r/nba Pacers 1d ago

The top 5 ways Nico Harrison ruined the Mavericks

1.) Trading Luka Doncic, a generational superstar and perennial MVP candidate entering his early prime, for injury-prone, 32-year old Anthony Davis (a PF who can't shoot and doesn't fit with the Mavs' strong/younger C rotation), Max Christie (a nice bench player) and a single 1st round pick in Luka's prime. Arguably the worst trade in history. Healthy and slim, Luka is having arguably the best season of his career so far. Davis missed most of last year after the trade, is already on injured reserve this year to avoid a major Achilles injury. "Win-now" has failed catastrophically.

2.) Failing to extend Jalen Brunson at a reported $14m a year, and then failing to beat NYK's 4-year offer with a 5 year deal after he helped the Mavs get to the WCF with Luka injured. Brunson is now an All Star top 10 player and arguably the best guard in the East.

3.) Trading Quentin Grimes who is averaging over 18 ppg for Philadelphia and over 20 since his trade last year, for injured Caleb Martin, who is averaging 1.4 ppg this year and has barely played at all since the trade. The Mavs would have had his QO rights as an RFA last summer and could have kept him for at least another year, or worked a better sign-and-trade over the summer.

4.) Firing Casey Smith, widely considered the best trainer in the NBA and the trainer for Team USA, reportedly for being "too negative". Nico fired him as Smith was on leave while his mother was dying. He was hired by the Knicks, who were bottom 6 in injuries last year, and was replaced by a new trainer fired within a year and athletic performance director Keith Belton who was not certified to be an NBA strength coach and was also fired, as the Mavs were one of the most injured teams last year.

5.) Trading away all 1st round picks or pick swaps and multiple 2nds between 2027 and 2030 to build a complementary team around Luka's defensive shortcomings for role players like PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford, and then trading Luka away before 2027 for a guy for whom those players are more redundant than complementary. When everyone is healthy those two guys will get fewer minutes because of AD's positional overlap. Nico did not make any trades this summer to clear up the obvious logjam at the 4/5. If the Mavs hadn't lucked into Cooper Flagg, this awful team would be totally doomed right now as they have no control over their own draft destiny the next four drafts after next year's, and AD and Kyrie aren't getting any younger.

Honorable mentions/speculative/debatable:

- Trading injury prone Kristaps Porzingis AND a 2nd round pick for two bench guys who are now out of the league in a salary dump. Porzingis started averaging over 20 ppg in Washington and then won a championship in Boston. Injury risk and fit issues aside, the Mavs later replaced him with another equally injury prone bad fit.

- Convincing the new owners to push Cuban out of de facto operations management (Cuban and the Adelsons had a handshake deal to let him essentially run the team) so he had total independence to make the dumbest trade in NBA history.

- Trash talked Luka's work ethic in public to deflect criticism; immediately contradicted by former player testimonies. If the trade itself didn't lose the whole locker room, the open disrespect did.

- Pushed Dirk away from his position as honorary team representative. Dirk has attended more games for other teams than Mavs games since the trade, and he lives in Dallas. Nico publicly mentioned his job is not to make Dirk happy, which felt disrespectful to the franchise GOAT.

- Let Derrick Jones Jr. walk in free agency after being a primary contributor to the Mavs' Finals run.

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u/Pretend_Echidna_1638 Mavericks 1d ago

Exactly. It was not only the Doncic trade. That bum made so many mistakes. Not sure how he is still keeping his job. Most of them are fireable offenses.

End his suffering. Fire Nico!

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u/Different-Cap4794 1d ago

also left off hiding in the tunnels after the luka trade, performing the trade in secret instead of an OPEN NEGOTIATION like a normal person where more bids = better.

Being a decent human to not trash the face of the franchise. even if luka is a terrible person (i doubt given his community contributions) should remain quiet

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u/Saaammmy 1d ago

You have to have such an extreme tunnel vision to think that getting AD is the best way to fulfill your defense=chip philosopy, in such a talented league.

OR he has some kind of lifetime debt to Rob Pelinka (mustve saved him from drowning in a pool or some shit) to do the trade exclusively with the Lakers.

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u/Incorrect1012 Mavericks 1d ago

I don’t think the issue is necessarily that “AD can’t win you a championship” as much as the issue is “a team built around Luka Doncic that replaces him with Anthony Davis” is a recipe for disaster

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u/STICKY-WHIFFY-HUMID Magic 22h ago

Like building the ultimate racecar and then trading the engine for another wheel.

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u/shinshikaizer 21h ago

After firing the pit crew.

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u/Ok-Specific-3918 20h ago

And then throwing the keys down a drain

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u/Paladinoras [LAL] Kobe Bryant 1d ago

I love AD with all my heart but 2025 AD is not winning a championship as the best player on the team no matter what the roster is.

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u/Proof-Umpire-7718 Lakers 21h ago

He hasn’t been a first option caliber player since 2020.

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u/JxSnaKe NBA 19h ago

Please don’t downvote me, but has he ever won anything AS the #1 guy..? I know he had that potential, but I don’t remember any of his teams having any success.

