Nico special/ worst gms ever?

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Re: Nico special/ worst gms ever? 

Post#41 » by SkyBill40 » Thu Nov 13, 2025 5:51 pm

Surprised Ryan McDonough hasn't been listed here. What he did to the Suns (with Sarver's incompetent help and green light) was a damned shame.

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Re: Nico special/ worst gms ever? 

Post#42 » by Mephariel » Thu Nov 13, 2025 6:12 pm

maverick_41 wrote:Everyone from the Kings post 2005.
Everyone from Charlotte.
Post 2004 Dumars.

Guys who signed Mozgov and Deng to LAL and traded Ibaka to Orlando need to be investigated.

Single worst trade of the century is Luka hands down.


Nah, Monte McNair was a good GM for us. But he was pressured to make moves under Vivek. Vivek basically had a mandate for him to make the playoffs and win quickly. I never blamed him for what is happening to the Kings now. We just never had the patience.
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Re: Nico special/ worst gms ever? 

Post#43 » by Case2012 » Sat Nov 15, 2025 3:44 am

Neil Olshey needs a mention. Refused to build a real team around the best player in portlands history, handed out insane deals to bench guys/scrubs , refused deals for guys like butler and harden because he was obsessed with CJ, tied up our first round pick for 8 years for Larry Nance when he wanted Lauri but just said eff it, paid 2 picks for Covington, traded 2 picks for Zach Collins because he had an "edge" (White supremist haircut?) and passed on OG, Mitchell, Bam etc Let LMA go for nothing then woudnt let him retire here when his agent tried to get him back here for several seasons i guess(LMA was soft af and jealous of Dame anyways but still a good player), let Melo go while he had 2 more good seasons in LA, hired a grapist that had ties to the mob and no real coaching experience that was probably our worst coach in franchise history, ran the team into the ground, and was just a giant ahole in general and got fired for it when it was obvious he was a raging narcissist. Cronin is not any better, basically the same guy but nicer. There's a lot more, but i hate thinking about him. He hated Portland so much he was always making excuses for not being able to get good players because of it. Danny Ainge called him out on espn once and he shouldve been fired right there. How are you gonna manage a team for a city you vocally hate? He made a lot of money just coasting off of Dame who was the pick the previous temporary GM and scouts had for us too. It was crazy he had a job as long as he did but Allen died and his sister just let him run rampant, even giving himself an extension.
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Re: Nico special/ worst gms ever? 

Post#44 » by G R E Y » Wed Nov 19, 2025 5:01 pm

This article is devastating.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/47014061/inside-mavericks-power-struggle-nico-harrison-vs-mark-cuban

Harrison had once told Cuban that he was nicknamed "The Silent Assassin" at Nike because of his ability to quietly maneuver to get his way in business matters. Suddenly, Cuban believed that he was in Harrison's crosshairs.

"Immediately after the sale, Nico started really playing Dumont," another team source said. "He honed in. Then we went to the Finals, and Nico could do no wrong."

Harrison was adamant in talks with Dumont that the basketball operations department would function much better without Cuban's constant interference, sources said. Dumont believed he had proof of concept after the Mavs' 2023-24 season took off following trade-deadline deals to acquire Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington, albeit only after the Washington Wizards allowed Kyle Kuzma to veto a deal in which Dallas would have given up a pair of first-round picks for him, forcing the Mavericks to pivot to other targets.

"Nico did a hell of a sales job," a Mavs official said. "He took credit for everything that was done. When Patrick asked questions -- asked how we got Kyrie, how the draft happened, etc. -- [Harrison] said he was the guy. We got on a roll and went to the Finals. Fool's gold."


Neither Cuban nor Dumont are blameless for different reasons as the article explains, but Harrison is even worse than I thought. This wasn't about what was best for the team. He lied to and deceived the new hapless owner, "basketball wins championships" was a line sold to make the bitter trade seem basketball-rooted.

Two things stand out:

When someone shows or flat out tells you who they are/how they operate ('Silent assassin'), believe them.

When someone tries to isolate you from others, especially good working relationships, run.

Harrison was all about grabbing power and surrounding himself with a circle of his guys to keep it. What a devastating near year for the Mavs as a result. He will never work in a franchise again, but long term damage of such unchecked and coldly calculated selfish ambition is done.

**** you, Harrison.

p.s. who knew Kuzma inadvertently played such a key role in Harrison's rise. Telling he didn't want to go from Wiz to Mavs.
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Re: Nico special/ worst gms ever? 

