Luka Dealt to Lakers: Nico Harrison is a Basketball Terrorist

[mvossman]

Cuban of anyone on the planet has no right to tell anyone to keep their mouths shut.

I don't disagree, but simply pointing out that I don't think he was toting the company line.

[omahen]

Well, I think he lied about that. Not the worst thing he's done over the past fortnight, right?

What are known facts:
1. Both Nico and Pelinka said that this deal had to be done in very tight circle. Actually declining the report that anyone else was contacted
2. Everyone was surprised by it 
3. Several front office people expressed displeasure that they could not field an offer

So I simply don't believe some not really known source (first time I heard for this guy) that Mavs were asking around.

[KillerLeft]

So I simply don't believe some not really known source (first time I heard for this guy) that Mavs were asking around.

Ok, that's fair. 

I do believe the Milwaukee/Giannis part, personally. That's been out for a while, from more than one source. At the end of the day it doesn't really matter whether it's true or not. It would never have gone through, and knowing whether or not it's true doesn't make Luka any less traded.

[audiosway]

Also of note, that quote can be found in one source only. Rest of quotes of what Thompson said (several other articles reffereing to the same Thompson quote) don't include this. I couldn't find a video of it.

[omahen]

Thanks

[audiosway]

I took that to mean as a fan.  I really don't think he was suggesting he was pro trade.  Its possible the team was turning against Luka, but I am skeptical and I don't think that quote is strong evidence.

It could be. I would just think that as a player who knows how hard it is to win and puts in a ton of work that it would be hard to watch Luka gain weight and do the little things that attribute to winning. Some team source was quoted as saying "how do you gain weight playing 40 minutes a night".

That combined with the injury problems and just how bad he looked last night caught my attention watching Klay do the presser. I could be wrong.

[F Gump]

I have come to the belief that this is NOT going to blow over with time. The FO keeps digging the hole deeper and deeper, with terrible understanding of how to deal with a loyal fan base, or in working through hard decisions and mistakes and dealing with public perceptions. And in the bigger picture, I think Nico has demonstrated he is in way over his head as a GM, and has to be replaced. Sooner would be better than later, because they need someone really good who can bring some skill to the repair work. (It sounds like he has the Adelson's believing he knows what he's doing, so it may be a really long wait.)

I am coming to believe that everything changed - and went off the rails - after the euphoria of the Finals run.

That led to Nico getting a multi-year extension. But in observing the actions that followed, it feels like that success (and contract) made him think he had it all figured out, and no longer needed the experts around him.

Right after that was when he got rid of the NBA's best medical person. And he also let Dennis Lindsey get away (rather than give him a bigger title and a raise). I am firmly convinced that all the finesse and nuances in roster-building and asset management that we saw in 2023-24 and that led to that Finals run - including PJW and Gafford trades - were Lindsey moves. The awful asset management and bad negotiations, before and since, topping out at the Luka and Grimes deals, show an utter lack of any negotiating skill whatsoever in the little details at the margins that can change everything. The Hardy deal was also Nico and one I think they are going to regret a lot.

Terrible crisis management (of a disaster self-created). Getting rid of badly needed experts. which reeks of ego and a power motif running wild. How can you dig the team out of the ditch when the guy in charge has no clue how bad he is?

Is it worth it to be a Mavs fan, until they get someone who has a clue in where to go from here?

[fifteenth]

I watched that too. It was hard to watch. I can't believe he is moving like that at 25. It makes me wonder if there is more going on than we are being told. First thing I thought was "if he moves like this at 25 what is 28-29 going to look like?"

Like you, I think he will play himself into shape. But, wow it was shocking to see him like that.

#270lb

[fifteenth]

Cuban of anyone on the planet has no right to tell anyone to keep their mouths shut.

We Ain't Done Yet!!!!!

[StrandedOnBeauboisHill]

I have come to the belief that this is NOT going to blow over with time. The FO keeps digging the hole deeper and deeper, with terrible understanding of how to deal with a loyal fan base, or in working through hard decisions and mistakes and dealing with public perceptions. And in the bigger picture, I think Nico has demonstrated he is in way over his head as a GM, and has to be replaced. Sooner would be better than later, because they need someone really good who can bring some skill to the repair work. (It sounds like he has the Adelson's believing he knows what he's doing, so it may be a really long wait.)