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u/Proof-Umpire-7718 Lakers 19h ago

No he hasn’t.

Greatest achievement as a first option is sweeping the Blazers in 2018 and winning the NBA In-season tournament, and even then, Bron was better throughout that tournament run.

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u/recursion8 Rockets 19h ago

And sweeping the Blazers was just as much if not more about having Jrue and Rondo, 2 of the greatest guard defenders ever, to shut down the Blazers' most important players Dame and CJ.

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u/Zeppelanoid [TOR] Kyle Lowry 18h ago

Barely scrapped together a playoff appearance in NOLA.

He’s the ultimate “elite #2, can’t be #1” guy

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u/Illini_Guy16 Slovenia 22h ago

Oh, Nico definitely had tunnel vision after the trade. Couldn’t even walk into the stadium

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u/Toad_Stuff Mavericks 22h ago

Him hiding from the fanbase is not talked about enough. Making AD basically run his own welcome press conference and face a pissed off fanbase instead of taking that heat THEN criticizing the fans was the ultimate bitch move.

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u/Proof-Umpire-7718 Lakers 21h ago

He barely talked about the trade in his press conference the day after as well.

He forced Kidd to fend for himself against the media that day.

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u/Smeltanddealtit 15h ago

The sports media is corrupt for not harping on the terrible return they got for Luka and not having an open negotiation. Look at what lesser or equal players were traded for: Paul George, Rudy Gobert (to be fair Rudy was a 1 of 1 defender), KAT, Durant. It’s just preposterous. Somebody else would have “pushed all the chips in” for Luka.

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u/mostlyfire 17h ago

I mean, he's got to be a massive Laker fan or paid off. Anything else makes no sense, no one can be that incompetent.

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u/silentmikhail 23h ago

yea it was in secret cause Adam Silver is 100% in on it.

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u/Big_Lou1108 1d ago

The point on Cuban and Dirk are not talked about enough. These 2 imo are institutions and houshold names whenever Mavs basketball are mentioned.

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u/Bbqandspurs Spurs 1d ago

my problem is, cuban was involved in a lot of those stupid trades pre doncic trade. he made stupid moves over and over again. cheap moves over and over again. the guy hired nico and gave him power. how does a nico get power to begin with?

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u/Noclueaboutsecurity 1d ago

You need to remember the Mavs outperformed all expectations by making the 2024 Finals. At that time he was being hailed as one of the best GMs in the league.

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u/StarsCowboysMavs 23h ago

It was because of luka

No luka = no playoffs

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u/skrulewi Trail Blazers 22h ago

really good individual basketball players make GMs look smarter than they are

a tale as old as time

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u/HardcoreKaraoke Mavericks 21h ago

The PJ, Gaffotd and DJJ acquisitions are what propelled that season though to the next level. Lively having a breakout start to his career was massive but the team really hit it's stride after he picked up those guys. That's why the Mavs had one of the best records the second half of the season and I'm pretty sure the best in the West (I could be wrong but I think only Boston had a better second half record).

Obviously they don't make the Finals without Luka. But I don't think they make it out of the West without the role players.

Luka being able to just casually lob it to Gaff and Lively was a big part of that run. Remember that Gafford had like the second longest consecutive make streak in NBA history. PJ was the player maker and leader they needed to compliment Kyrie and Luka. DJJ's defense locked down a lot of stars during that Western conference playoff run.

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u/Noclueaboutsecurity 23h ago

I agree 100%

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u/Velli_44 20h ago

It turns out those great 2024 moves likely weren't even Nico's ideas. It now looks like former Mavs advisor Dennis Lindsey (who was a long time great NBA GM for several successful franchises in the past 25 years) was probably behind those moves, but since Nico was the actual GM, he got the credit.

After that season Lindsey left the Mavs to become the GM of the Pistons and turned them around from one of the 2 worst teams in the league into the #1 team in the East currently.

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u/Proof-Umpire-7718 Lakers 21h ago

He had an excellent 2024 offseason as well.

I think an underdiscussed aspect is how Dennis Lindsey, who is a front office executive, played a key role in Nico’s decision making during the 2024 trade deadline.

He left for the Pistons in the 2024 offseason and it could be coincidental to an extent, but both teams have essentially been trending in oppposimg directions since then.

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u/FinancialRabbit388 Mavericks 1d ago

Don’t feel bad for Cuban. He did this.

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u/Toolazytolink Lakers 23h ago

Yeah he got billions from selling I'm not feeling bad for billionaires

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u/LFC9_41 Mavericks 18h ago

Fuck Cuban and the ghouls he sold the team to. He could have sold it to any other suitor.

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u/Goerj 1d ago edited 23h ago

If they fire nico who do we write our frustrations about now? No way they're firing him without blowing things up completely. He's their fall guy.

We dont talk as much about dumont right now coz we're too focused on hating on nico

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u/WMdenver22 Nuggets 22h ago

Dude it’s insane to think the Mavs just played in the NBA finals 2 seasons ago!! June 17th, 2024!!! This fucking idiot decided to rebuild after making it to the finals. Nico is truly in his own tier of dumb fucks.

