Luka Dealt to Lakers: Nico Harrison is a Basketball Terrorist

[hakeemfaan]

I would absolutely one million percent rather have Luka over AD and a #1. That being said, I understand why they traded Luka, but they completely botched the return. They did it in secrecy because they knew they wouldn't be able to trade Luka if the fans knew ahead of time. Nico handled this as poorly as humanly possible with no regard to the fans. The return from LA should have been AD, Reeves, Knecht and 2 number ones at a minimum. What happened should not have been allowed by Silver.

Absolutely. It should have been the minimum. 

The biggest kick on the nuts is Pelinka’s camp leaking how they whittled down the trade by convincing their “dear friend” Nico how Luka was drunk and fat.  What a bozo Nico is. Pelinka doesn’t lose many trades.  The moment he said that and still wanted Luka, Nico should have just shut it down. Pelinka treated Nico like the novice tool he was while Nico seemed overwhelmed. 

Pelinka’s camp leaking that was akin to pissing on you and then claiming they did a favor by not taking a dump on you.

[StrandedOnBeauboisHill]

Absolutely. It should have been the minimum. 

The biggest kick on the nuts is Pelinka’s camp leaking how they whittled down the trade by convincing their “dear friend” Nico how Luka was drunk and fat.  What a bozo Nico is. Pelinka doesn’t lose many trades.  The moment he said that and still wanted Luka, Nico should have just shut it down. Pelinka treated Nico like the novice tool he was while Nico seemed overwhelmed. 

Pelinka’s camp leaking that was akin to pissing on you and then claiming they did a favor by not taking a dump on you.

Windy today said that part of the reason the 2031 pick got dropped was because Nico wanted to keep things secret and wouldn't let the Lakers talk to Luka about it to confirm whether he'd sign an extension.

The insanity of the secrecy of this is why people keep their tin foil hats on trying to reach for ANYTHING to bring peace of mind to a decision like this as well as the poor execution of it all.   This man really didn't care about anyone but himself, this isn't about the mavs, this isn't for the fans, this isn't even about fucking winning, this is all about Nico getting his friends on the same roster together so he can watch the fanfic that goes on in his head.

[F Gump]

In the PC, Pelinka thanked Nico, with the comment that it takes a partner like Nico to get a deal like this done. Nico, the clueless lamb who thinks he is a lion.

[Chicagojk]

Windy today said that part of the reason the 2031 pick got dropped was because Nico wanted to keep things secret and wouldn't let the Lakers talk to Luka about it to confirm whether he'd sign an extension.

The insanity of the secrecy of this is why people keep their tin foil hats on trying to reach for ANYTHING to bring peace of mind to a decision like this as well as the poor execution of it all.   This man really didn't care about anyone but himself, this isn't about the mavs, this isn't for the fans, this isn't even about fucking winning, this is all about Nico getting his friends on the same roster together so he can watch the fanfic that goes on in his head.

Ouch.  I know these negotiations are sensitve and more tricky than made out to be.   31 first would't have made it worth it, but it should have been included.  IMO when you have two future picks for a team, you never know what will happen.  Especially in today's NBA.   They may very well be late firsts, but strange things happen.   I was was more interested in 31 than Dalton.

[StrandedOnBeauboisHill]

Ouch.  I know these negotiations are sensitve and more tricky than made out to be.   31 first would't have made it worth it, but it should have been included.  IMO when you have two future picks for a team, you never know what will happen.  Especially in today's NBA.   They may very well be late firsts, but strange things happen.   I was was more interested in 31 than Dalton.

If it was truly a win now move, getting those two extra assets should have been absolutely crucial because of what it would have meant they could have done the rest of the week.  It is mind numbing how poorly this was all handled.

[StrandedOnBeauboisHill]

I do have one more tin foil conspiracy though...

Maverick Carter is trying to start up a rival league to the NBA, basically the LIV golf of basketball.  Sounds like it will all be Saudi money seeing as he's trying to raise 5 billy for it.  If Maverick Carter is involved, Rich Paul, Lebron, Nico and probably Pelinka are all involved to some extent since that's the general circle of folks who run around together.  It will probably take a few years to get everything stood up, looks like they're trying to get 6 mens teams and 6 womens teams together to travel the globe and play each other.  Luka now will probably sign a 2 year deal with a player option to get to 10 years of service to get back to the super max eligibility (that he very much deserved this offseason).  If the league starting is timed with Luka's free agency and someone offers him a billion dollar contract to join this league instead...does he take it?

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/4344...all-league

This story broke around the same time that Nico and Pelinka started talking to each other.

[michaeltex]

Yet another theory on why the Luka to LA deal was done on the QT.

https://bluemanhoop.com/golden-state-war...-mavericks

Basically talks about a LeBron to GSW deal discussed last season that got cancelled once Rich Paul got involved. So the intent was to do the deal quietly and without any outside pressure from agents, players, media, etc.

[DallasMaverick]

looks like they're trying to get 6 mens teams and 6 womens teams together to travel the globe and play each other.

I’m betting on the men’s teams.

[Chicagojk]

The more I think about it, the more pissed off I am with the Nico press conference. Nico has always been an awkward speaker. In fact, I really don't like listening to him because most of his answers have little substance. He has never felt comfortable answering questions. He has gotten better the last few years but has never seemed polished. Sort of weird coming from where he was before the Mavericks.

