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Proper after we hit ship on The Bounce yesterday, the Dallas Mavericks put an finish to the Nico Harrison period. It lasted four-plus years and noticed possibly essentially the most surprising flip in NBA historical past. We’re going to dive into how all of this constructed up after which fell aside.
No extra imaginative and prescient
Right here’s why the Mavs fired their GM
The fast, straightforward reply is he traded a 25-year-old Luka Dončić sans commerce request, demand or risk he’d depart in free company. We might finish the dialogue there. Whereas I feel the transfer positively led to his demise with the Mavs, the best way he dealt with it publicly was finally his undoing.
On the night time of the NBA Draft lottery, the Dallas Mavericks had a 1.8 p.c likelihood of successful the No. 1 choose. And it occurred. Instantly, folks screamed that it was rigged for gifting Luka to the Los Angeles Lakers. Individuals needed lottery reform for all of the improper causes (unweigh the lottery!). After we knew the Mavs have been going to get Cooper Flagg added to what Harrison had simply carried out to revamp the roster, he threw out a ridiculous quote that may eternally be used towards him and this period of Mavericks basketball.
“Now you see the imaginative and prescient.”
What? The imaginative and prescient was to commerce Luka after which hope subsequent accidents compelled the season to crumble sufficient to finish up with the 1.8 p.c likelihood of getting the highest choose in a particular draft class? That appears extra like a fever dream than a imaginative and prescient. No person purchased his “informed you so” sort of response.
In actuality, Harrison constructed up a title contender round Luka after which dismantled it due to a flawed imaginative and prescient and an obvious disdain for Dončić’s bodily state. Once you break down the commerce between the Mavs and Lakers, the logic is past fallible. Harrison didn’t need Luka long-term on a super-max contract (which might have finally been round $80 million per season) as a result of he didn’t belief Dončić to care for his physique and keep wholesome.
So he traded for Anthony Davis, a participant so perpetually coping with accidents that Charles Barkley nicknamed him “Avenue Garments.” Within the course of, he solely received one first-round choose together with Davis and by no means made a concerted push to amass Austin Reaves too. He didn’t need it getting out that he was buying and selling Luka till the final minute due to how it will ignite the general public and the NBA. That’s an indication you’re making an terrible transfer.
Nevertheless, he had a working relationship with AD from his Nike days, as he did with Kyrie Irving. And to his credit score, the Kyrie transfer in 2023 was extremely questioned as an enormous danger. That labored out fantastically, with a visit to the NBA Finals a yr and a half later.
Harrison was thought to be probably the greatest executives within the league proper up till the Luka commerce information broke. After that, “Fireplace Nico” reverberated contained in the American Airways Heart. And to fake that getting Flagg with a 1.8 p.c likelihood was at all times the plan? It’s a must to be overtly assured in the way you promote such a drastic, unpopular change to a franchise.
Harrison by no means got here off as believing his personal gross sales pitch. It felt like he was promoting a timeshare to Mavs followers that was rooted extra in vacationing within the coach’s room moderately than within the area in June yearly. Particularly after all the reporting across the deal, it simply felt private in an unhealthy means with how Harrison considered probably the greatest gamers on the earth. That might by no means overcome a half-baked justification of his personal commerce.
Now the Mavs are off to a horrific 3-8 begin, AD is out and in of the lineup, we don’t know when Kyrie is getting back from the ACL tear he suffered in early March they usually should hope Flagg is sweet and attractive sufficient to distract from a horrendous offense. In the meantime, Luka is averaging near 40 factors per recreation on the Lakers.
Aside from that, how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln?
The final 24
Extra Harrison response, and a plan for the Mavs
🏀 Time to deal. John Hollinger has the following strikes for Dallas. Commerce AD and construct round Flagg.
🔮 Very long time coming. Sam Amick believes Harrison’s demise started earlier than the Luka commerce. Was it the beer seize?
🏀 Not innocent. Harrison wasn’t the one individual chargeable for the Luka commerce. However Mavs governor Patrick Dumont isn’t going to fireplace himself, David Aldridge writes.
🏀 New format. The NBA formally introduced the brand new All-Star Recreation format. USA vs. The World and no positions.
🤝 High-25 Undertaking. Our quarter-century collection continues. In the present day, we now have the top-25 off-court moments since 2000.
🩼 Hamstring pressure. Jalen Inexperienced wasn’t with the Suns lengthy earlier than his damage. He’ll miss at the least a month.
🙏 RIP. Sadly, we’ve had plenty of deaths within the NBA world recently. 4-time All-Star Michael Ray Richardson handed away at 70.
🎧 Tuning in. In the present day’s “NBA Day by day” examines how the Thunder dismantled the Warriors.
Stream the NBA on Fubo (attempt it without cost!) and catch out-of-market video games on League Move.
