"It's Always Good To Have A Desperate GM Out There." - Nico Harrison Has Been Such A Disaster That Rival Executives Are Praying The Mavs Never Fire Him

Joe Murphy. Getty Images.

To put it lightly, things haven't been great for Nico Harrison these last few months. Granted, all of it is self-inflicted, so it's hard to feel too bad for him, especially when at every opportunity he's decided to continue to make everything a billion times worse. When you string together everything that's happened since the trade bomb first dropped, it gets hard to believe that any of this stuff is real life and not just some sick and twisted joke. 

What makes this situation so unique is that there's the team/fan side, and then the side for the rest of the NBA/rival GMs etc. When you make a decision like this and then gaslight the hell out of your own fanbase, it's no surprise those fans reacted the way we're seeing Mavs fans react. I'm sure there are plenty of basketball decisions that are made which fans may not love but opposing teams understand and agree with. They have to look at things through a different lense.

But what happens when Mavs fans and opposing teams' execs are all on the same page?

Now, why do we think this exec feels this way? 

Sidenote: I will bet anything that exec is Rob Pelinka or someone tied to the Lakers given how easily he was able to swindle Nico. Either that or it's Danny Ainge, who is primed and ready to rip him off as well

This tells us that not only do Mavs fans (and anyone with a working brain) think Nico is a moron who has no idea what he's doing, but it's clear this is how other NBA front offices feel about him as well. They probably see what we all see. This Mavs plan is a disaster, and eventually once it's clear that it was a terrible idea, Nico will do everything he can to save his job. He'll be desperate. For all we know, he'll do something else that makes no sense all in an effort to fix the mess he made for himself.

And even if that's not the case, it's also pretty clear that these other teams probably want him in charge because they know they'll be able to take advantage of him in every potential trade situation moving forward. He clearly has no idea how to evaluate NBA talent and understand what a fair return is for his assets. If I'm an opposing GM, you bet your ass I want that guy to keep his job and remain in charge.

I think of it along the lines of your fantasy football league. I'm sure everyone has at least one person in their league who is a horrendous GM. Year after year, he gets ripped off in trades because he gives up his prized possessions for over the hill players who aren't what they once were, but are a name he recognizes who was once great. Close your eyes, and I guarantee you can picture whoever that is in your own league.

You keep that guy around because you know that, despite his being terrible at his job and the fact that he may ruin the competitive balance of the league by the trade deadline, there may come a point where you're in a position to take advantage of him. Now you're spending just 40 cents on the dollar for a game changing player. Once that trade goes through, the rest of your league loses their mind as the bozo GM tries his best to spinzone his decision despite it making no goddamn sense to anyone with a brain.

Now tell me, is that not what Nico Harrison is currently doing with the Mavs? 

When opposing teams are praying that you keep your job, not because you're good at it, but because they know how bad you are and they know that eventually you'll become desperate and decide to make more poor decisions as a quick fix, that's a pretty tough look. 

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One thing that I do feel gets overlooked in all this, and something that only makes it more bizarre, is that before this Luka Trade, Nico Harrison had actually made some pretty great trades! The Kyrie trade was crushed by the media, but that turned out about as well as it possibly could. His moves at the deadline for Daniel Gafford and PJ Washington were huge pieces of their Finals run. It actually looked like he was competent at running the Mavs! 

Fast forward to April 2025, and teams are praying he keeps his job just so they can take advantage of him because, as it turns out, he has no idea what he's doing. Life sure does move fast in the NBA, but it's hard to disagree at this point.