Dirk41.... let it fill their rage

I don't need a picture to know that was the worst trade in history... I'm more worried about those guys who thought Mavs were a contender after the trade and the NBA went big because of scary Mavs

[tribulations]

For Bob and 41Dirk41.... let it fill their rage

^^^

Not sure how others are feeling 9 months on, even with Flagg, this trade has taken my basketball soul.

[Mavrelous]

So, so you think you can tell
Heaven from Hell? Blue skies from pain?
Can you tell a green field from a cold steel rail?
A smile from a veil? Do you think you can tell?

Did they get you to trade your heroes for ghosts?
Hot ashes for trees? Hot air for a cool breeze?
Cold comfort for change? Did you exchange
A **** ATG PG coming off a finals run for a mopey, uni-brow day to davis???

How I wish you were here...

[41Dirk41]

That's the final plot twist ever.

Ready for a Netflix TV serie.

I just hope the next lottery is rigged too.

[Archx]

Apparently another Maverick player openly misses Luka... This is getting beyond ridiculous now lol... How does a GM, who gets paid millions, manage to screw things up so bad.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Mavericks/comments/1oq5f13/najis_comment_to_lukas_new_ig_post/

And also this.

Ron Harrod Jr. said that the Mavs were playing “Marvin’s Room” by Drake at shootaround yesterday. While he said the players still seem to enjoy being around each other, he said the vibe felt “sad and dark”

https://streamable.com/t1hhw6

[41Dirk41]

Some day we will finally know the truth about this trade... it's not change too much for us and the team but i don't think will be good for the league.

[Jax_23]

[Curtis] Nico Harrison's answers to each of the questions he was asked in his meeting with the Dallas media this morning

Harrison on how he responds to the outraged fanbase and why does he think Patrick Dumont should not take them up on that advice to fire him:

“Well, the beauty of Dallas is it is a passionate fanbase. For us to reach our goals, we need that fanbase. And to be honest with you, every trade I’ve made since I’ve been here has not been regarded as a good trade. 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. You didn’t see it right away, but eventually everyone agreed that it was a great trade. When I traded for Gaff and Lively, it was like, ‘Oh, he gave up way too much.’ These guys are 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 going forward is defense wins championships, and we’re built on defense. This trade cements us for that.”

Harrison on if he felt like the Mavs maximized the return for Luka, given Cuban’s “get a better deal” statement:

“When you look at this trade, we targeted AD. With our philosphy of defense wins championships, we wanted a two-way player to lead our team and that was Anthony Davis. Everyone’s going to have their criticism. I’m not sure what Mark (Cuban) said, but that’s a better question left for him. But we got what we wanted.”

Harrison on if he could do it over again, would he do it the same way given the reaction from the fan base:

“Yeah, there’s no regrets on the trade. Part of my job is to do the best thing for the Mavericks, not only today, but also in the future. Some of the decisions I’m going to make are going to be unpopular. And that’s my job and I have to stand by it. One last thing, I’ll also add that every trade I’ve done has been met with high scrutiny, and so eventually, I’ll earn the trust of this community back. Some of these trades are going to work out and they have at a high level.”

Harrison on if he sees himself in Dallas long term. Does he want to be this team’s GM in 2028, 2029?

“Yeah, I have three years left on my contract. I see myself finishing it out. In terms of Dallas, this is our home. My family, they’re going to finish school here. This is where we live, so this is where I’m living.”

Does Harrison feel like there was any underestimation on what Doncic meant to this fanbase and with that in mind, what did this trade do to his relationship with the fanbase?

“I don’t think there was an underestimation, but clearly we knew afterwards, his impact on the fanbase. I do think our intended roster we put on the floor would’ve subsided a lot of the fanbase’s vitriol, you know, because they would be out there winning. Obviously, with a lot of the injuries we weren’t able to do that and that increased and brought a lot of people that may not have even had an opinion. So that’s unfortunate.”

Does Harrison have any have any concerns about your ability to attract top talent to the Mavericks in the future, given the fallout from the trade?