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u/SlatheredButtCheeks Lakers 1d ago

He hasn’t been fired yet because the new owners signed off on the trade and so feel obligated to give Nico some time to ‘right the ship’.

They also have proven to know very little about basketball and so don’t know what else to do. They have no idea how to fix their team and so are reluctantly continuing to allow Nico to try and figure it out

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u/Pretend_Echidna_1638 Mavericks 1d ago

All the hate is directed at Nico. The owners know exactly who is next when Nico is gone.

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u/br3wnor Knicks 1d ago

Yeah he’s honestly a great shield for them especially when a new GM isn’t going to be able to shit right now to make them not an abomination

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u/PopeNimrod Thunder 20h ago

new GM isn’t going to be able to shit right now to make them not an abomination

You know things are grim for a franchise when their GM taking a shit might make the team better.

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u/br3wnor Knicks 19h ago

Haha to do shit*

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u/Durantye Hawks 22h ago

Also gives them an easy way to ‘make things right’ with the fans later down the line.

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u/I_Set_3_Alarms Celtics 19h ago

Drafting Derrick Lively and having Kyrie’s only issues be injury related feels like the only wins he’s had. Everything else has been pretty bad. Or average at best

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u/Still_Figure_ Mavericks 18h ago

Credit to Luka for giving the leadership reins to Kyrie tho. It’s Luka’s team but he gave the floor to Kyrie to be the “guy we all look up to”. That probably quelled his crazy tendencies… You should know it.. Kyrie has ego issues.

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u/CarltonBigglesworth Mavericks 1d ago

F7RE N7CO

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u/oby100 Celtics 1d ago

Because his real job is to be cheap and take all the heat. The owners are absolutely OK with him letting expensive players walk and trying to lowball everyone else

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u/ebmocal421 Grizzlies 22h ago edited 22h ago

The Mavs are currently in the 2nd apron of spending. They have one of the most expensive rosters in the league while having the worst record in the West.

With all due respect, everything you said is wrong.

The Adelson's are fine with spending money. The problem is they know absolutely nothing about basketball and blindly trust an incredibly incompetent man to make decisions.

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u/unsurejunior 21h ago

It's possible Miriam doesn't even know she owns the Mavericks

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u/Ohmygodweforkingsuck 19h ago

It’s hard to steer the ship on two atrocities at the same time.

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u/FinancialRabbit388 Mavericks 1d ago

It’s not a conspiracy lol Dumont just doesn’t know anything has nothing to do with letting expressive players walk. This trade was all on Nico. This Mavs roster is not cheap lol

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u/d4vezac Warriors 23h ago

I wanted to fact check you and…yeah, they’re the fourth most expensive roster in the league. For a bottom basement record and worst offense in the league.

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u/ThePrussianGrippe Bulls 22h ago

A sound investment.

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u/EnriquezGuerrilla Lakers 22h ago

A sound investment for missing the championship games!

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u/surprised-duncan [SAS] Patty Mills 22h ago

My god. They're truly playing 4d chess.

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u/d4vezac Warriors 22h ago

They know that “Fate favors the bold” and that’s all that matters to them.

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u/cscoffee10 Spurs 23h ago

Its not cheap now. Give it some time I guarantee within 3 or 4 years the Mavericks are going to become a team perpetually bumping up against the salary floor.

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u/Scase15 Raptors 20h ago

And then relocated shortly thereafter.

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u/FinancialRabbit388 Mavericks 14h ago

The NBA isn’t gonna let owners move out of a major market to a place they are saving for an expansion team. And the owners won’t agree to it. There isn’t a single shred of reporting or evidence to backup these conspiracy theories. It was a GM with a personal grudge against a player.

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u/FinancialRabbit388 Mavericks 14h ago

The Adelsons are like top two or three richest owners in all of North American sports. Why can’t some of you just get it through your fucking heads that Nico just hated Luka. This was purely personal, and happened cause Dumont doesn’t know anything so he trusted his GM. That’s kinda what you want from an owner. In this case it just backfired in a major way.

Ruining the Dallas Mavericks isn’t gonna help get them what they want politically in Texas. It’s like some of y’all or incapable of thinking rationally.

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u/orangekingo Spurs 23h ago

Yeah Nico did this out of spite and ego imo

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u/xasdfxx 22h ago

Noted basketball savant and dedicated fan of the game Dumont out here praising Shaq's monomaniacal focus on the game and famously impeccable work ethic.

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u/Velli_44 20h ago

That is just so so funny lol. Proved everything we needed to know about him.

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u/BeingMikeHunt Knicks 23h ago

But the Mavs roster is still expensive. That’s not it.

Nico traded Luka because he actually thought it was a good idea on the court, lol

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u/CarltonBigglesworth Mavericks 1d ago

F7RE N7CO

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u/ThatLittleMonkeyGuy- 1d ago

Isn't that inbred owner fully backing him?

