Luka Dealt to Lakers: Nico Harrison is a Basketball Terrorist

[FireNicoHarrison]

Yes, after all we are the 2024 runner up... But looks like we made a step back instead the last step forward.

[SleepingHero]

@Hero_OfThe_Day
Mark Cuban speaking to Stephen A. Smith on the Luka Doncic trade, suggests that ownership regrets the move:

“I don’t think they’d do it the same way now” and “They agreed with it at the time”

When asked if he could imagine trading him, he says “no”.

Gut punch to Mavs fans.

[SleepingHero]

@Hero_OfThe_Day
Mark Cuban speaking to Stephen A. Smith on the Luka Doncic trade, suggests that ownership regrets the move:

“I don’t think they’d do it the same way now” and “They agreed with it at the time”

When asked if he could imagine trading him, he says “no”.

Gut punch to Mavs fans.

This just makes me angrier truthfully.


How big of an absolute idiot must one be to be duped into trading your generational loyal superstar by a snake oil shoe salesman.

[cow]

Go away, Mark Cuban.

[FireNicoHarrison]

@Hero_OfThe_Day
Mark Cuban speaking to Stephen A. Smith on the Luka Doncic trade, suggests that ownership regrets the move:

“I don’t think they’d do it the same way now” and “They agreed with it at the time”

When asked if he could imagine trading him, he says “no”.

Gut punch to Mavs fans.

I'm sorry Mark, you are all guilty in this story.

You've been trying to save your life for weeks, you can't do it.

[Chicagojk]

Ok enough of Cuban media tour. I don’t blame him for the Luka trade. I dont like anything about the Addelsons. Yuck. Although pickings are slim with billionaires. Many are tough to root for.

I don’t blame him for Luka trade. Can’t blame him from hiring a gm who less than a year after a great run decides to trade him. Whoever could see that. I am sure he thought Luka on another team was non negotiable. Heck, he probably would have preferred to lose him for nothing than trade him.

I do blame Cuban for the mess after 2011 though. Just mistake after mistake both on and off the court. A lucky break(s) getting Luka can hide most of the mess. Although his run after the championship was botttom third as a front office…and that is being generous.

But he gets a pass on the Luka trade for me. I just don’t want to hear from him anymore.

[WildArkieBoy]

But he gets a pass on the Luka trade for me.  I just don’t want to hear from him anymore.

Ironically, it was Cuban's lack of business expertise that left him in a position of having zero control over Mavs personnel decisions.  Even if we accept his portrayal of matters, he became reliant on some unguaranteed verbal promise made by folks he didn't really know.  At least he got his money and still has his memories, but he only has himself to blame for being powerless.

wab

[ThisIStheYear]

AD true shooting percentage of 51% as a Mav? Jeez, that’s catastrophic. He’s been terrible so far. The Mavs should have packed it in for next season, another Nico error in judgement due to pride.

[Chicagojk]

AD true shooting percentage of 51% as a Mav?  Jeez, that’s catastrophic. He’s been terrible so far. The Mavs should have packed it in for next season, another Nico error in judgement due to pride.

The offense is really bad.  I understand they have not had time to get to know another but I can live without the AD isolation plays.   I wasn't crazy when Luka did it a lot, and AD is nowhere close to Luka in isolation.

I have only seen a few plays I like.   I would like to see him more at the Free throw line and a big down low.   Max made a nice pass on a pick and role for an AD floater.   AD missed it, but I hope they incorporate more of this type of movement.  The AD isolation is not it.

[FireNicoHarrison]

AD true shooting percentage of 51% as a Mav?  Jeez, that’s catastrophic. He’s been terrible so far. The Mavs should have packed it in for next season, another Nico error in judgement due to pride.

I told you guys... Bad 3 point shooter and mediocre midrange game.

For sure our PG situation doesn't help him.

[khaled1987]

Ok enough of Cuban media tour.  

The worst part is that he defend himself by admitting he was clueless and they played him with empty promises

[omahen]

Huge Lakers win. They shot lights out and OKC didn't, but Lakers were really locked in. Their small ball is killing it (that's why DFS was +28, these are mostly the small ball minutes). OKC is switching everything and Chet/Hartenstein will have problems against Luka/Reaves/LeBron. But, I think the main factor will be three point shooting. Lakers were able to generate good looks, either their stars or open three for the other guys. Same can be said for OKC.

[cow]

Let's go Purple and Gold!

[SleepingHero]

From Marc stein

Nico Harrison had no prior connection to the Mavericks, but league sources say that a strong recommendation on his behalf was conveyed to Mark Cuban by the influential agent Jeff Schwartz, Kidd's longtime representative who would also become Harrison's agent.

