The Quotes From Nico Harrison's Bizarre Top Secret Media Session Are Starting To Come Out And Naturally They're A Complete Disaster

Tim Heitman. Getty Images.

If there's been one constant during this entire Luka Doncic trade fiasco, it's that Nico Harrison and the Mavs continue to make some of the worst PR decisions imaginable. It's almost at the point where you wonder if everyone involved has some sort of humiliation kink, because without fail, at every single turn, they continue to make some of the most brain-dead decisions of all time. The trade, the Luka slander immediately after the trade, blocking him out of a promo video, throwing fans out of the arena for chanting "FIRE NICO", trying to make money off the Luka return, it's all a masterclass in how NOT to operate as an organization.

Today's disaster was, of course, this top-secret media session that Nico Harrison had with a select group of media, while not allowing cameras or recording devices.

Again I ask, who told him this was a good idea? How is it possible for a team to be this bad from a PR standpoint? Use your brain for me one time. 

Considering the quotes were all going to come out anyway, who cares if there were cameras/recording devices present during the presser? Did Nico just think none of the media in the room would report on what he said? Then again, now that we're starting to see some of these quotes, maybe we know why

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.”

Now this is your classic diversion because we ALL know the answer here. The answer is no, Nico did not maximize the deal. Even if his point about targeting AD is accurate, that still doesn't answer the question! He could have demanded Austin Reaves, he could have demanded the Lakers unprotected picks. You're trading LUKA DONCIC. Even if you ignore the part that he could have shopped Luka and just keep it to the value that he got in return when dealing with the Lakers, it's intellectually dishonest to suggest that you couldn't have maximized the return. He clearly just didn't want to admit he got swindled by Rob Pelinka, but we all have eyes!

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.”

Clearly he wasn't going to admit he regrets the decision, even though deep down, you know he probably does. How could you not? What I found funny about this answer is how contradictory it was compared to what he said immediately after the trade. Did Nico think this wasn't recorded either?

Advertisement

Remember, he punted on 10+ years of Luka for a short-term uncertainty around AD/Kyrie (who still has to sign an extension). How exactly is this what is best for the Mavs in both the short term future and the long term future? 

I'm sorry….WHAT??? There was no guarantee that Luka Doncic, who was always very vocal about being a Mav for life, who had just closed on a massive mansion in Dallas, wasn't going to sign the largest supermax extension in NBA history (for the moment)?? I dare Nico Harrison to name a single player in the NBA who turns down a supermax extension, let alone a guy who is a franchise cornerstone player. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY turns down $345M guaranteed dollars. Even if Luka did want to leave Dallas, you sign the supermax first and then demand the trade later. That's how business is done in the NBA. The fact that he even said this out loud might have been the most insane part of this entire press conference.

In reality, the Mavs didn't want to give him the supermax, so they traded him before they had to make that decision. Because you know what really pisses off your franchise player? Not giving him the supermax he easily deserves. You then run the risk of him leaving in free agency for nothing. To try and spin it as "Well, we couldn't be sure Luka would have signed it" is so patently insane I had to double and triple check that I wasn't getting Centel'd. 

I have no idea what Nico Harrison thought he was going to accomplish with this presser, but I can say with confidence that all it did was throw more gasoline onto this fire. Maybe in his mind, he thought these answers would win over the fanbase, but as a Mavs fan, I think I would be even more enraged after today's presser. It's this weird combination of gaslighting, incompetence, and arrogance that I didn't even know could exist. We see NBA teams do stupid things all the time, but I can't remember something like this, where even months later, the organization continues to make things worse. 

Advertisement

As I've been saying throughout this whole ordeal, my heart continues to go out to Mavs fans. This is all beyond fucked. I don't care who your favorite team is, no fanbase deserves to go through this shit. It's all so surreal I can't believe this is real life, and I don't even give a shit about the Mavs. What a disaster.