I am coming to believe that everything changed - and went off the rails - after the euphoria of the Finals run.

That led to Nico getting a multi-year extension. But in observing the actions that followed, it feels like that success (and contract) made him think he had it all figured out, and no longer needed the experts around him.

Right after that was when he got rid of the NBA's best medical person. And he also let Dennis Lindsey get away (rather than give him a bigger title and a raise). I am firmly convinced that all the finesse and nuances in roster-building and asset management that we saw in 2023-24 and that led to that Finals run - including PJW and Gafford trades - were Lindsey moves. The awful asset management and bad negotiations, before and since, topping out at the Luka and Grimes deals, show an utter lack of any negotiating skill whatsoever in the little details at the margins that can change everything. The Hardy deal was also Nico and one I think they are going to regret a lot.

Terrible crisis management (of a disaster self-created). Getting rid of badly needed experts. which reeks of ego and a power motif running wild. How can you dig the team out of the ditch when the guy in charge has no clue how bad he is?

Is it worth it to be a Mavs fan, until they get someone who has a clue in where to go from here?

When it comes to negotiating, I think about it like this:

As a Nike rep his saw his job as just doing whatever a player/agent asked or needed of him.  As long as he got his guy then that was a win.

In the NBA world he is now taking this approach when talking to other GMs because he still thinks as long as he got his guy then it's a win when in reality there is soooooooooo much more to it.  He can't think further than the "win" he sees in front of him.  He clearly has no vision for the future.  His whole job is to shepherd the organization down a healthy path for fans to enjoy but he sees it as getting huge names and national attention.  Most of the times those two concepts can intersect but it's usually super duper obvious when they shouldn't.

[KillerLeft]

I have come to the belief that this is NOT going to blow over with time. The FO keeps digging the hole deeper and deeper, with terrible understanding of how to deal with a loyal fan base, or in working through hard decisions and mistakes and dealing with public perceptions. And in the bigger picture, I think Nico has demonstrated he is in way over his head as a GM, and has to be replaced. Sooner would be better than later, because they need someone really good who can bring some skill to the repair work. (It sounds like he has the Adelson's believing he knows what he's doing, so it may be a really long wait.)

I am coming to believe that everything changed - and went off the rails - after the euphoria of the Finals run.

That led to Nico getting a multi-year extension. But in observing the actions that followed, it feels like that success (and contract) made him think he had it all figured out, and no longer needed the experts around him.

Right after that was when he got rid of the NBA's best medical person. And he also let Dennis Lindsey get away (rather than give him a bigger title and a raise). I am firmly convinced that all the finesse and nuances in roster-building and asset management that we saw in 2023-24 and that led to that Finals run - including PJW and Gafford trades - were Lindsey moves. The awful asset management and bad negotiations, before and since, topping out at the Luka and Grimes deals, show an utter lack of any negotiating skill whatsoever in the little details at the margins that can change everything. The Hardy deal was also Nico and one I think they are going to regret a lot.

Terrible crisis management (of a disaster self-created). Getting rid of badly needed experts. which reeks of ego and a power motif running wild. How can you dig the team out of the ditch when the guy in charge has no clue how bad he is?

Is it worth it to be a Mavs fan, until they get someone who has a clue in where to go from here?

What sucks is that this is much closer to what we've been asking for all these years than we got with Cuban, but it turns out it's just one incompetent handing the keys to some other incompetents.

[omahen]

I have come to the belief that this is NOT going to blow over with time. The FO keeps digging the hole deeper and deeper, with terrible understanding of how to deal with a loyal fan base, or in working through hard decisions and mistakes and dealing with public perceptions. And in the bigger picture, I think Nico has demonstrated he is in way over his head as a GM, and has to be replaced. Sooner would be better than later, because they need someone really good who can bring some skill to the repair work. (It sounds like he has the Adelson's believing he knows what he's doing, so it may be a really long wait.)

I am coming to believe that everything changed - and went off the rails - after the euphoria of the Finals run.

That led to Nico getting a multi-year extension. But in observing the actions that followed, it feels like that success (and contract) made him think he had it all figured out, and no longer needed the experts around him.