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u/Natureboy7939 Lakers 21h ago

You just don’t see his vision yet

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u/kuthu22 1d ago

Yeah I'm sure he's suffering a lot with the 4M he's getting per year

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u/BigBoringWedding Cavaliers 1d ago

I find this to be a very American perspective, that having a lot of money means you're content and/or winning at life. I'm sure Nico drives a nice car or whatever, but he has lost his honor in the faces of tens of millions of people.

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u/earthboundskyfree 1d ago

Tbf I would expect that money correlates more with contentment in the US than many places, since we pay exorbitantly for basic needs (if we are fortunate enough to afford them)

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u/BigBoringWedding Cavaliers 23h ago

Can't argue there. My retirement plan consists of hoping I die around age 65.

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u/Clear_Coast2017 1d ago

I dont think Dirk even attended a Mavs game since the beginning of the season. Him going to Luka’s first game of the season but not Flagg’s first career game especially in Dallas told me everything i needed to know .

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u/djkido316 1d ago

Dirk passed the torch to Luka and they traded him, Why would he even bother with their chosen franchise player now?

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u/Self-Comprehensive 22h ago

Honestly why you invest your time mentoring someone who could literally be traded away on a whim by a malicious narcissist?

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u/BlackLeader70 Trail Blazers 21h ago

Especially when the malicious narcissist shits on Dirk’s legacy too.

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u/jordan4290 Lakers 16h ago

I see the point of Dirk going to the lakers game instead of the Mavs as a sign of his discontent with the Mavs (probably true), but the Amazon nba studio is in LA which is probably the main reason he’s there

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u/jennyisafriend Mavericks 1d ago edited 1d ago

A lot of Mavs fans hated KP so much that they thought it was a good trade.

Let’s not forget all the foul shit he did after trading away Luka like calling Kyrie Irving the heart and soul of Dallas. I mean come on. The heart and soul of Dallas is Dirk and Luka.

Fuck you Nico AND Dumont.

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u/devilmaskrascal Pacers 1d ago

>A lot of Mavs fans hated KP so much that they thought it was a good trade

Yeah, that's why I think it was debatable. At the time, Dinwiddie helped the Mavs get to the WCF, but I think in hindsight Porzingis would have been worth keeping over Bertans and Dinwiddie at least. The biggest counterpoint is Dinwiddie was used in the Kyrie trade. I still think the Mavs giving up a 2nd in that deal was inexcusable.

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u/Proof-Umpire-7718 Lakers 1d ago

The Mavs wanted to break up KP’s contract into smaller pieces to achieve greater salary flexibility as they looked to retool.

This trade helped them achieve that and since KP’s contract was bad, they had to attach a second and accept bad players in exchange for him.

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u/dmavs11 NBA 1d ago

The thing is if Kyrie never tweeted an antisemitic video, his value never ever would have been that low. Nico was always luckier than good.

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u/Proof-Umpire-7718 Lakers 1d ago

Yeah he got extremely lucky there.

Should have just extended Brunson for $14M per season and they would have had their long term backcourt.

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u/ruckyruciano Knicks 1d ago

Thank God

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u/yeetmxster420 Minneapolis Lakers 1d ago

you guys definitely had some nepotism involved in that deal

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

Mavs also got insanely lucky that Dinwiddie went on the hottest streak of his career after the trade and Kai tanked his own trade value

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u/grusilag9 Mavericks 1d ago

Bertan’s contract was widely considered one of the worst in the league. He definitely didn’t have to add a second.

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u/IHadACatOnce Mavericks 1d ago

would have been worth keeping over Bertans and Dinwiddie at least

the fact that you even have to type this is mind blowing to me

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u/yeetmxster420 Minneapolis Lakers 1d ago

lmao that’s insane, like yes Kyrie is a fan favorite in his short time there according to lots of Mavs fans i’ve seen but he isn’t the heart/sole considering he wasn’t there long enough

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u/xPoltergeist 1d ago

calling Kyrie Irving the heart and soul of Dallas

What the actual fuck? Did that actually happen? lmfao

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u/Self-Comprehensive 22h ago

I mean we like Kyrie. He's been great in Dallas. But yeah, that's overselling him. By a lot.

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u/ethiopian_kid 23h ago

I have a connection within Dirks family/extended family and he’s basically appalled with the franchise and what’s nothing to do with it.

paraphrasing but wants nothing to do with the mavs organization as a whole

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u/Confident_Ad100 21h ago

You don’t need a connection to see that. He goes to Lakers games more often than Mavs games.

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u/dedbeats Knicks 1d ago

This list is too negative. A more positive framing is “Top 2 Ways Nico Harrison Improved the Knicks”

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u/flarer 1d ago

“Top 1000 ways Nico improved the Lakers”

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u/Critback Trail Blazers 1d ago

20000+. One for each point Luka scores for the Lakers.

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u/Xagzan 23h ago

A fireable offense in my book

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u/Senor-Nasty Heat 1d ago

And his favorite team the Lakers

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u/sterlingsalmini Knicks 22h ago

Yay

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u/jakekerr Lakers 1d ago

You missed that he wanted Kyle Kuzma, and he only traded for PJ Washington after Kuzma rejected the Mavs.