Post#45 » by Homer38 » Wed Nov 19, 2025 5:05 pm

G R E Y wrote:This article is devastating.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/47014061/inside-mavericks-power-struggle-nico-harrison-vs-mark-cuban

Harrison had once told Cuban that he was nicknamed "The Silent Assassin" at Nike because of his ability to quietly maneuver to get his way in business matters. Suddenly, Cuban believed that he was in Harrison's crosshairs.

"Immediately after the sale, Nico started really playing Dumont," another team source said. "He honed in. Then we went to the Finals, and Nico could do no wrong."

Harrison was adamant in talks with Dumont that the basketball operations department would function much better without Cuban's constant interference, sources said. Dumont believed he had proof of concept after the Mavs' 2023-24 season took off following trade-deadline deals to acquire Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington, albeit only after the Washington Wizards allowed Kyle Kuzma to veto a deal in which Dallas would have given up a pair of first-round picks for him, forcing the Mavericks to pivot to other targets.

"Nico did a hell of a sales job," a Mavs official said. "He took credit for everything that was done. When Patrick asked questions -- asked how we got Kyrie, how the draft happened, etc. -- [Harrison] said he was the guy. We got on a roll and went to the Finals. Fool's gold."


Neither Cuban nor Dumont are blameless for different reasons as the article explains, but Harrison is even worse than I thought. This wasn't about what was best for the team. He lied to and deceived the new hapless owner, "basketball wins championships" was a line sold to make the bitter trade seem basketball-rooted.

Two things stand out:

When someone shows or flat out tells you who they are/how they operate ('Silent assassin'), believe them.

When someone tries to isolate you from others, especially good working relationships, run.

Harrison was all about grabbing power and surrounding himself with a circle of his guys to keep it. What a devastating near year for the Mavs as a result. He will never work in a franchise again, but long term damage of such unchecked and coldly calculated selfish ambition is done.

**** you, Harrison.

p.s. who knew Kuzma inadvertently played such a key role in Harrison's rise. Telling he didn't want to go from Wiz to Mavs.



Nico had way too much arrogance,it was crazy and sad at the same time
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Re: Nico special/ worst gms ever? 

Post#46 » by Homer38 » Wed Nov 19, 2025 5:13 pm

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Re: Nico special/ worst gms ever? 

Post#47 » by Doctor MJ » Wed Nov 19, 2025 5:23 pm

Homer38 wrote:Nico had way too much arrogance,it was crazy and sad at the same time


Part of what's so maddening to me is the fact that Nico's arrogant, yet apparently charming, demeanor, was surely part & parcel with his rise. We can tell young people to not get overconfident, but if Nico had a reason level of confidence given his competence, he probably never gets to be a big enough deal that we're discussing him now.

Broadly speaking, it's a defect in our society/species/whatever that we fall prey to con men - whether they are premeditated or accidental - and it might be the death of us.

Organizationally speaking, to me Nico is a pretty clear example of a guy that if he thrives in your organization as a star, then there's something very wrong with your organization's ability to recognize competence.

As noted before, the fact that Nico was the very Nike guy who lost Steph makes it pretty stunning to me that he was able to take on an ever more high profile position as Mavs GM. Damning to both organizations frankly.
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Re: Nico special/ worst gms ever? 

Post#48 » by SNPA » Wed Nov 19, 2025 5:53 pm

Mephariel wrote:
maverick_41 wrote:Everyone from the Kings post 2005.
Everyone from Charlotte.
Post 2004 Dumars.

Guys who signed Mozgov and Deng to LAL and traded Ibaka to Orlando need to be investigated.

Single worst trade of the century is Luka hands down.


Nah, Monte McNair was a good GM for us. But he was pressured to make moves under Vivek. Vivek basically had a mandate for him to make the playoffs and win quickly. I never blamed him for what is happening to the Kings now. We just never had the patience.

Good seems a stretch. There’s an argument Vlade made more progress from where he started. Monte was handed Fox, all his picks (ton of 2nds) and not a single bad contract. Monte actually starts in a nice position for a lot of GMs.
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Re: Nico special/ worst gms ever? 

Post#49 » by tamaraw08 » Wed Nov 19, 2025 6:25 pm

slicedbread2 wrote:Stu Jackson. His incompetence ruined the Grizzlies in Vancouver. Drafting 3 point guards in a row who managed to fail upwards by landing a job in the NBA offices in New York. Didn't help that ownership was a swinging carousel combined with a weak Canadian dollar, but man it was infuriating.

Will never forget the whole Steve Francis debacle and then trading him for chump change.


Did you forget about David Kahn?

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