Dallas Mavericks GM Nico Harrison addresses Luka Doncic trade in news conference
With the Dallas Mavericks' 2024-25 season officially over, general manager Nico Harrison faced the media Monday afternoon for the team's annual end-of-season press conference.
It was the first time he addresses the media directly, on camera, since the shocking Luka Doncic trade in February.
On top of the trade, the team dealt with a slew of injuries to key players including Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II. The injuries prevented the Mavs from fielding a competitive roster for much of the last two months of the season. The Mavs went 13-20 after the trade and finished the season 10th in the Western Conference.
Last week, Harrison, along with the team's CEO Rick Welts, addressed the media in a private roundtable discussion for the first time since the trade, but cameras weren't allowed and it was invite-only.
Harrison opened the news conference by making a short statement praising the Mavericks coaching staff and expressing optimism for next season.
"Defense wins championships and we are hanging our hat on defense. We're going to return one of the best front lines in the NBA, and we have one of the deepest and the most versatile benches," he said.
"With the support of the fans, we are committed to coming back next year stronger than ever. Every decision we make this year will be through the lens of competing to win, and our goal is to bring a championship back to Dallas."
Then members of the media started asking questions, with the Luka Doncic trade taking up much of the focus.
"Defense wins championships"
At the private roundtable with reporters, Harrison repeatedly said "defense wins championships" responding to questions about the Luka Doncic trade. Reporters asked multiple questions about that reasoning.
In one exchange, Harrison was asked whether he thought it was impossible to build a strong defensive roster around Doncic that could compete for a championship, despite reaching the NBA Finals in 2024.
"No, I think it's really doubling down on defense. And like I said, when we had the opportunity to get Anthony Davis, who is one of the best two way players in the league, we jumped at that opportunity," Harrison said.
Another reporter followed up, asking if Harrison thought Doncic is a championship-level player.
"That's kind of an unfair question. Luka is no longer on this team. But what I am excited about is, I do believe we have a championship caliber team. And we'll show that next year," Harrison said.
Nico Harrison on fan reaction to the Luka Doncic trade
The anger from the Mavs fan base following the Doncic trade has been one of the biggest stories since it happened, with protesting fans being ejected from the arena and demonstrations before games.
Harrison said he knew Doncic was important to the fans, but not to the level that a trade would elicit the reaction it did.
"The way we looked at it is, you know, if you're putting a team on the floor that's Kyrie [Irving], Klay [Thompson], PJ [Washington] Anthony Davis and [Dereck] Lively, we feel that's a championship-caliber team. And we would have been winning at a high level and that would have quieted some of the outrage. And so unfortunately we weren't able to do that, so it just continued to, you know, go on and on."
Nico Harrison on the "Fire Nico" chants
One reporter brought up how Mavericks fans at the American Airlines Center calling for Harrison to be fired, asking why Harrison feels he should keep his job.
"I think I've done a really good job here. And I don't think I can be judged by the injuries this year. You have to judge the totality, from beginning to end. And so I think I have a really good working relationship with [owner] Patrick [Dumont]. I think you had in [CEO] Rick [Welts], the leadership that we have is really elite. And you'll see next year when our team comes back, we're going to be competing for a championship," Harrison said.
Nico Harrison on dealing with the media
One reporter asked Harrison about how the team handled the media following the Luka Doncic trade. With little information coming from the front office, players and coaches were left to answer questions from reporters.
"As I look back on it, hindsight, we could have been better. Our goal was, is never to run away from the media. That's part of the job and that's the obligation. But also ... we wanted to talk after we had our roster. You know, our plan was to put Kyrie [Irving], Klay [Thompson], [Anthony Davis], PJ [Washington], [Dereck] Lively on the floor so that people could see the vision. And unfortunately that ... never came. So there there was never a good time for us to do that," Harrison said.