Right after that was when he got rid of the NBA's best medical person. And he also let Dennis Lindsey get away (rather than give him a bigger title and a raise). I am firmly convinced that all the finesse and nuances in roster-building and asset management that we saw in 2023-24 and that led to that Finals run - including PJW and Gafford trades - were Lindsey moves. The awful asset management and bad negotiations, before and since, topping out at the Luka and Grimes deals, show an utter lack of any negotiating skill whatsoever in the little details at the margins that can change everything. The Hardy deal was also Nico and one I think they are going to regret a lot.

Terrible crisis management (of a disaster self-created). Getting rid of badly needed experts. which reeks of ego and a power motif running wild. How can you dig the team out of the ditch when the guy in charge has no clue how bad he is?

Is it worth it to be a Mavs fan, until they get someone who has a clue in where to go from here?

Great post, very much agree. Taking aside all the aspects and doubts about the trade, Mavs handling it afterwards was a disaster. Them not expecting and not being prepared for the overall reaction. Making all the wrong statements, being insulted by different opinions from fans. I agree these are all the signals of power drunk people, who don't have much experience facing different opinions (fire anyone who dares to think differently and problem solved). 

Just a minor note on Casey Smith. Him being removed was a thing that was in work for some time, I think over two years. I remember Mavs insiders (I think Stein, perhaps also Cato) were reporting how he was gradually removed from decision making. I didn't pay much attention at the time, because of course I don't know much about inner workings of Mavs organisation. But now things are becoming clearer.

[Winter]

I have come to the belief that this is NOT going to blow over with time. 

I agree ... mostly for this simple reason. Sports fans have incrediblly long memories.

Sports fans digest things like past players, team history, and statistics from years past. They talk about these things constantly. I know people who still haven't watched the Dallas Cowboys because of how Tom Landry was treated by the new owner. Most of us can discuss the Jason Kidd-Michael Finley trade to Phoenix as if it were yesterday. We remember little stuff like Popyeye Jones rebounding record and Cherokee Parks tatoos.

Message boards will be tossing this trade around for decades. There is no place in Dallas that Nico can walk where he will feel comfortable. The Mavs will have to win a championship very soon before the feelings for the GM and owner even get to a neutral place. And I'm not really convinced that will help.  

This has gone beyond Mavericks basketball. Every sports writer in North-central Texas is writing opinion columns. It was on the 6:00 national news broadcasts. It was a topic in social clubs, elevators, and busses. People who can't tell you anything about basketball knew who Luka was. 

And the people who yanked that away are either hiding from us or stumbling through press releases.

So no, I don't think this blows over any time soon.

[numnuts23]

 The Hardy deal was also Nico and one I think they are going to regret a lot.

Why do you think the Hardy deal will be something so terrible?  To me, that contract is an asset - $6 million a year for a young scorer isn't much at all.  I know he's not playing right now, but he's still averaging almost 10 a game when he does in limited minutes.  

Pretty sure they could flip that contract into draft picks pretty easily if they wanted to...but he's now in the group of cost control, which Nico seems to be looking for.

[mvossman]

I have come to the belief that this is NOT going to blow over with time. The FO keeps digging the hole deeper and deeper, with terrible understanding of how to deal with a loyal fan base, or in working through hard decisions and mistakes and dealing with public perceptions. And in the bigger picture, I think Nico has demonstrated he is in way over his head as a GM, and has to be replaced. Sooner would be better than later, because they need someone really good who can bring some skill to the repair work. (It sounds like he has the Adelson's believing he knows what he's doing, so it may be a really long wait.)

I am coming to believe that everything changed - and went off the rails - after the euphoria of the Finals run.

That led to Nico getting a multi-year extension. But in observing the actions that followed, it feels like that success (and contract) made him think he had it all figured out, and no longer needed the experts around him.

Right after that was when he got rid of the NBA's best medical person. And he also let Dennis Lindsey get away (rather than give him a bigger title and a raise). I am firmly convinced that all the finesse and nuances in roster-building and asset management that we saw in 2023-24 and that led to that Finals run - including PJW and Gafford trades - were Lindsey moves. The awful asset management and bad negotiations, before and since, topping out at the Luka and Grimes deals, show an utter lack of any negotiating skill whatsoever in the little details at the margins that can change everything. The Hardy deal was also Nico and one I think they are going to regret a lot.

