11:34 am: The Mavericks have made it official, announcing in a press release that they’ve parted ways with Harrison and elevated Finley and Riccardi as co-interim general managers, as previously reported. While Finley and Riccardi will run the front office for now, the Mavs indicated that they’ll conduct a “comprehensive” search for a permanent replacement for Harrison.
In addition to the press release, Dumont put out an open letter to fans addressing the decision.
“No one associated with the Mavericks organization is happy with the start of what we all believed would be a promising season,” Dumont’s letter reads, in part. “You have high expectations for the Mavericks, and I share them with you. When the results don’t meet expectations, it’s my responsibility to act. I’ve made the decision to part ways with General Manager Nico Harrison.
“Though the majority of the 2025-26 season remains to be played, and I know our players are deeply committed to a winning culture, this decision was critical to moving our franchise forward in a positive direction.
“I understand the profound impact these difficult last several months have had. Please know that I’m fully committed to the success of the Mavericks.”
9:25 am: The Mavericks are expected to move on from embattled president of basketball operations and general manager Nico Harrison, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line, who reports (via Twitter) that Harrison’s dismissal is viewed as “imminent.”
ESPN’s Shams Charania and Tim MacMahon (Twitter link) confirm Stein’s reporting, stating that Harrison is expected to be let go at a 10:00 am Central time meeting on Tuesday.
MacMahon said on Monday that he believed it was a matter of “when, not if” Harrison will be fired, indicating that governor Patrick Dumont‘s trust in the Mavs’ top basketball executive has “disintegrated.” Christian Clark of The Athletic echoed that reporting this morning, writing that Harrison’s exit was considered inevitable.
A former Nike executive, Harrison had a significant hand in constructing a Mavericks roster that advanced to the NBA Finals in 2024, making key deals for P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford during that season. However, he has made a handful of missteps since then, most notably sending Luka Doncic to the Lakers last February in a shocking trade that incited a revolt among fans in Dallas.
While the Doncic blockbuster has overshadowed the rest of the Mavs’ recent moves, Harrison has made other questionable roster decisions within the past year, including another 2025 deadline deal that sent Quentin Grimes to Philadelphia for Caleb Martin. That trade moved the Mavs so close to their hard cap that they were unable to add any reinforcements – even on 10-day contracts – when their roster was decimated by injuries during the second half.
After missing the playoffs in the spring, the Mavericks were thrown a lifeline with a long-shot draft lottery win — they claimed the No. 1 overall pick despite having just a 1.8% chance and used that selection to draft top prospect Cooper Flagg. However, while Flagg figures to be the long-term franchise player in Dallas, his arrival hasn’t helped turn things around in the short term.
The Mavs are off to a 3-8 start this season, with a 2-5 record at home, where fans have frequently regaled the team with “Fire Nico” chants. As MacMahon writes for ESPN, that chant bubbled up several times during Monday’s loss to the Bucks, which was the first game Dumont had attended since the regular season opener.
While Dumont ultimately signed off on the Doncic trade last season, a fan who had a courtside conversation with the Mavericks’ majority owner at Monday’s game told Clark that Dumont said he “feels horrible” about the deal.
Injuries have played a part in the Mavs’ struggles since February’s trade deadline. Anthony Davis, the centerpiece of the return in the Doncic deal, appeared in just nine games for Dallas last season and has missed six of 11 contests so far this season due to a calf strain. Point guard Kyrie Irving, who became more important than ever without Doncic on the roster, sustained an ACL tear in early March and has been out since then.
Still, the Mavs knew entering the offseason that they wouldn’t have Irving available for a significant chunk of the season and Harrison’s most significant move to address that hole – signing free agent D’Angelo Russell – hasn’t worked out so far. Russell has started just three of 11 games this fall and hasn’t played up to his usual standards, making just 37.3% of his field goal attempts, including 27.8% of his three-point tries.
With Harrison on the way out, there has been a “push” from some members of the organization to try to bring back veteran executive Dennis Lindsey, according to Stein (Twitter link). A former advisor to Harrison in Dallas, Lindsey was hired in 2024 by the Pistons as their senior VP of basketball operations.
Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link), meanwhile, suggests there has been some chatter around the NBA about the possibility of head coach Jason Kidd moving into a front office role.
For now though, the Mavs figure to install an interim replacement for Harrison, per Stein and Mannix. Assistant general managers Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi are among the top candidates to take on increased roles, Mannix adds (via Twitter).
It remains to be seen what sort of vision a new head of basketball operations will have for the Mavs going forward — rebuilding around Flagg is a possibility, but not necessarily an inevitability. For what it’s worth, Stein reports (via Twitter) that Davis’ agent Rich Paul has established a strong relationship with Dumont and that the two parties communicate regularly.
When you trade your franchise player for pennies on the dollar without getting any real pick compensation, you get a short leash.
Side note this is a story for all GM’s to follow (I’m looking at you Jon Horst in Milwaukee).
All mavs fans saying about time…
Arc, is there ever a right time to trade your franchise player who already had a max deal? lol
What made that trade even worse is not letting other teams offer a bigger package for him. You don’t trade your best player without getting the biggest and highest price for them. Everyone knows AD is injury prone so why would you trade for him? Its Like Zion Williams yes he could help any team to a playoff spot but he is so injury prone his value is not high.