“No. I don’t. I think that’s one of the reasons why I’m here. But it’s not just me. It’s Dallas. It’s one of the fifth largest metroplexes in the US. It’s a great city to live in. The fanbase is amazing. Part of the ”Fire Nico" chants, although, you would rather the fans cheer for the team and me not be the story. It’s a great fanbase and you need that fanbase to win. I think that’s an attraction. J-Kidd, a Hall of Fame point guard, is your coach. I think all of that helps to attract. It’s not just the Nico Harrison show. But to answer your question, no that won’t affect our ability to attract free agents.”

https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/mavericks/2025/04/15/mavericks-gm-nico-harrison-addresses-luka-doncic-trade-fan-outrage-future-in-dallas/

Nico Harrison on if he feels an obligation to Mavericks fans: "No, my obligations are to the Dallas Mavericks, what's in the best interests of the Dallas Mavericks. That's the most important thing."

https://streamable.com/6hib5b

Tim MacMahon: "Luka was gonna sign the supermax. Why didn't you sign him and then if you really wanted to trade him [...]"
Nico Harrison: "Well there's no guarantee he would sign a supermax"
MacMahon: "He has guaranteed it, he was bawling on the bench"
Nico: "Well like I said, we can agree to disagree"

https://www.youtube.com/live/m9FsmK6Mals?si=kL3t2-LUUSpFyy30

Dallas Mavericks CEO Rick Welts on the Luka trade: "The Golden State Warriors once traded Monta Ellis for Andrew Bogut... They got better because they had a guard named Steph Curry and Steph Curry came in and made the entire fanbase love him."

https://streamable.com/izemha

The media needs to stop. This is an organizatonal decision at the highest level. Nico is clearly the fall guy. These questions should be directed at the new owners who are hiding beind the sceens while the guy their paying takes the heat. They wanted Luka gone with no fan fare....and Nico had to do it in the middle of the night as quiet as possible. That's what I believe. I'll go a step further and suggest their was a handshake agreement between the Lakers owner and the Mavs owner before Nico even got word of this trade. This is speculation but I believe anyone still blaming Nico are being willfully ignorant at this point.

What are you smoking.... The media and committed fans need to 10x the pressure until both those clowns are run out of Dallas and can never show their face there again. This is either a conspiracy (Cooper Flagg for Luka to increase NBA ratings) or the worst trade in the history of sports, sans the Red Sox trading Babe Ruth. Those are your two options, period. If we give it the benefit of the doubt and treat this trade at face value, then the only option run these mthr fkers out of Dallas, since they are the devil. You can run this trade through infinity algorithms and it will always be the dumbest, most corrupt trade ever. And their idiotic comments continue to solidify that they're absolutely clueless about how any of these things work in the sports and basketball world. Dumont has a shiny new toy like a spoiled child but has absolutely no idea how to run an NBA franchise. So of course he's gonna hire idiots as well.

I didn't realize poor little Nico Harrison is a child and doesn't have his own agency to not be apart of this trade. They should never ever ever ever be comfortable in Dallas or be able to get away with this absolute corrupt and incompetent garbage. In case you need a case study for historical context -- see the pre-Joe Lacob Warriors. 1 playoff appearance in SIXTEEN YEARS under Chris Cohan vs one of the best dynasties ever under Joe Lacob. https://www.goldenstateofmind.com/2010/3/23/1387430/16-years-of-chris-cohan-owning-the
Night and day. If you have trash owner and trash FO, you are almost always guaranteed to have a trash and circus organization for years to come. Instead of waiting for the inevitable, it's better to kick them out now - while fan support is there and it's fresh of mind - and before they're able to stick their incompetent claws into this franchise and Dallas further.

It's not mutually exclusive, send both these clowns packing and don't let up the pressure - as fans or media - until that inevitable result happens. F them both.

Sorry if this sounded harsh, but I absolutely CANNOT STAND these types of egomaniac me-first narcissistic gaslighting corrupt people not just in sports, but in society. FIRE NIIIICOOO BOYCOTT DUMOONT

[HMFFL]

Some day we will finally know the truth about this trade... it's not change too much for us and the team but i don't think will be good for the league.

Ownership or Nico? Which one wants him gone?

Well, Nico still has a job, so I can blame the ownership now, and assume they're the ones that wanted Luka gone.

[41Dirk41]

Some day we will finally know the truth about this trade... it's not change too much for us and the team but i don't think will be good for the league.

Ownership or Nico? Which one wants him gone?

Well, Nico still has a job, so I can blame the ownership now, and assume they're the ones that wanted Luka gone.

I don't know if it was all a Nico idea (probably not) but he is the fall guy here.