Terrible crisis management (of a disaster self-created). Getting rid of badly needed experts. which reeks of ego and a power motif running wild. How can you dig the team out of the ditch when the guy in charge has no clue how bad he is?

Is it worth it to be a Mavs fan, until they get someone who has a clue in where to go from here?

This is exactly where I am at.  The only hope is that all of this (apparently unexpected) backlash is enough to convince somebody in the Adelson family a change needs to be made.  So much damage has been done, but a single year of Linsey made such a big difference on what was starting to look like a hopeless situation, so maybe getting a legit GM in here before Nico does more damage in the offseason will provide a similar turnaround.

[numnuts23]

This is exactly where I am at.  The only hope is that all of this (apparently unexpected) backlash is enough to convince somebody in the Adelson family a change needs to be made.  So much damage has been done, but a single year of Linsey made such a big difference on what was starting to look like a hopeless situation, so maybe getting a legit GM in here before Nico does more damage in the offseason will provide a similar turnaround.

Maybe Miriam will step in and tell her idiot son in law to shut it and she'll make the move.  I think that's probably the only hope, as Patrick seems to think Nico is a genius

[SleepingHero]

Why do you think the Hardy deal will be something so terrible?  To me, that contract is an asset - $6 million a year for a young scorer isn't much at all.  I know he's not playing right now, but he's still averaging almost 10 a game when he does in limited minutes.  

Pretty sure they could flip that contract into draft picks pretty easily if they wanted to...but he's now in the group of cost control, which Nico seems to be looking for.

In todays NBA world where every dollar matters, devoting even 5% of your cap to a one dimensional guy who doesn’t really play defense, can’t pass, can’t really dribble, but can score a lot isn’t very appetizing.

Any team who trades for Hardy is going to hope they can still mold him. Because right now he’s barely an NBA player. He’s about as polished of a scorer as they come, but it doesn’t really matter if he can’t work within a team.

[SleepingHero]

I have come to the belief that this is NOT going to blow over with time. The FO keeps digging the hole deeper and deeper, with terrible understanding of how to deal with a loyal fan base, or in working through hard decisions and mistakes and dealing with public perceptions. And in the bigger picture, I think Nico has demonstrated he is in way over his head as a GM, and has to be replaced. Sooner would be better than later, because they need someone really good who can bring some skill to the repair work. (It sounds like he has the Adelson's believing he knows what he's doing, so it may be a really long wait.)

I am coming to believe that everything changed - and went off the rails - after the euphoria of the Finals run.

That led to Nico getting a multi-year extension. But in observing the actions that followed, it feels like that success (and contract) made him think he had it all figured out, and no longer needed the experts around him.

Right after that was when he got rid of the NBA's best medical person. And he also let Dennis Lindsey get away (rather than give him a bigger title and a raise). I am firmly convinced that all the finesse and nuances in roster-building and asset management that we saw in 2023-24 and that led to that Finals run - including PJW and Gafford trades - were Lindsey moves. The awful asset management and bad negotiations, before and since, topping out at the Luka and Grimes deals, show an utter lack of any negotiating skill whatsoever in the little details at the margins that can change everything. The Hardy deal was also Nico and one I think they are going to regret a lot.

Terrible crisis management (of a disaster self-created). Getting rid of badly needed experts. which reeks of ego and a power motif running wild. How can you dig the team out of the ditch when the guy in charge has no clue how bad he is?

Is it worth it to be a Mavs fan, until they get someone who has a clue in where to go from here?

Nailed it. I hope this doesn’t blow over. We need radical change. Any person behind the wheel who thinks this was a good move doesn’t deserve to be in their position.

And I say this as someone who doesn’t mind Davis. He’s a fantastic player. Hell maybe Nico is right and that Luka is about to deteriorate. But you still had one of the most valuable assets in the history of the league and Nico squandered it like he was just a random player. They even gave up a pick!!! Ugh

[mvossman]

Maybe Miriam will step in and tell her idiot son in law to shut it and she'll make the move.  I think that's probably the only hope, as Patrick seems to think Nico is a genius

Yeah, that's why I said somebody in that family.  Patrick has shown such a lack of awareness I'm afraid the move would have to come from above him.  No idea if there is any chance of that.

[KillerLeft]

Every time I think I’ve reached acceptance, this “sinks in” just a little deeper and I;m back in a state of abject shock.