The timeline
Monitoring the abrupt flip in Harrison’s Q Score
It’s fairly surprising how, in a single night time, Harrison went from one of the crucial well-respected and trusted executives to mainly a pariah. I mapped out the timeline of Harrison’s place with Dallas from June 2021 till Tuesday when he received fired.
He was questioned for probably being too enamored with Kyrie from that Nike relationship when he traded for the longer term Corridor of Famer. Kyrie had a tough couple of years, on and off the court docket, in Brooklyn. Eyebrows have been raised with that pairing of him and Dončić.
The following season, after the Mavs had tanked out of the Play-In to guard their choose and ended up with Dereck Energetic II, Harrison made deadline offers for Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington. Instantly, Dallas went from a middling West group that couldn’t play protection to the very best defensive group within the league over the ultimate 20 video games. That catapulted the Mavs into the 2024 finals.
After they misplaced to the Boston Celtics in 5 video games, Harrison was aggressive within the offseason as soon as once more. He introduced in Klay Thompson on a sign-and-trade. He signed Naji Marshall and traded for Quentin Grimes. I spoke to Harrison for a SiriusXM NBA Radio interview earlier than the 2024-25 season, and he saved repeating this phrase for a way he felt that summer season:
“We’re a Klay away” from competing for the title.
Then he received fed up with Dončić’s bodily conditioning because the supermax extension loomed on the horizon. That’s when all hell broke free, and Harrison moved his celebrity in the course of the night time to the Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round choose.
Instantly, all the fan base turned on him and received tremendous private. He was protested by the followers! Out and in of the sector. Not even getting Flagg appeared to ease the ache of Luka in a Lakers jersey. Now that he’s fired, the Mavs can get a few of that much-needed cathartic feeling. However Luka continues to be gone, and this group continues to be fairly dangerous. We don’t know when Kyrie can be wholesome. We all know Davis can’t be relied on for constant availability. However at the least Mavs followers are on the level within the timeline the place they don’t should scream “Fireplace Nico!” anymore.
Dangerous Commerce Mount Rushmore
Was dealing Luka the worst commerce ever?
We use “the Mount Rushmore of ___” for the whole lot. Level guards. Facilities. Quick-food spots. On the identical time, it’s a fairly good approach to have a dialogue in regards to the top-four issues in any class. Arising with an inventory of the worst trades ever can at all times be a enjoyable means of strolling down nightmare lane and channeling our internal Nelson Muntz to level and chortle.
I contend the Luka commerce is the worst of all time. It’s at the least within the dialog for it, and it’s definitely getting chiseled into that imaginary Mount Rushmore. Most of us known as it the worst commerce ever on the time and can proceed to take action after Harrison misplaced his job 9 months after making it.
These are my prime 4.
The Luka commerce: You’re frightened a few 25-year-old MVP candidate being out of practice and unavailable for the longer term, so that you commerce for Davis, a 32-year-old participant whom you possibly can’t depend on being out there for the longer term?
The Clippers commerce Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, 5 firsts and two choose swaps to Oklahoma Metropolis for Paul George (2019): It was a hefty value, however the logic on the time was there. When you subscribe to the concept that Kawhi Leonard was solely signing with the Clippers in the event that they made the commerce for PG (after they couldn’t get Jimmy Butler), then you possibly can justify it, even on reflection. It simply turned out to be unbelievably lopsided — and the Clippers nonetheless owe their 2026 unprotected first-round choose!
Golden State trades Robert Parish and the 1980 third choose to Boston for the 1980 first and thirteenth picks: The Warriors took Joe Barry Carroll, who was later nicknamed “Joe Barely Cares,” with the primary choose. They took Rickey Brown (performed 5 seasons) with the thirteenth. Parish helped the Celtics win championships, and Boston took Kevin McHale with the third choose. Yikes!
Brooklyn trades Kris Humphries, Keith Bogans, Gerald Wallace, Kris Joseph, MarShon Brooks, three firsts and a choose swap to Boston for Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Jason Terry and DJ White (2013): The Nets have been attempting to make an enormous assertion with their transfer to Brooklyn. They needed to win immediately. KG and Pierce have been outdated by then, and the picks and choose swaps netted Boston Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum (with one other commerce).
Honorable point out: Cleveland trades a future choose that turns into James Worthy and Butch Lee to the Lakers for Don Ford (performed 106 video games for the Cavs) and a choose that turned Chad Kinch (41 profession video games) | Philadelphia trades the third choose (Tatum) and a first-rounder to Boston for the primary choose (Markelle Fultz) | OKC trades James Harden, Cole Aldrich, Lazar Hayward and Daequan Cook dinner to Houston for Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb, two firsts (turned Steven Adams and Mitch McGary) and a second (turned Alex Abrines).