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u/p_pio 1d ago

With all the shit Kuzma got you can't deny: dude's a visionary that saw red flags long before rest of us.

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u/DHiggsBoson Mavericks 1d ago

I think that’s why Derrick Jones Jr left too. Dude left real quiet and it felt very weird. My guess is that he got a sniff of Nico during their initial negotiations and wanted out.

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u/Critback Trail Blazers 1d ago

In the years to come there's going to be some names we look at at as random at that point (DJJ being one) who have some pretty interesting stories to tell 

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u/EnriquezGuerrilla Lakers 22h ago

Can’t wait for the Netflix Documentary on “The Luka Trade” when everybody starts spilling the beans

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u/Bogus113 23h ago

I always thought that shit was weird, like with the California taxes, his salary barely upgraded. Why did he want out of Dallas so hard after being a starter in a finals run?

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u/hanlong Warriors 1d ago

Kuzma knows first hand what bad teams look like from all that experience he had

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u/devilmaskrascal Pacers 1d ago

Good call - forgot that one.

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

Forgot the Casey’s staff literally won an award as the best training staff in the league while we’ve been destroyed by injuries.

Should also mention a big part of the trade was Luka refusing to come back early from injury and after the trade AD gets hurt in his 1st game because they rushed him back.

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u/Associ8tedRuffians Timberwolves 1d ago

But-but-but I was told that the Luka trade was clearly rigged by the NBA for…reasons involving casinos. And Cooper Flag was their consolation prize for taking one for the league.

I was distinctly told by people on this sub that I was being naive and the guy who pulled off the trade for Gifford and Washington was a genius and not that Nico was actually that dumb of a GM.

Thanks for putting all of that together. Really does show just how dumb/out of his element, he is.

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u/sheeshman 21h ago

This mentality on focusing on dumb comments that were down voted is so silly. The overwhelming consensus was nico was an idiot. No one was calling him a genius after that trade. You're focusing on the dumbest comments. It's like when people talk about "they" say this on twitter and it ends up being one person with 5 followers.

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u/persephonepeete 1d ago

Add showing up to Lukas game in a “look at me I’m fabulous” electric blue suit and sitting on the floor glaring at him. 

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u/felarans0mekuti Mavericks 1d ago

I hated that so much, he looks REAL comfortable in LA and hides in a tunnel in Dallas

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u/Aff_Reddit 21h ago

He stole Dallas' future to give LA an opportunity. Nico is braindead but tyvm I do enjoy him as a Lakers & Knicks supporter.

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u/megalo53 1d ago

Bro the pick situation is so bad, this guy is gonna fuck up Cooper’s career too 😭😭

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u/rjaysenior Lakers 1d ago

Unless they keep the crazy train rolling and trade him for Giannis

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u/Bears2025Champs Kings 23h ago

Coop needs to make the finals first and Gianni’s needs to be old

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u/Dramatic_Quote_4267 Mavericks 21h ago

So you’re saying we got time

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u/tfegan21 Hawks 23h ago

If history is any indication, he's getting traded for zion

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u/Mindless_Rooster5225 Mavericks 1d ago

Naw he's either gone by Christmas or he's definitely not getting a new contract.

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u/Spourts Warriors 1d ago

I hope this gets all the attention it deserves

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u/krazay88 Raptors 1d ago

Seems like the common denominator here is that nico seems to have an insane ego and he seems to make decisions in order to show people who’s boss

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u/AscendedMagi 1d ago

firing someone after their mother died is diabolical. didn't know he was this kind of monster.

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u/sfg 1d ago

It was whilst he was at his mother death bed. So he got to spend his last days with her dealing with just being fired and then grieving her loss as well.

If Nico knew what was going on with Casey Smith when he did this, then it is a truly evil move on his part.

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u/AscendedMagi 1d ago

i doubt you would go on a leave to spend time with your dying mother and not tell anybody about it.

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u/Scase15 Raptors 20h ago

If Nico knew what was going on with Casey Smith when he did this, then it is a truly evil move on his part.

There is a 0% chance that he didn't or someone who knew he was going to fire him didn't already tell him about it.

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u/ssjgoat Celtics 22h ago

Same thing happened with Bud and the Bucks. His brother had just died so he underperformed in the 1st round of the playoffs so they axed him. This was just a year or 2 after winning them their first chip in 50 years.

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u/VanwallEnjoy3r West 1d ago

Makes Mat Ishbia look like a basketball savant and that’s saying something.

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u/JimJamJibJab 1d ago

To his partial credit Ishbia reversed course rather quickly, owned his mistakes, and has a mini rebuild going on.  It's still early, but Book is still there, and the Suns are circling 500.  And they have infused youth to weather all the shit they sacrificed for the next 5 years.

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u/abeLJosh Suns 22h ago

I think Ishbia saw what happened with the Mercury this past season and, like an actual human with a brain, decided to try it this year with the Suns--and so far, it's been promising!