They would have made out like bandits if they actually held a bidding war, problem is that if they did that, PR in Dallas would be tougher than November 22 1963.
arc hit the nail on the head. Only negotiating with the Lakers and not even allowing other teams to know that Luka is available is not only incredibly stupid but it is (in the big picture for the league) very suspicious, especially when the Mavs defied odds and got Cooper Flagg.
that #1 pick falling to Mavs when they had almost no chance to get it showed teh NBA rigs the draft
I agree but not all the time. They look out for what’s best for everybody. Not for just one team. You know they wanted Luka in LA.
So as part of this the mavericks had to make sure Kyrie blows an ACL so that they don’t make the playoffs. Then all the other lottery teams had to agree to get screwed so that Dallas could get flag? Not sure you are convincing me.
Only getting 1 FRP and Max Christie was either insane or corrupt.
Thats why they got Cooper lol.
He was due 350 mill 5 yrs in his second year. Only got 160 from Lakers three yrs.
I have found the solutions for Mavs
Keep Flagg
Trade everyone else
Let’s speak loud
Trade
Trade
Trade
It’s crazy because until this firing I was convinced there’s no way a man was this stupid. That it had to be at the behest of ownership. But if that was the case firing him now doesn’t really add up. They’re staring down a season of anger and he was taking all the hits. Will Dallas fans realize they should be angry at their owners and perhaps even Cuban for everything playing out like this?
Mavs fans should understand that the owners are scapegoating Nico in hopes of quieting the well deserved uproar.
It’s not like the fans can do anything to remove Dumont…
He absolutely took the hit for owner. They didn’t want to pay Luka max money. NBA wanted a big star in LA with Bron leaving. So they rigged the draft. I 100% believe that. NBA is big business. Sometimes you have to do what’s best for Everyone ……
Cuban selling the team to people that only care about money and not a championship is the only thing i see Cuban doing wrong. He sold to nepto out of state rich elites. They never care about winning just making more money.
They care about money. And paying a player 300 million is not good use of that money, if you can’t convince that player to get into the kind of shape he needs to be to lead your team to a championship.
I don’t understand how the media and fans ignore the fact that Luka refused to conduct himself like a championship caliber superstar.
How do you push your team to put in all the work they need to just to have a chance to win a championship when the leader of the team is laying around looking like a fat rec leaguer.
Jokic is not in the best shape of a NBA player but still is one of teh top 3 players in the league. Using teh Luka not in shape excuse doesn’t hold up when he isthe best player on your team and at a young age.
Compare Joker to what he was his first few seasons. It’s obvious that he dedicated himself to being the best possible player he could be.
If they could have given Luka the deal that he’s getting from the Lakers, I don’t believe they would have traded him.
I don’t understand why it’s so hard for you guys to admit that Luka should have gotten in shape.
He’s a great player, but he is not perfect.
Please.
You don’t become a top 5 player in the league “laying around looking like a fat rec leaguer”.
Luka produced 28.2 ppg/8.2 rpg/7.7 apg with 2 spg before the trade. A smart GM keeps working with the player to get him to understand he needs to be in top shape without resorting to a trade.
@Jaycee65: “if you can’t convince that player to get into the kind of shape he needs to be to lead your team to a championship.”
He literally had them in the Finals *the previous year*. It is mind-boggling to me that people still repeat the narrative that Luka “wasn’t in shape” when it originated from NICO HARRISON.
He hasn’t played D since he came to NBA. Ballers know that. NBA players know that. Why has he lost 33 lbs in LA …. Why …. For the beach lol.
And losing in those finals motivated Luka so much that he came back in the worst shape of his career and had to be shut down so they could get him ready to play.
In my opinion that was the last straw.
If losing in the finals can’t light a fire under you, exactly what will you do when you’re sitting on a guaranteed 300 million?
So Luku didn’t want to train and diet like Nico wanted him to and Nico was convinced he never would “get in shape.” AD fit Nico’s vision of what an NBA star should be doing in terms of fitness. But they both miss significant game because of injury! I think Nico was arrogant and didn’t do the franchise any favors by trading Luka to his “friend” for AD. If you want to move Luka see what teams were offering.
He’ll never GM in the NBA again.
He did what the owners wanted. They didn’t want to pay Luka. So it’s not all on Nico.
They wanted him to take time off to get in shape. Maybe that is his shape? LOL. If Irving had not got injured and if AD was also not injured then Dallas is killing the league and Niko is a genius. But those are big “ifs” and instead Luka is doing what he always has done: dominating with his slightly rotund physique.
Didn’t you see the articles detailing how Luka spent this off season working out like he never has before?
I just saw a clip of Luka breaking down the defense in the half court and elevating for a vertical two hand slam.
He rarely dunked the ball at all the past few seasons.
Either he was trying to conserve energy, or he didn’t want to risk pulling a muscle.
If he had shown that much dedication to his body, Dallas would have gladly given him that 300 million dollar contract.
Didn’t see it. But he looks about the same weight as he did last season. I’m sure the trade was a wake up for him.
Barkley was also a dominant player with a little extra in the middle.
He has lost plenty of weight. He has a burst that has been missing the last few years.
