Dallas’ General Manager Nico Harrison addressed a select few from the media, and the Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis trade was a huge topic of discussion.
Harrison confirmed that despite the backlash and the fact that the Lakers punched a ticket straight to the postseason while the Mavs will battle it out in the play-in, he has no regrets.
“There’s no regrets on the trade,” said Harrison. “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.”
The GM was asked for his thoughts on the entire Dallas fanbase calling for him to be fired.
“Well, the beauty of Dallas is it is a passionate fan base,” he said. “For us to reach our goals, we need that fan base. And 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 and 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. So I think a lot of times trades take a little bit of time.
“But our philosophy, like I said, going forward is defense wins championships and we’re built on defense. And this trade cements us for that.”
He was also asked about how the logic of a time frame that ends as the team enters a stretch when it doesn’t control its first-round picks is in the franchise’s long-term best interests.
“We believe in the move we made,” Harrison responded. “You obviously don’t, and that’s fine. You’re entitled to your opinions, but we’re excited. — I think once we win, then that will change your mind.”
With three years left on his contract, the GM says he sees himself finishing it out.