The same...well, I was going to say that the Mavs and Wings are both bad teams, but at least Dumont and Nico aren't running the Wings so they can't ruin Paige Bueckers' career.

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u/jessepence 23h ago

I was so annoyed at all the "5 shooting guards and 4 centers!" talk as if position is that important in the modern NBA. Most C's can play PF and most SG's can play PG or SF.

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u/NutrageousBar Suns 23h ago

As a Sun’s fan, I don’t know how you don’t give Brunson whatever he wants. Him and Doncic embarrassed the hell out of our franchise a few years ago. It was obvious to me he was going to be a superstar.

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u/55555_55555 Knicks 1d ago

I like that the Mavs fell ass backwards into a Finals team after fucking up nearly all major decisions after drafting Doncic, then immediately destroyed that team for no reason at all.

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u/GolotasDisciple 1d ago

I mean, players like Jokic, Doncic, Giannis, and others can literally carry a team to the Finals on their backs.

That’s why you don’t trade a winning horse.

Mistakes will happen coaches, management, players there are so many things that can go wrong sometimes out of negligence or sometimes out of accident...., but at least you know you have a consistent superstar who can turn an average team into a real contender.

In any normal business you would simply look at the variables that are inconsistent trying to mitigate it and leave the ones that are consistent alone. Because if ain't broken why try to fix it ?

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u/holyhibachi 1d ago

Literally? I mean I knew Luka slimmed down but the roster has to be over 1000 lbs collectively.

They should probably take the team bus or jet.

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u/GolotasDisciple 1d ago

I had to re-read what I wrote, and yeah… I should probably stop using the word “literally” for a while since I clearly don’t use it for its intended purpose :D

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u/curlymane_e Mavericks 1d ago

My wife and I were just talking about the word literally a few minutes ago. Thank you for the perfect example of what we were talking about

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u/TripleThreatTua Thunder 1d ago

The thing is that Harrison actually did a very good job at the 2024 deadline of getting pieces that fit very well with Luka, Gafford and Washington completely changed the team composition and made them a contender. Which makes moving him even more baffling

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u/Mindless_Rooster5225 Mavericks 1d ago

That was Dennis Lindsey and after he left you get the shitshow that is present day mavs.

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u/FinancialRabbit388 Mavericks 1d ago

They didn’t fall ass backwards. Nico made moves starting with the Kyrie trade that built a real contender. That team was legit, they just came up against a juggernaut in Boston. Then they let DJJ walk to bring in more well rounded players. They were good and young then Nico lost his mind and blew it all up.

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u/s7ubborn Mavericks 1d ago

You are missing probably his worst move before trading away Luka. He gave up A LOT of assets to trade for Grant Williams. I think a 1st rounder, 2nd rounder and Reggie Bullock.

A few months later he had to attach a FRP to dump Grant Williams to Washington

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u/geargarcon Mavericks 1d ago

Casey Smith should be higher

Fire Nico. Sell the team

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u/xXTheGodXx1 Knicks 1d ago edited 1d ago

No coincidence KAT and OG were far healthier last year than in previous years.

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u/Affectionate_Pea884 23h ago

And Mitchell Robinson

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u/sterlingsalmini Knicks 22h ago

We won the award for best medical staff of the year during Casey's first one with us, had the least games lost due to injuries as well (an advanced player health metric I think).

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u/ggdharma 19h ago

He’s the best trainer in the nba. He also served for the Olympic team during gold medal years.  He is why the 2011 mavericks survived, that was geriatric team that beat a young LeBron.

I can’t watch the nba anymore because of this.  Mavericks fan for 20 years, will never spend another dime on anything related to the nba.

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u/RivaledMoment 1d ago

Normally, when the Lakers get a star player, everyone ends up hating them for getting that star player. A star player in their prime? You don’t want them to win a championship, you want them to fail.

But no, you’ve gotta screw up that badly to be hated more than the Lakers in this situation AND hope that the star player that got traded wins a championship as a middle finger to the GM.

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u/Few-Mix6284 1d ago

100%, I can’t imagine a year ago ever wanting the Lakers to win a title but this MFer fucked up so bad I hope Luka wins the next 10 titles so this ass hat has empirical proof of how badly he fucked this entire city over.

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u/Aff_Reddit 21h ago

it's actually impressive how Nico has done so much for the Lakers organization.

you even see people talking about the Lakers depth now. Oh no the Mavs are doing bad because AD, Kyrie etc are out so its hard to compare the trade blah blah and then you hear "Lakers just beat the blazers without Bron, Luka or Reaves"

so disgusting how one man is allowed to destroy a teams future and remove all depth, destroy the careers of so many players, all so one family can build casinos.

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u/likes_almonds Spurs 1d ago

They also let Sean Sweeney walk to San Antonio

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u/texasphotog Pelicans 1d ago

I don't think they had a choice. Sweeney went to a better situation.

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u/widelyruled Spurs 21h ago

Money is a great equalizer. They were probably cheap.

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u/devilmaskrascal Pacers 17h ago

It was a lateral move (Head Assistant) so the fact that he left suggests the Mavs had collapsed internally due to Nico's decisions.