There were plenty of articles detailing how the Mavericks were trying to get him to be more conscientious about his health.
No one is saying that it was a good trade, but the fans and media ignoring Luka’s fault in this is weird.
I remember all kinds of videos detailing James Hardens poor defense, but y’all just ignore Luka’s shortcomings.
No one commenting on this site thinks he’s a good defender. Steph is also bad but at least he tries to move his feet. Luka often walks back and complains rather than concentrating on his assignment. Getting in shape won’t change Luka’s attitude about D. He’s a great offensive player but like Steph probably needs players around him that can help on D.
@Jaycee
“If he had shown that much dedication to his body, Dallas would have gladly given him that 300 million dollar contract.”
Meaningless speculation.
What part is meaningless and what part is speculative?
All of that sentence is meaningless speculation.
We are all voicing our opinions. None of us have any more knowledge about what went into the trade than the other.
So it’s all meaningless.
But since the team had been trying to get Luka to dedicate himself to being fit for years, I stand by belief that they would have kept him if he showed that he was willing to do that.
The facts are he lost 32 lbs for this NBA season.
He NEVER did that in Dallas in the 7 yrs he was there. He was over been 300 lbs in off season in Dallas. And has been weighed at 270 lbs in 2024-25 season. Search it. Search early stories of him in nba. And what vet pkayers thought if his D.
Al does have a legitimate point
Ton of blame has to fall on the owners here
Nico deserves to fall on the sword but this wasn’t a rouge mission by him and him alone
Cuban should just go away completely, his words are completely irrelevant to anything outside the Shark Tank today and he is sounding more and more a fool every time he opens his mouth
Because the fat rec leaguer is better than every in shape person on your team?
Now go back in history and find the player that was unwilling to sacrifice to be the best player he could be that led his team to a championship.
It takes more than skills to be that type of leader.
Teams usually follow the lead of their best player.
Shaq won because he had Kobe as his co-star. Kobe provided the drive that Shaq lacked.
Yeah thats like Davey J saying Curry should have won 10 MVPs and 10 rings if it wasn’t for Kerr. Or that Warriors will get Giannis for last 4 yrs.
Dough Boy never won anything in Dallas. Not even an argument with the refs. Let us know when he decides to play D.
There are better ways to resolve that situation than giving him away for pennies on the dollar for an older player with similar issues.
I can agree with that. Can you guys admit that Luka was wrong in how he handled his business when it came to preparing himself to play an 82 game season?
That’s the problem I have had with the fans and media long before the trade.
Brian Windhorst was the only media person to talk about Luka’s lack of professionalism.
That’s ridiculous.
Cuban sold majority, but was told he would remain governor. An owner of any company can’t sell his business?
Dumont relied on Nico. The problem I have with Dumont is the chit he talked about Doncic on the way out. Yes, obviously, it was the worst trade in NBA history, but the dude obviously doesn’t know basketball. But his chit talking is unforgivable.
Nobody told Cuban he’d be governor. He’s been threatening to release emails that prove the NBA forced him out. There’s a reason why he keeps threatening to release the proof instead of just releasing it.
It’s not real.
What Nico has said that the new owners promised him that he can remain as the governor, but they reneged on that.
He has brought up that Silver said that he cannot stay governor, but essentially the new owners didn’t want him to stay on.
Cuban is smart enough to not rely on a pinky promise. If he cared, it would have been part of the sale in writing but here we are. He didn’t care until they sold Luka and it reflected poorly on him.
If a billionaire is dumb enough to not get something like that in writing, he needs to stfu and go away. Or stop lying.
Cuban is a fool for not getting it in writing. the new owners are nepto babies from a guy who made his money gambling and paying off politicians to get around the law. He now must live with his mistake and they never intended to give him any power just a made up job.
He will never work in another FO again. I hope for his sake Nike wants him back
This just feels long overdue. Nico was just so bad at his job.
Holding a closed negotiation with the Lakers, to the exclusion of 28 other teams, is just bad business. Nico decimated any leverage he could have had by his own actions. The trade wouldn’t have been nearly as bad if Dallas got several first round picks, a couple up and coming players, and a salary match. Could have happened easily with open negotiations
It seems like it’s way too late to fire him now. They should’ve fired that idiot when he pulled the trigger on the Luka deal. He single-handedly set that franchise back at least 5-10 years now.
Now, with the way they’ve started this season, they’re likely going to have to trade off their other pieces to recoup some picks and/or some players on expired deals to open up cap space around Flagg, AD (which is a toss up because he’s always hurt) and Kyrie (whenever he comes back from ACL injury this season)
“They should’ve fired that idiot when he pulled the trigger on the Luka deal”
I feel like any competent owner would have fired him for even proposing it. Ownership had to sign off on it. If you are the owner and the GM brings you this trade and you aren’t even getting Reaves or extra picks or anything, and then he tells you it’s because he exclusively negotiated with one team, you have to A) reject the trade, and B) fire the GM on the spot.
Absolutely. And he had minority owner Cuban to use as a resource to vet the trade, and failed to do so.
People have said this might have been a plan to tank the team’s value to help the owners move the team to las Vegas – is that move still a possibility?
The answer is C. Laugh, reject the trade and fire the GM!!!
