The Dallas Mavericks pulled a wild stunt on Tuesday, holding a secret press conference for GM Nico Harrison and CEO Rick Welts with select members of the local media. What was supposed to help ease concerns in the media and among the fanbase only made things worse, as Harrison only came off as narcissistic and as a man without a plan. And other organizations are loving it.
Two franchises have already been able to take advantage of Nico Harrison this season, with the Lakers stealing away Luka Doncic and the Philadelphia 76ers swindling the Mavs for Quentin Grimes. That could force Harrison to make some even riskier moves this offseason if he keeps his job, and other teams’ personnel are hoping he does.
READ MORE: Full transcript from Mavericks GM Nico Harrison’s polarizing secret media conference
One anonymous executive in the NBA told ESPN’s Tim MacMahon that he hopes that Harrison “Makes it through another transactional cycle. It’s always good to have a desperate GM out there,” which MacMahon revealed on the latest episode of the “Hoop Collective” podcast.
When another franchise is hoping for you to keep your employees, that’s a bad sign. Patrick Dumont, the governor of the Mavericks, hasn’t expressed any public doubts about Harrison’s ability to do the job, but this is a lot of noise around a franchise that just made the NBA Finals nine months ago. It was not supposed to go this way.
Dallas is playing in the 9/10 game of the Play-In Tournament on Wednesday night against the Sacramento Kings, and if they lose, as everyone expects them to, this offseason will be crucial to get this corrected. Otherwise, the franchise could be staring down a deep, dark hole worse than what they went through during the 1990s.
READ MORE: NBA analyst takes vicious shot at Mavericks’ Nico Harrison
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