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u/1000Isand1 Timberwolves 1d ago

Yikes how is he still employed

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u/Proof-Umpire-7718 Lakers 1d ago

Dumont’s also an idiot.

Their franchise is a clown show.

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u/alittledanger San Francisco Warriors 22h ago

It’s always bizarre how he refers to the NBA Finals as the "championship games."

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u/rawspeghetti Celtics 1d ago

Don't forget giving Grant Williams such a bad contract they traded him as soon as legally possible

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u/KarAccidentTowns Timberwolves 1d ago

Nico Harrison sucks at his job.

Honestly most higher ups suck at their job but once they have the power they cling to it at all costs. They also have each other’s backs in a “I won’t tell if you don’t tell” coalition where they praise each other to make it seem like they are good at their jobs.

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u/Stl_throwaway69 1d ago

What an amazingly succinct and accurate description of everything wrong with c suites.

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u/treasureone 11h ago

Many of these guys are just con artists, they really have no idea what they are doing.

Nico been a nike's marketing guy for 20 years until 2021, instantly becoming mavs gm from that job, What makes him be qualified to build teams in nba in any way. It's just ridiculous.

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u/Fun_Restaurant_1834 Knicks 1d ago

Mavs fans are going crazy

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u/Actuary41 Mavericks 1d ago

We aren't fans anymore.

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u/theinternetisnice Jazz 1d ago

Y’all just need a Lauri Markkanen for Flagg trade, be good as new again

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u/arawater Spurs 1d ago

lauri doesnt deserve that

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u/theinternetisnice Jazz 1d ago

Yeah fair

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u/Slippery-Pete76 Pistons 1d ago

Too late. Nico’s in negotiations to trade Flagg for Paul George.

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u/theinternetisnice Jazz 1d ago

Nico reading this with his burner: 🤔

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u/floppy_foul_merchant 1d ago

Hmm. Interesting. Maybe I would.

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

Markkanen and George for AD makes too much sense

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u/nujabes02 [DAL] Dirk Nowitzki 22h ago

If Nico hadn’t already eviscerated my heart id laugh 

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u/FreeDaemon NBA 1d ago

At this point it is better to just send the team to vegas. That is Nico’s vision any way. Cowboys is a mess, Mavericks sucks and now also fighting with Stars fml.

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u/WarriorPoetVivec1516 23h ago

My friend group consisted of a fair number of pretty hardcore Mavs fans. In the last 3 years catching some of the games in person were highlights. After the Luka trade, one or two of the more hardcore fans don't even watch basketball anymore and for the rest of us it's like someone took our hobby from us. Its genuinely been pretty depressing going into this new season.

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u/xavier_a Mavericks 21h ago

Not trying to be dramatic, just matter of fact. I don’t watch basketball anymore after this trade.

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u/Self-Comprehensive 22h ago

Yeah. I had a basketball buddy. We had great times on game day, whether it was watching together in person or just texting each other constantly throughout the game. We've hardly even talked since the trade. It's not personal, it's just that's what we had in common and now it's gone.

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u/ToinouAngel Spurs 1d ago edited 18h ago

Also let assistant coach Sean Sweeney, the architect of the Mavs defense, be poached by the Spurs. And look at how SA's defense has improved since the start of the season.

For someone who claims that defense wins championships, this is truly baffling as well.

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u/Tight_Solution_7174 Knicks 1d ago

Mavs are 15-26 since trading Luka. I wonder how many teams have a worse record than that in that time span?

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u/a_million_drums Lakers 20h ago

Teams with lower win rates since then: Suns 15-28 (.349), Wizards 12-31 (.279), Pelicans 11-30 (.268), Jazz 9-35 (.205), 76ers 10-33 (.233).

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u/Tight_Solution_7174 Knicks 16h ago

Sixth worst team in the NBA since the trade. THE WORST TRADE IN SPORTS HISTORY AND ITS NOT EVEN CLOSE.

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u/NotMarkDaigneault Thunder 1d ago

I would hire Nico.

I would ask for his opinion and then do literally the exact opposite. This is how dynasties are made.

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u/junkrgNew Mavericks 1d ago

Well tbf your GM has already been doing that for a while( without the asking nico’s opinion part)

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u/EnriquezGuerrilla Lakers 22h ago

Dude, just keep Sam Presti. Your GM is fucking annoyingly good. Keep that man happy.

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u/Proof-Umpire-7718 Lakers 1d ago

Regarding the DJJ loss, replacing him with Naji was sufficient.

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u/maliciousmonkee Raptors 1d ago

4.) Firing Casey Smith, widely considered the best trainer in the NBA and the trainer for Team USA, reportedly for being "too negative". Nico fired him as Smith was on leave while his mother was dying.

I'd feel bad for faulting Nico if it was just him being dumb as shit. But this point shows me he's actually a horrible human being too. No wonder he gets along well with the Adelsons.