Also very true. And to give him an extra 9 months after trading Luka? lol I hope the owners realize the heavy consequences they are taking on now from this
The problem is Dumont knows nothing about basketball, literally nothing. And that’s all the proof one needs to know he was only ever interested in the money. He, perhaps not unwisely in normal circumstances, wanted to defer to his GM and let him do his job. So in a way, he was a bit unlucky buying a team whose GM is insane and ruined the franchise in a flash.
Not that I have any sympathy for him. When you buy a product you have no idea how it works, this is the risk you take. And it’s not like he couldn’t do his due diligence prior to the deal, a minimal amount of which would’ve thrown up a bunch of red flags.
Adam Silver rigged a trade that destroyed this mans career – zero chance Nico approached the Lakers about a trade that would land #1 pick
That is just not true and really feel bad for you if you actually believe this.
Yeah Nico just happened to hold exclusive negotiations with the lakers didn’t let 28 other teams make a bid on doncic cause that’s common and what all GMs do every day when discussing trades
And the Dallas mavericks just happened to land the number 1 overall pick after trading doncic having the 4th worst odds at 1.8%, aka 18 times out of 1,000 drafts
Total conspiracy theory though. Wonder why people believe the nba helped make doncic to LA happen to replace LeBron and keep the cash cow that is the LA market relevant
So the 28 other teams in the league who can fire Silver with a majority vote all agreed to this?
Hey isn’t the nba a profit sharing league where they share significant portions of revenue with both teams and players? Almost like more money the nba makes more money players make and more money teams make. Wild notion that money profit mula is more important to businesses than winning or losing.
Hornets are butt cheeks regardless where Luka plays. Least they get some money for existing.
They also make money from ticket and merchandise sales. The whole league wants LA to be the best team. All the reporters, staff people, agents and players are in on it. Sure, fine.
Most money comes from tv deals. Lakers have 34 out of 82 nationally televised games this year. 39 last year.
Merchandise makes up 9%
Ticket sales make up 20%
Tv deals account for 50%
Womp womp
Yes you win you definitely convinced me.
“Rich people want more money”
Idk why that’s a shocker to you all but clearly it is for some reason.
No I believe that. Just not that Luka to LA was an inside job by the league office. There are so many ways to get good players to a team that are less dramatic. How about Luka just signs with LA when his contract is up. Or LA tanks, then they get Flagg in the lottery. Or how about LaMelo, the social media darling and all star vote leader, is still in charlotte instead of being moved to a big market. Or how boston, another huge fan base, being forced to break up their team. Or the Knicks being terrible forever. Or Wemby going to SA. If the goal is to get the best players to the biggest markets, have those teams be the best and do it without tipping off the fans then the league is failing.
The people who watch the NBA and think its rigged at the same time are odd AF.
Rigged? No. But do leagues like nba nfl nhl do things that make sure odds of getting what they want are in their favor? You’d be a fool to think otherwise esp since the leagues are so heavily involved in sports betting these days.
Not a shocker the mlb lets the dodgers defer billions of dollars on contracts lowering their cbt tax hit but padres try to sign Aaron Judge and add on dead years to lower their cbt tax hit and the mlb was ready to step in and veto that contract. MLB makes more money when dodgers are good.
Not a coincidence the nfl few years back picked the officiating crew known for calling more fouls on home teams than away teams when the chiefs had to go Baltimore.
So is it rigged? No. Do leagues make decision to push odds in their favor or getting what they want? Yup
Where else are you going to be able to watch the best players in the world play basketball?
Enjoying watching basketball at the highest level has nothing to do with the fact that the league has proven it rigs Finals occasionally.
See 2006 and 2016!
I don’t believe the L is rigged. But I do believe they encourage trades. And rig some drafts like Cooper one. For the betterment of the League. They protect their business. And do whats best for everyone. This is big business man……. They keep it that way.
So all of the other teams are in on the rigging and fine with Dallas getting the first pick? You think the other billionaires are going to let that happen? It makes no sense.
I don’t know if everyone is in on it. I doubt it. But they look out for whole not the few. All teams at some point get help. Top 10 picks are very valuable. Not just about first pick.
They wouldn’t need to be in on it, but overall…yes. When big markets are good, the NBA does better. When the NBA does better, owners make more $. Owners like more $.
Why would Philly, Brooklyn or any of the other lottery teams agree to send Flagg to Dallas? Wouldn’t they say send him to us cause we are a big market. Why would anyone agree to let LA just have Luka. They are going to get ratings in LA no matter what. Wouldn’t the Knicks or boston say send us Luka? The teams run the league by majority vote. I don’t see how the rest of the league would look at this and see it as good for them.
First you have to be in top 3 to get a #1 pick. Dallas was eight. Of course the L wanted Luka in LA. Bron is leaving. Blazers even bought out Ayton for them. Dallas owners weren’t going to pay Luka. So the L handled it. They made sure they got Cooper. Nets are 5-7 yrs away from playoffs even with Cooper. Even Sixers got help with VJ. They don’t deserve that pick. NBA doesn’t do it every year. Imo they do get involved to help outcomes. To this day I believe Ewing was gifted to Knicks. I believe they do get involved every now and then.
