Report: Nico Harrison ‘Griped’ That Luka Doncic Was Holding Mavericks ‘Hostage’

According to NBA insider Tim MacMahon of ESPN, Nico Harrison “griped” that Luka Doncic was holding the Dallas Mavericks “hostage.”

Harrison wasn’t happy when Doncic didn’t join the Mavericks on a road trip. Doncic wanted to stay in Dallas to rehab his calf injury, while Harrison wanted the superstar to rehab on the road with the team. 

“Harrison griped that Doncic was holding the team hostage, sources said,” MacMahon wrote. “Doncic’s camp argued that he was better off having around-the-clock access to the Mavs’ practice facility than traveling with the team. It pointed out that Doncic was doing two-a-day, multihour basketball workouts, which wouldn’t be possible with court time difficult to book on the road. He also could utilize the weight room and the high-tech medical equipment at his convenience, which isn’t the case in other team’s arenas and hotels.

“Harrison countered, insisting that Doncic needed to scrimmage. Doncic’s camp, in response, said he’d be happy to practice with the G League Texas Legends in Frisco, a Dallas suburb. The next time Doncic’s camp heard from Harrison, it was to share the news that the trade he’d been secretly negotiating for weeks with the Lakers was finalized.”

Doncic suffered multiple calf injuries with the Mavericks. Harrison no longer wanted to build the Dallas franchise around Doncic, so he traded the All-Star for Anthony Davis, a player he has known for a while. 

Doncic appeared in 422 games with the Mavericks. He averaged 28.6 points, 8.7 rebounds and 8.3 assists and made five All-Star teams and five All-NBA teams.

Dallas lost to the Boston Celtics in the 2024 NBA Finals. The team missed the playoffs this year after trading Doncic and losing Kyrie Irving to an ACL tear. 

Harrison has received death threats since trading Doncic to the Lakers. However, he doesn’t regret anything. 

“Yeah, 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, and that’s my job, and I have to stand by it. And one last thing, also add, every trade I’ve done has been met with high scrutiny, and so eventually I’ll earn the trust of this community that you know some of these trades are going to work out, and they have at a high-level.”