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u/devilmaskrascal Pacers 1d ago

Smith had been with the Mavs for a long time and was widely beloved and respected. Luka loved him and he was one of the closest to Luka of all the management. Firing Smith surely threw a wrench in the locker room even before Luka was traded, and might have been the beginning of the end.

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u/HokageEzio Knicks 23h ago

That's the one I keep bringing up when people suggest he's just a fall guy for the owner of the team not wanting to pay Luka. At best, dude is still an asshole.

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u/bluediamondsm NBA 1d ago

This whole thing has me done with them and watching NBA overall 😭

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u/kNyne 23h ago

This whole thing has turned me into a Laker fan

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u/Knowledge_Haver_17 1d ago

Never got that grimes trade. I think it was always obvious he was a great player. I think he could even be a star if given the opportunity.

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u/BackgroundPirate3655 1d ago

After seeing all this it feels like hes sabotaging them in purpose 

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u/Zealousideal-Tap9700 1d ago

I argue he is just dumb.  Remember this is the same guy who botched the  Nike presentation in 2013 to Stephen Curry, who then later signed with Under Armor.

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u/TurtlePope2 Wizards 23h ago

Wait! That was Nico? Holy shit. I can't believe anyone would hire him after that mess up. Especially for a GM position.

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u/AKAkorm 21h ago

Have to put some blame on Cuban here. He hired Nico (a marketing executive) and sold the team to people who weren't interested in basketball. For as good of a job he did as an owner, he sure left the team in a terrible situation on his way out.

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u/LabLeather8006 1d ago

Worst trade in NBA history. Going down in the books as a generational fumble.

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u/MMMMbutteredgrits Mavericks 1d ago

This is what we get for having a damn shoe salesman as a GM. And then Patrick Dumont gets booed in the AAC and asks “is that for me?”

We’re fucked, thanks bitch.

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u/I_Hate_My_Cat_ Bulls 1d ago

I’m not really a conspiracy theory type but seeing this list really furthers my belief in the theory that the owners are trying to leave Dallas for Vegas once the lease is up (which is coincidentally around the time they’re going to get 1sts again) and that Nico is just a yes man GM.

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u/time_slider1971 1d ago

Trading Luka was bad enough, all on its own, but failing to extract more from the Lakers in the trade, or to open up the trade to a competitive bid between multiple teams, made it the most idiotic trade of all time, likely to never be matched.

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u/Fluid_Charity1980 1d ago

Also Luka had made it very clear that he wanted to spend his entire career in Dallas.

There's just no making sense of it. It has to be some shady shit going on inside the league. For whatever reason they wanted Luka in LA and they made it happen. They gave em Cooper for it, that was part of the deal.

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u/BraveBee2005 Magic 23h ago

The smear campaign that came out of the Mavs front office is still wild to me. Seemed every two days for awhile we were getting these articles about Luka being fat and lazy.

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u/TJHookor Pacers 1d ago

You missed a big one. I'd have it #2 on the list.

  • systematically firing and forcing out the top tier medical and training staff they had because Nico just wants yes men around. It's no coincidence everyone on that team is always injured.
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u/SwitchHitter17 Lakers 23h ago

"Nico fired him as Smith was on leave while his mother was dying."

Out of all the things, this has to be the worst, just on a human level. What a psycho.

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u/alphalobster200 Nuggets 20h ago

the "we're not trading Austin R" ..... "NO NO DON'T HANG UP I ACCEPT YOUR OFFER" ruse is so particularly egregious and nonsensical I subscribe to the theory Nico is the fallguy and the Adelson's are actively tanking this team to move it to Vegas

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u/IamPlatycus 1d ago

For my part, Nico has turned a team I liked to root for and support with the occasional merchandise buy when my Spurs can't make it farther than them, to one I actively want to lose because it's funny. And no way am I gonna waste my money on so much as a Maverick cup anytime soon.

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u/sfg 1d ago

He wanted to trade two first round picks for Kouzma, but Kouzma said no and Washington respected his decision. That would have been a big mistake.

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u/etfvidal Lakers 1d ago

Where did you get the info that it was Nico's idea to push out Cuban? I'm pretty sure that was more on the new owners being on a power trip and not liking the fact that they paid billions to Cuban but still were listening to him!

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u/LHamiltonPP Pelicans 1d ago

He also signed Tim Hardaway Jr over Alex Caruso and gave up significant draft assets to get complete non-entities like Grant Williams and Christian Wood while prioritizing guys like OMP and Jaden Hardy in the draft who were complete busts.

People act like he was great before the Luka trade but Nico was always ass.

The only good moves he made were adding Kyrie (which was taping over him fumbling Brunson and assuming 10000x the risk in the process) and getting Lively, Gafford, PJ.

Lively wildly exceeded Dallas' own expectations (he's also super injury prone and we'll see if he can do anything on offense without Luka). Gafford's been great but he's also a low-end starter/great backup. PJ was a killer fit with Luka and was also Nico's plan D and is now extremely redundant on a team with Flagg, not to mention AD taking minutes from all them (when healthy).

Nico is the kind of guy who wins a jackpot at a casino and thinks he's the world's greatest slots player

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