Silly conspiracy theory
1. Silver’s whole stewardship has revolved around parity in the NBA, and against super teams.
2. That kind of stuff comes out eventually, and Silver has no incentive personally to risk his neck for that.
3. If that was the case Nico would be singing. Why should he take the heat on it if it wasn’t his doing?
Silver has every incentive to do so. $$$$$
Lakers needed a new face of the franchise and the nba makes more money when lakers are relevant. It’s not rocket science. Silvers 1 job is to make the league money. That’s it.
“The NBA makes more money when the Lakers are relevant”
Please please please point me to some actual numbers that back this up
Sure that’s easy.
Near the end of the lakers 2000s dynasty revenue growth was stagnant
Lakers dynasty ended around 2011. If you look at revenue charts you’d see slow growth from 2005 to 2010 and a decline at 2011/2012.
2011 lakers lost cont championship
2012 lakers lost 1st round
During the bad years 2013-2016 the nba increased revenue maybe 2 mill max
Around 2016/2017 rumors began circulating about LeBron to LA and you’ll see a significant spike at about 2 mill in 1 year reflecting that notion. LeBron made the jump in 2018 where it peaked. The infamous LeBron and Lonzo Ball covering their mouths with their jerseys comes to mind.
Covid hurt 2019-2020 seasons revenue obviously. But coming out of it with LeBron and AD in LA you see another significant spike in 21/22 after lakers won the c19 championship
This is unbridled lunacy. I don’t even really want to have this conversation because it will lead nowhere but please give me some sources for what you’re looking at.
Didn’t dispute anything I said lmao. Cause you can’t. Why even reply?
Go look at lakers season records compared to league revenue from 2005-2021/2020 season
Not hard a monkey could do it
I wasn’t disputing what you were saying… I asked you to tell me where you got what you were saying. I made it very obvious that I was barely trying to interact with this tin foil hat nonsense.
Thank you though for giving me some reading material. I’ll be back shortly.
link to google.com
Most Watched NBA Finals ever is Bulls vs Jazz in 1998. What do you think happens if it is Luka and 32yr old Bron today. Versus that MJ Bulls team. Big market always helps. Viewership and finances. NBA always wants at least one big market team.
Think about all the people involved. How many would have to keep their mouths shut. Plus, ok let’s go with Silver wants to do it. The Lakers obviously want to do it. But why would the Mavs go for it?
If your answer is cause they are guaranteed getting Flagg, now think about all the people that would need to be involved with that. Ernst and Young, who oversee the integrity of the draft, would have to put their reputation at risk. Their annual revenue is $51 Billion, and it’s all based on the idea that they can be trusted.
Then all other 28 teams, especially the lottery teams, would have to go along with it, at least not ask for an investigation.
There has been zero leaks about this. You cannot have dozens of organizations, with several people on each organization having to know, the reporters who would love the scoop is exposing this, for this to not come out, OR for Silver to be willing to take the chance.
Yeah. Nobody knew Sacramento was going to trade Haliburton to the Pacers at the time as well, or that he was even available in trade talks.
Numerous teams are on record saying they had no clue Sacramento was shopping him at the time and had they known they’d have outbid the offer or tried to outbid it.
Well now that you mention it. Does anyone actually get to see all the balls prior to being loaded into the machine for randomization? Or are you just told there’s 265 for the hornets and 18 for the mavericks, assuming 1000 balls are used. Anyone actually been able to verify on the public end?
Ernst and Young manages it. Their revenues were $51 Billion last year. Their core claim is their integrity and understanding numbers
How much is the NBA paying them to make it worth their while?
And I would bet the lottery teams have representatives in there too.
Yeah. And voting machines claim safest elections in history yet people claim ol Joe stole an election and people claim ol Donny stole this election. Just cause you claim integrity and safety and standards and values doesn’t actually make it so I’m afraid
“Why would rich people risk it all for more money”
Idk ask Chauncey Billups Terry Rozier emmmuel Clase and all the other guys in every league getting busted for gambling recently and all the others to come. The guardians pitcher literally threw away a 8-9 figure pay day over 7,000 dollars in bets. Greed make people do silly things
First, the voting machines were proven to be accurate. Fox News had to pay $800 million for defaming the voting machine company, and newsmax also had to pay millions.
That’s exactly the point. Anyone can say anything, like in this case. However, when they had to provide evidence they couldn’t do it against Dominion, and there are no facts here.
Like they say, opinions are like a-holes. Everyone has one! Facts and evidence are different.
Yes Johnny B. These lottery-conspiracy-Adam-Silver-puppet-master takes all remind me of the Qanon nut-jobbers. No offense intended but y’alls crazy.
These are the same lazy excuses people use for every, “conspiracy theory”, yet they keep turning out to be true. You can believe that a huge business like the NBA is on the up and up, everyone over 12 knows better.
Why how many lol. Its one company that handles the lottery selections. Could be two guys. All about the year and talent in draft. Like I said. They don’t do it every year. Only when they need to. This also gives them control over the SERIAL TANKERS …..
The odds for Mavs to get #1 pick — they had a 1.8% chance to land the #1 pick.
The odds for Sixers to get the #3 pick — they had a 10.6% chance to land the #3 pick in draft.
NBA Process lols ……….
