The Dallas Mavericks‘ extremely embarrassing season went from bad to worse this week as GM Nico Harrison decided to speak to the media about the season gone by. It was a restrictive press conference where Harrison refused to let media members record the interactions in a bizarre move, which received widespread condemnation.
Given how badly Harrison didn’t want his comments on the trade to be broadcast to the public through videos or audios, it’s not surprising that Shams Charania and Tim MacMahon have both reported that Mavs Governor Patrick Dumont forced Harrison into doing that interview.
“Patrick Dumont made him. He was supposed to do it two weeks ago, and for some reason, he was able to push it back. He was supposed to do it before Luka came back to town,” revealed Tim MacMahon on the Hoop Collective podcast. “(Dumont wanted this) because it has been the worst two and a half month run of PR that I can remember in NBA history, and it didn’t get any better.”
“Nico Harrison did not want to do this closed-door roundtable,” said Shams Charania on NBA Countdown. “This was not his idea. This was something that was enforced by their owner, Patrick Dumont.”
Transcripts of the press conference prove why Nico didn’t want video proof on the internet of his questionable decision-making, as he admitted to having ‘no regrets’ over the deal while reiterating how ‘defense wins championships.’
Another controversial moment, which Harrison was called out on in the middle of his press conference, was after he claimed the Mavericks didn’t think Luka would’ve signed the supermax contract extension the team could offer him this summer.
Nico Harrison: “Well, there’s no guarantee he would have signed a supermax, but…”
Tim MacMahon: “He has guaranteed— the man was bawling on the bench. Like, come on.”
Nico Harrison: “Well, like I said, we can agree to disagree, and that’s fine, but we targeted AD.”
The answers that Harrison gave were so unconvincing that it has done more damage to him and the Mavericks this week. Harrison is backed by the Mavericks’ ownership and was empowered to make this decision. But if the owners forced Harrison to stop the PR nightmare they’re facing through this press conference, they’ve become uncomfortable with how this situation is progressing.
It doesn’t look like Harrison will lose his job right now, but he’s not going to be bulletproof if the Mavericks remain the laughing stock of the NBA. He’s already burned ties between the franchise and legend Dirk Nowitzki as well as former governor Mark Cuban.
His three-year contract won’t be honored if Dallas doesn’t find a way to return to title contention in the next two seasons. The financial cost of losing Doncic to the Lakers has already been tremendous, and if the results continue slipping the way they have, there’s literally no justification to keep him around.
