Anonymous NBA Exec: I Hope Mavericks Don’t Fire Nico Harrison, It’s Always Good To Have A Desperate GM Out There

An anonymous NBA exec hopes the Dallas Mavericks don’t fire general manager Nico Harrison, who traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. 

The anonymous NBA exec told Tim MacMahon of ESPN, “It’s always good to have a desperate GM out there.”

Harrison told a select group of Dallas-based media on Tuesday that he doesn’t regret trading Doncic to the Lakers. The GM, who targeted Anthony Davis in Doncic trade talks, repeatedly said defense wins championships. 

“There’s no regrets on the trade,” Harrison said. “Part of my job is to do the best thing for the Mavericks, not only today, but also in the future, and some of the decisions I’m going to make are going to be unpopular. That’s my job, and I have to stand by it. … We targeted AD with our philosophy of defense wins championships. We wanted a two-way player to lead our team and that was Anthony Davis. And so everybody’s going to have their critics and I’m not sure what Mark said, but that’s a better question left for him. But we got what we wanted.”

The Mavericks need to win two play-in games to make the playoffs.

Meanwhile, Doncic and the Lakers are the third seed in the West. 

“We believe in the move we made,” Harrison said. “You obviously don’t, and that’s fine. You’re entitled to your opinions, but we’re excited. … I think once we win, then that will change your mind.”

Mavericks fans hate Harrison, who has three years left on his contract. The exec doesn’t plan to leave Dallas before his contract ends. 

“Well, the beauty of Dallas is it is a passionate fan base,” Harrison said. “For us to reach our goals, we need that fan base. And to be honest with you, every trade I’ve made since I’ve been here has not been regarded as a good trade, and so sometimes it takes time.”