Who has a super team ….. the Thunder. All thru draft
NBA doesn’t make moves ti help a team/franchise. It makes moves Sometimes to help the whole League.
You have parity right now. I doubt Thunder repeat.
Silver’s stewardship revolves around his banking buddies. He literally wakes up in suite and rubs his hands. There’s a reason team owners come from a certain demographic.
I never believed in NBA conspiracy theories until Nico Harrison. But no one is THAT dumb, and obstinate, and shortsighted. And then they get Flagg? Come on. Suddenly everything Tim Donaghy said made sense.
So yeah. This guy is an important part of NBA history for a lot of us.
So either he really is the brains behind the Doncic deal, the new owners took complete advantage of this useful idiot or he got paid handsomely. Either way I think Cuban sold out your city to Vegas and Nico was taking all the strays. Nothing about this adds up. Now maybe Dallas fans will turn on the new owners like they should’ve from day 1.
Billionaire Dumont isn’t obsessed with basketball like Cuban and Ballmer are – he trusted Nico and now is scapegoating him.
Typical billionaire BS.
The only real question remaining is was Nico really this stupid, or was he acting as a double agent for the Lakers?
If you don’t know anything about basketball, how is trusting the guy who you pay millions per year to know about basketball, typical billionaire BS? You’d rather have Dumont making the decisions with no input?
Really hard to have such a bad take that the billionaires are being defended. Kudos to you.
The BS is his immediately firing Nico after a 3-8 start with Kyrie out for likely the entire season and AD missing half the games so far – so much for trusting him.
If I was Dumont, I’d have checked with fellow billionaire and still part owner of the Mavs Mark Cuban before signing off on one of the worst trades in NBA history!
This is just dumb in every way possible
Hysterical. All of this is so freaking hysterical… except all the rest of the main characters are still awful and still in place. But funny for Nico. LOL Good times.
Vlade Divac, Travis Schlenck, Nico Harrison, maybe Donnie Nelson…?
Luka is a PBO/GM assassin
I think the owners, trusting in Nico, approved the trade. Nico probably laid out all sorts of numbers and stats and convinced ownership it would work. They trusted him but the start of this season and other factors over the past few months, they completely lost faith.
The only blame I have for ownership is that they blindly let Nico make those decisions. Ownership doesn’t have a basketball mindset or IQ, and trusted Nico.
They realize now, they were wrong and got fleeced.
The losers in all of this are the non-Lakers fans, Mavericks fans chief among them. Lakers get bailed out of their Lebron/AD core and get gifted a generational franchise talent. Lakers are the luckiest franchise in sports history. Gifted Luka, Lebron chooses them, got Kobe for Vlade Divac, got Shaq as an unrestricted free agent (in a non-bird rights era with no opportunity for Orlando to match), gifted the pick for Magic Johnson, gifted the pick for James Worthy, got Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for less than his value, same with Wilt, etc. Just unreal sports luck.
Seriously lol. Who would you rather have today.
Luka ——- with 350 million dollar contract
—— OR ——
Cooper, AD, Christie ….
Kirye injury threw a monkey wrench in the plot lol.
Kyrie could be back for playoffs this year.
This trade was rigged by the NBA and agent Paul! The NBA has always rigged things geared towards the Lakers! There is no way that Dallas would receive the number one pick unless it was rigged! There is no way a competent GM wanting to trade a top 5 young player and not shop him around. This whole thing is rigged!
Don’t forget Harrison and the mavs tried everything to get out of the lottery knowing they will be Eliminated first rund without Kyrie.
They did that because they wanted to Show this was a good trade.
Anyone who believes that the Dončić trade was all Harrison’s idea, probably also inquired about the opportunity of a lifetime to buy that beautiful piece of ocean front property in Phoenix, AZ.
The NBA needed a new young superstar for their Hollywood big market darling. One who, on top of it all, could possibly provide old man LeBron with another championship.
The Mavs employed said young superstar and also recently had switched ownership from a wanna-be GM over to the clueless proprietors of a Vegas gambling outfit, who couldn’t care less about the sport of basketball outside of its generated profits.
The rest is easy to comprehend.
A corrupt franchise basketball league concluded a clandestine deal with Mavs ownership in order to gift Hollywood Basketball its long-desired new young superstar and in exchange guaranteed to send the coveted 2025 No. 1 draft pick to Dallas through their rigged draft “lottery” behind closed doors.
Poof… both sides are as happy as a duck in orange sauce. Hollywood Basketball got its new messiah and the Vegas gambling outfit gets to pocket the hundreds of millions in projected salaries of the departed superstar. The gullible fans will be fleeced and strung along with the glamour of the incoming, comparatively cheap star rookie and promises of a bright future. Money in the bank.
Should things not go to plan, there’s always a sacrificial lamb waiting to be blamed and fired while the Vegs outfit re-emerges as clean as a whistle. Or so the Dumont clan thought.
Add the recent sale of Hollywood Basketball, where that new young superstar and its accompanying promises of a bright and profitable future might have added a couple of bucks to the final price tag.
Rumor has it that an overjoyed Jeanie Buss intentionally lost a handsome sum of cash, garnished with a thank-you note, on a recent trip to Vegas in one of the Dumont’s joints.
