2020-2021 MAVS NEWS: Archived

[Mavs2021]

I think in time you'll see this take on what Nico said is a total misread on his job with the Mavs.

From what I have been hearing said by all of them ...
1 Cuban is (finally) admitting he has essentially been the Mavs' GM ....
2 .... and by his actions and some of his words, that he has botched things by doing so.
3 So without trying to make a big deal of the import, Cuban has decided he needs to do things differently. Nico will be his GM. Like any other GM. He makes the hiring calls for who he wants as asst GM, analytics staff, coach, cap analysis, etc, they all answer to him (just like in about every other team except maybe the Kings). and he will weigh their input and decide.
4 Technically, Cuban still will sign off on things, but Nico is the focal point now, not Cuban. (It's looking more like the Rangers' model now, whereas it formerly was like the Cowboys.)

In this interview, Nico, like any good man with a big job, is calling what he does a team concept, and not the Nico Harrison Show. But that's him being modest with the job he's being given - admitting he doesn't know it all, praising the people who will be working for him, and describing them as fellow-contributors rather than his underlings. Their input will be valued. He meant to encourage them in advance. He's coming in from the outside, rather than any of them being promoted, and wants them to know that him having this role won't marginalize them being credited for their work.

But they are NOT equals in the input, all trying to persuade Cuban, not anymore. It's going to be Nico's job to figure things out. And this is a major step forward, all by itself, in the Mavs' organization. If I'm reading this right, now it will be Nico's job to figure out what they have been missing in the front office to get the job done expertly, and then to make it all work to produce a better roster.

Well that´s the big elephant in the room, isn´t it.

How much veto power does Cuban have?
How miniscule has the information process to Cuban have to be?

The GM needs a certain amount of breathing space to make a plan. He needs to talk to players, scouts, agents, GMs to formulate an overall strategy with multiple moves. He can´t involve Cuban every step of the way. Neither does he want to.

Harrison says he has made the summer plan. All the moves are reasonable. They all connect to each others. They all build on each other. Will Cuban say: Okay Nico that´s your plan. We do it like that. It´s your responsibility. Or will he veto one move that could crash weeks worth of work, so that we are left scrambling for Delon Wrights.