Nico Harrison had his first press conference with the Dallas media after the team traded Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis. The Mavs GM quietly avoided the media for the past few months. On Tuesday morning, he held an hour-long session with a few Dallas-based journalists. Most of the talk during his press conference was about Doncic and the future of the team.
Nico Harrison Doubles Down on Defense Wins Championships
Speaking with media members for the first time, Harrison said there are no regrets about trading Doncic. The only other time he spoke with the media was a brief session the following day in Cleveland. But at the time, the trade was still fresh. In his latest press conference, Nico 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.”
At the time, the trade was one of the most shocking in NBA history. People thought Shams Charania of ESPN’s phone was hacked. Now, after the dust has settled, Harrison still believes he made the right move.
Harrison Believes History Is On His Side
Harrison even talked about previous trades and how the fan base has not received them happily. He reminded everybody of the initial Kyrie Irving trade and how he has managed to turn his career around. Harrison said,
“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. When I traded for Kyrie, it was met with a lot of skepticism and it was graded as a terrible trade you didn’t see it right away, but eventually everyone agreed that that was a great trade. When I traded for [Gafford] and [Washington] again, it was like, ‘Oh, he gave up way too much. These guys aren’t going to help us.’ Now that trade, you saw the evidence a lot sooner.”
While he might be right on that point, this trade will be judged by whether Dallas wins a championship with Davis or not. Right now, the Lakers are starting the postseason as the third seed and have the fourth-best odds to win the championship. Dallas, on the other hand, will host the play-in game as the ninth seed. They need to win two play-in games just to get to the playoffs. If they do so, they will go up against the Oklahoma City Thunder. OKC won 68 games this season, tied for the sixth-best record in league history. Right now, the Thunder are the favorites to win the title.
Nico Harrison Secret Press Conference
Here is an interesting fact about Nico’s press conference. There were no cameras and audio recordings allowed at the conference. It is an unusual move for the modern world we live in. What was said during the conference got out anyway, but was he afraid that a camera might catch his body language?
Mavericks execs Nico Harrison and Rick Welts are holding a roundtable this AM with selected Dallas media members.
Cameras/audio recording devices were not permitted for Harrison's first session with local reporters since the Luka Dončić trade.
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— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) April 15, 2025
Dallas Championship Window – Reality or Not?
The Mavericks will have a huge decision this summer, which can either open their championship window or close it forever. Irving has a player option, and what he decides to do with it will dictate their offseason. Irving is out with an injury, and he will miss a huge chunk of next season. Davis and Klay Thompson are signed through the 2026-27 season. But AD is 32 and Klay is 35 years old. How much they have left in the tank?
The Mavericks are one of the teams in the Kevin Durant sweepstakes. But exactly what they give to get KD will determine their championship window. Just a reminder, Kyrie and KD were not able to do it in Brooklyn. Will they get a second chance in Dallas with AD?
Photo credit: © Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