And didn’t care about paying Luka what he isn’t worth. Cause in revenue you can argue he is. But not on the game floor, oneWay player. Plus going to LA meant his max deal went from 70 mill a yr to 50 mill a yr. The NBA new what they were doing. Tgey are a business……
Aside from the mind-numbing stupidity that was the Luka trade, this guy was just bad at his job. It’s almost as if hiring a shoe salesman to be the GM of an NBA team was a horrible idea…
I can’t believe he held onto his job this long.
Nico traded Luka because he wanted to be the star that brought a championship to the Mavs. He wanted to be seen as the genius who made the tough decisions.
Nico seems to be on the spectrum. If you watch his interviews, he behaves like he is. Not saying this as an insult, but it can help explain his comment that he realized that the fans liked Luka, but was surprised how much they loved him.
I swear I’m not picking an internet fight. But this comment is hysterical given your passionate argument against a conspiracy.
If I get your position: a conspiracy is outlandish, but there’s enough oddity here that your take is Nico Harrison has a mental disability?
I mean. Okay, that would actually explain a lot, and maybe you’re right. But I’m a guy with lots of autism in his family, but it sure seems like you aren’t getting a MORE likely explanation for all this to say the guy has that instead of a league worth billions is protecting its financial interests in shady ways.
Either way: we can all agree this was crazy.
Autism isn’t a mental disability. If you really feel that way please understand your family members know or sense it and it makes them feel bad for simply existing. Not trying to be a dick but this is based on a book written by 30 different autistic kids who were grown up. They all said something along these lines.
Change the diaper of a 16 year old who’s non- verbal and tell me it’s not a disability. Keep your book, keep your sympathy, and go after the guy who used autism to explain an NBA trade, not the guy who lives this every day.
Not trying to be a dick.
Austin can be a mental disability. It’s a spectrum.
You have anywhere from high functioning autism to non verbal autism that affects their ability to communicate and their ability to comprehend language in general
It’s not a diss to call it a mental disability when there are those with Austin who do have diminished mental capabilities.
For the GM to not realize how much the fans loved Luka and the impact it would have on the fan base and this team revenue and worth had to go a long way into trading Luka.
For example, it would probably have made sense for the Lakers to have traded Kobe last year or two of his career for some assets, or even the Warriors considering trading Curry to a contender (before acquiring Jimmy) for some assets, but neither franchise would do it cause how much the fan base loved them. And this is talking about at the end of their careers.
For Nico not to appreciate the fans reaction, even if the Mavs were winning this year, has tinge a disconnect with understanding emotions.
Again, it wasn’t an insult. Musk and Gates are on the spectrum, and they are absolute geniuses and a huge credit to humanity. Just pointing out another reason why this trade took place to start with.
What’s the crowd gonna chant during blowouts now tho?
This is exactly what Dumont is trying to stop.
“LET’S GO VEGAS” *clap, clap, clap clap clap*
Nico got AD, Christie, Copper for a fat Luka.
So fat he had to lose 33 lbs in LA. So he can fit in the
LA restaurants. And the new designer suits. Luka was owed 350 mill max deal in Dallas. That for a ONEWAY
player. The OneWay Wonder isn’t worth MAX money. He only plays ONE way. He’s a max deficiency on defense.……. At 27 yrs old has finally decided to get in REAL shape. Wow Gee holy cow Thank You Luka.
SGA is the MVP cause he is a top 10 player on DEFENSE in a 2Way sport.
Nico should of gotten another pick. But then the fix would not have been in. I take Cooper, AD, Christie every day, any time, all the time.
Cooper Flagg plays ten times better D than Luka Right Now ….
Man, you’re really going to dig your heels in on your Luka hatred lmao. You’re wrong about it.
If you care about a player being healthy, you don’t trade him for Anthony Davis. Christie is merely a solid player, and they didn’t trade for “Copper”. They traded for one first round pick and got suspiciously lucky that it ended up being the first overall. We could just as easily be looking at Egor Demin on the Mavs.
“I take Cooper, AD, Christie every day, any time, all the time.”
Look at the Mavs record, lol. Foolish to want that over Luka.
“Cooper Flagg plays ten times better D than Luka Right Now”
Luka is averaging 37.1/9.4/9.1 with 1.7 steals this year. Have fun with Flagg’s defense but Luka is killing it right now.
Not hate lol. Tough love.
He isn’t close to SGA. So should not be compared to top 20 players. On offense he is top 20, top 10 for some. Its 2way sport. I will never let him forget it till he starts playing D.
Come find me after 65 gms. Is he playing D in LA. Or did just lose weight for the red carpet lol
There have been many primarily offensive players that have led their teams to championships.
Your attempts to put him down simply make you look silly, while he’s leading the league in ppg, 15th in rpg and 6th in apg and he’s at least average on defense.
I haven’t watched him play D this yr. I will take your word he is avg. That would be leveling up, for him. At 8-3 Lakers off to a nice start. Give him 60 gms and we will see if he gains all the weight back. And how many gms he doesn’t show up to play D. He is the new Harden. I don’t see anything to get historically crazy about. Plenty of time left this season.
You are right there have been plenty of players offense. That doesn’t mean we give them a pass on D. Dirk used to get kilked for his D. He learned.