Nico Harrison had no prior connection to the Mavericks, but league sources say that a strong recommendation on his behalf was conveyed to Mark Cuban by the influential agent Jeff Schwartz, Kidd's longtime representative who would also become Harrison's agent. It didn't hurt Harrison's appeal that A) he was known for his leaguewide connections and relationships thanks to his Nike role and B) San Antonio had previously tried to hire Harrison for its own front office.
Is Harrison's job in any actual jeopardy due to the overwhelmingly negative local response to the trade? No question, post-trade, is posed more often in Mavericks circles and among Mavericks fans than that one. Fire Nico has been a constant cry at Mavericks games and at sporting events (and even at a Medieval Times) all over Texas in the wake of the trade. A banner with that precise message is unmissable on the balcony of an apartment building adjacent to the arena on the corner of Victory and Nowitzki Way. It's a chant you're likely to hear a time or three Wednesday night when Doncic is back in the building for the first time since Christmas Day. Whether Dumont would actually consider such a step, however, is an unknown.
It seems a stretch, on some levels, to imagine Dumont signing off on the trade Harrison recommended and then dismissing him mere months later to appease an angry public reaction.


Giving in to such calls isn't going to bring Donic back. Yet it's also true that the noise and negativity have scarcely faded over the past two months and are bound to be whipped back to frenzy levels all over again once Donic is back in the building in Lakers colors. What will Dumont do? Several of Harrison's moves with the Mavericks were initially questioned - like the Irving trade - but then worked out. As a result, Harrison awoke Feb. 1 with a sky-high approval rating among Mavericks fans. Now it is routinely asked all over town whether Harrison can hang onto his job amid so much widespread external dismay with his decision.

[myconsumerclub]

https://youtube.com/shorts/rzTreihijNA?s...DR3kKFMZEb

[F Gump]

From Marc stein


Giving in to such calls isn't going to bring Doncic back ...

Stein, bless his heart, isn't asking the right questions. Or looking at things through the right lens.

Yes, it's true that firing Nico won't get Luka back. BUT -- it will keep Nico from doing the next bonehead move that sets the team back even further. Having Nico in charge is scary and offers no reason to believe they will ever be good again, as he squanders assets and has no clue how to get more.

What the Mavs desperately need is to fire Nico and get a skilled GM who is an expert in player evaluation and negotiation, to guide the roster rebuild going forward. Nico lacks the skills and is definitely NOT that guy. The longer Nico is here, they are just wasting time and possible opportunity. They need an expert, not a scrub.

[Scott41theMavs]

Stein, bless his heart, isn't asking the right questions. Or looking at things through the right lens.

Yes, it's true that firing Nico won't get Luka back. BUT -- it will keep Nico from doing the next bonehead move that sets the team back even further. Having Nico in charge is scary and offers no reason to believe they will ever be good again, as he squanders assets and has no clue how to get more.

What the Mavs desperately need is to fire Nico and get a skilled GM who is an expert in player evaluation and negotiation, to guide the roster rebuild going forward. Nico lacks the skills and is definitely NOT that guy. The longer Nico is here, they are just wasting time and possible opportunity. They need an expert, not a scrub.

I mean, RPJ and company had the sense to recognize that they couldn't move forward with Frank Zaccanelli running the show.

[LifeAquatic]

@Hero_OfThe_Day
Mark Cuban speaking to Stephen A. Smith on the Luka Doncic trade, suggests that ownership regrets the move:

“I don’t think they’d do it the same way now” and “They agreed with it at the time”

When asked if he could imagine trading him, he says “no”.

Gut punch to Mavs fans.

I don’t buy that Dumont has expressed regret to Cuban and told him they wouldn’t do it that way again. Cuban talking out of his arse. If that were really true, then why would Nico still have a job.

[Moviemavguy]

They've dug into the Luka situation ad nauseam, but what the hell happened with Grimes? Guy is averaging like 27 ppg since the trade. Even if you might lose him this summer, he is a RFA. You leverage that status to get more back than Martin and giving up a second. To me, that's the cherry on top of this terrible GMing thing.

[F Gump]

They've dug into the Luka situation ad nauseam, but what the hell happened with Grimes?  Guy is averaging like 27 ppg since the trade.  Even if you might lose him this summer, he is a RFA.  You leverage that status to get more back than Martin and giving up a second.  To me, that's the cherry on top of this terrible GMing thing.

Objectively, the Mavs alternative path had no chance of looking like that at all. 

Grimes was not a 27 ppg player if the Mavs had kept him. Not a chance in the world. 

In addition, RFA rights mean nothing if you can't actually match the contract. And with their other contracts, the Mavs and every other team knew that an MLE offer would get him away, with no trade needed. They chose to swap to get something in exchange that they could afford (9M player, not 14M). 

My complaint about the deal was the price, where Nico stupidly tossed in a pick while taking on a bigger contract (the pick should have been going the other direction in that case for taking on a lot of extra salary, and the whole league knew it) AND accepted damaged goods as well. It was ABYSMAL negotiating, very very bad work. 

In addition, Grimes is probably quite overrated now. He's not really the star he seems. 

He's been the focal point of the offense on a really bad team, which allows him lots of shots, but the return of Embiid, George, and Maxey will put him back where he was before. PLUS he is a so-so defender (Mavs fandom overrated him in this category A LOT) which limits his value. 

It's informative that in Philly, he is NOT a slam dunk that they will resign him (just like Dallas) because of the inflated price tag. Their original angle was to try to elevate his value and then hope for a SNT (rather than keep and pay him) because their payroll is going to be tight too, and that probably is still their plan.