Although, to have that press conference and try to joke is just really, really poor taste. I have no idea if Kidd was on board, but you could tell Kidd understood the moment and wanted nothing to do with any jokes. He can't give the real reasons why he made the trade, but that should have been a simple execution. We would all still be just as pissed, but to think you can get up there an tell a joke is just tone deaf.

[cow]

Nico Billboard GoFundMe

[SleepingHero]

Nico Billboard GoFundMe

While I hope this isn’t some grifter trying to scam people, I donated to the cause.

Can’t believe this is the world we live in. But I hope we have these billboards up for a while.

[DallasMaverick]

The more I think about it, the more pissed off I am with the Nico press conference.  Nico has always been an awkward speaker.  In fact, I really don't like listening to him because most of his answers have little substance.  He has never felt comfortable answering questions.  He has gotten better the last few years but has never seemed polished.  Sort of weird coming from where he was before the Mavericks.

Although, to have that press conference and try to joke is just really, really poor taste.  I have no idea if Kidd was on board, but you could tell Kidd understood the moment and wanted nothing to do with any jokes.  He can't give the real reasons why he made the trade, but that should have been a simple execution.  We would all still be just as pissed, but to think you can get up there an tell a joke is just tone deaf.

https://youtu.be/a2qDgkI6TQY?feature=shared

[cow]

While I hope this isn’t some grifter trying to scam people, I donated to the cause.

Can’t believe this is the world we live in. But I hope we have these billboards up for a while.

Yeah, I'd be weary that it is a grifter.  It's grown $6K since I saw it last night.

[SleepingHero]

Yeah, I'd be weary that it is a grifter.  It's grown $6K since I saw it last night.

Well I hope that grifter enjoys my $200. That’s how much I despise Nico that I would willingly torch $200 to try and protest that salamander.

[KillerLeft]

The more I think about it, the more pissed off I am with the Nico press conference.  Nico has always been an awkward speaker.  In fact, I really don't like listening to him because most of his answers have little substance.  He has never felt comfortable answering questions.  He has gotten better the last few years but has never seemed polished.  Sort of weird coming from where he was before the Mavericks.

Although, to have that press conference and try to joke is just really, really poor taste.  I have no idea if Kidd was on board, but you could tell Kidd understood the moment and wanted nothing to do with any jokes.  He can't give the real reasons why he made the trade, but that should have been a simple execution.  We would all still be just as pissed, but to think you can get up there an tell a joke is just tone deaf.

Totally. Night and day how the two GM's, Harrison and Pelinka, handled the press this week. One of them understands that shaping the narrative in a positive direction with carefully chosen words is part of his job because it affects how open the fans, the media and even the guys in the locker room are to embracing the possibilities of big change like this. The other is Nico Harrison. 

Total abject failure, showing an overt under qualification for the position he has been given. When he was hired, he was to have supervision. I'm not saying Mark Cuban represents GOOD supervision, necessarily, but what we're seeing is an ownership team that doesn't get it, and who is trusting their guy to do his job. Ordinarily, that would be GREAT - just what we've been asking for all these years. But, the GM has to be better at his job than this for it to work. The worst GM in the league (and I bet Harrison isn't that, tbh) wouldn't make this move IF his background was in the business of building a pro sports roster. There's a people side to this, too, not just a basketball/business side. This is one of those times when the owner/governor has to step in and say "Nico, go drink some warm milk and lie down for a while. You've lost the plot. We aren't trading Luka."

I blame Harrison. I blame Dumont. I blame Kidd (whether, like me, you think he was part of the motivation here, or if it's just that he should have raised hell about it at the last minute). I blame Mark Cuban for hiring those two clowns and then selling out.

[Smitty]

One of the more difficult things for me to get over is how much trust I and the fanbase had in Nico. I'd argue that most of us were lobbying for him to win Executive of the Year not too long ago. One tweet from Shams changed all of that forever.

[Radical Mavs]

Nico Billboard GoFundMe

What will the billboards say?

[SleepingHero]

One of the more difficult things for me to get over is how much trust I and the fanbase had in Nico. I'd argue that most of us were lobbying for him to win Executive of the Year not too long ago. One tweet from Shams changed all of that forever.

We can never trust this organization again in its current form.

They blew up a finals level, championship contending team, with a superstar just about to hit his prime, in order to attempt to build a finals level team around two aging stars


Those two aging stars are good players don’t get me wrong, but they were at the finish line. Nico stumbled his way into building the most complete team in the Luka era and he decided to pull the plug for NO reason.

[vfromlmf]

There's enough evidence out there to confidently say Dallas decided they weren't going to offer Luka the supermax. This was a financial decision and an ownership call. Maybe Nico advised against the supermax, but regardless that's not a decision he makes in a vacuum. Ownership looked at the totality of the situation and decided Luka wasn't worth $345 million guaranteed. Everything falls into place from there. Dallas just had no leverage and you're talking about serious money.

Unfortunately we'll never really know if the Mavs were right or wrong. The most Luka can sign for now is 4 years $229 million but he'll most likely sign a two-year extension to put himself back in position for the supermax with 10 years of service. And of course now the Lakers have leverage the Mavs didn't. I think Luka will rise to the challenge and win multiple MVPs and Championships in LA but that doesn't necessarily mean the same thing wouldn've happened if Dallas guaranteed Luka $345 million this summer.

[Radical Mavs]

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/FcQqeUYEViI