NBA ok- Dudes got magician hands in the passing lanes, so fun to watch
He’s got the insight to know where the PG is going to pass despite what said Pgs eyes/wiggle are doing to divert the defense , some Jedi level mind sphere with this dude, so fun to watch. He doesn’t get enough credit for his defensive rebounding as well, so many controlled tips with those said magician hands
I agree with all of this. He is such an amazing talent and he doesn’t even have that quickness that so defines NBA players today. He just sees the game different, and is able to execute at a very high level. He will never be a good point of attack on-ball defender, but it’s a trade-off every current GM in NBA would gladly accept.
I agree his reb is big and is part of playing D. No second shots. Your own words lol. All those instincts and talent on offense. Where is it on D. The desire and instincts aren’t there on D lol. That to me is a conscious effort. You don’t have to be Dyson on D like SGA is. But you have the ability to be better. You can’t win in NBA if you don’t make stops. And you need the WHOLE team for that. When will he learn that. Took him 8 yrs to finally get in Real shape. So this mean in 2033 at 35 he will finally start to play some D. OneWay Wonder ……
Touch Situation for a Knicks fan. Even fat Luca was a lot better than anybody on the Knicks roster
Yeah thats why he was on his couch downing frito pies watching us play in East Finals. Where will he be this season watching us play in Finals while gaining all that weight back ….. cheese burritos lmao
Nico just signed an extension in June 2024. He took the hit for the new owner. So he will be well taken care of.
In chant form “Bye bye nico”
Aww man, I’ve been really enjoying the Mavs s**t show.
No mention of the Luka trade is not surprising. There is absolutely no way that Nico didn’t have to go ownership to make that Luka/AD trade. He’s the fall guy in all of this. Not saying he was a good GM, but he isn’t the only one that signed off on that deal last year.
Exceedingly poor decision to other Nico on the Mavs poor start. The Mavs are now officially tanking and will be actively dumping key players including Kai in an effort to erase the bad will running through the Mavs and Dallas.
Sigh. How much evidence do people need before “conspiracy” becomes reality? The same exact event has now happened twice. A smaller market team has traded its superstar player to the LA lakers for pennies on the dollar and been reward the following season with the first overall pick and a top prospect hailed as the next face of the league. Zion was advertised as the next LeBron, for those that don’t remember. The league is about making money, and having the Lakers and Celtics be great at the same time is good for business. The league makes more money when the storied franchises are good, and the league absolutely steps in when those franchises screw it up.
Nico was scapegoated and really not long for the job regardless.
But let’s say none of this is true. Luka’s actions in LA, such as actually working on his conditioning, losing a ton of weight, and giving some effort on defense just proves and validates everyone who said the same thing, Luka was out of shape and a 1-way player. If he wasn’t, explain the sudden change in LA?
Lakers play the Thunder TMRW ———
Please all the Luka Wagoneers be around. I hope both teams are 100% ……. You don’t want to play D. Then beat them by 20. You don’t care about D …. Then put 50 on them ……
In 1961-62 nba season Wilt Chamberlain avg 50.4 points a game. And 25.7 reb a game. In those days they didn’t track defensive stats. Like most of you TODAY. But Wilt you can bet was a top 10 player on D that year too. Thats a MAX player. Luke doesn’t belong in the same paragraph with Wilt. Wilt was the GREATEST 2Way player to EVER play this game.
Yes, time to mute indeed.
We got a Hippo in the zoo named Luka ……
who muted Lukas D lol 😱😂
No way to know if Wilt was a better than LeBron, Jordan or Kareem as a two way player, he didn’t have the level of competition they did.
Remind me again, what did Nico trade doncic for? A second round pick and a 12 pack of coors lite?
Seems like NBA entered the deal to give him #1 draft pick along with scabs he got from the lakers for a franchise player.
Lakers will reward him with a position in the front office.
i was thinking the exact same thing
the deal was nico trades doncic
then when nico is fired by mavs
he gets a “special consultant” role with lakers
better salary, new car, a house in beverly hills.
Can the league reverse the trade like, now? lol
281 days late.
Plot twist…Harrison gets a mega-high paying, cushy job with the Lakers as compensation for his “legit” trade.
Alright, everyone stay with me
Your boss (team owner) says he doesnt want Luka because he can’t play defense and defense wins championships. You trade him for a defensive superstar in his prime (which was probably a name given by the team owner as a target). He backs you up, he likes the move. He likes this team going forward.
Now your team starts the season really badly because the guy you traded for (AD), your star point guard and many others are injured.
All of a sudden, your boss isnt happy with your job anymore even though you didnt do anything else since he approved your moves.
Really weird to blame a GM for injuries… Truth is Nico has always been the scapegoat
guess we’re about to find out how much consulting work for the lakers is worth
Good riddance Nico!
Don’t let the door hit you in the way out!!
Happy days for DAL fans!!!
Remember when so many mavs fans were coping by saying they got better because they got Davis lmao.
Should shut fans up for a minute. This was 100% an ownership drive move tho… they did not want to supermax Luka at +300M.
Now is there a team that wants AD, Kyrie, Klay, Gafford?
Sure. Pennies on the dollar but it’s doable. At the end of the day you would eventually get back the value you should have gotten with trading Luka.
About damn time.