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Tim MacMahon
Dallas – Mavericks Nico Harrison CEO doubled on his mantra “Defense Wins Championships”, repeatedly used this proverb as an explanation of his trading decision Doncic to LakersA shocking blockbuster agreement that outraged the base of Dallas fans and triggered frequent singing that called Harrison’s fire.
Harrison, along with the new CEO of MAVS Rick Welts, organized an hour session with a selected group of media based on Dallas, in which the Doncic store, 26, for a 32 -year -old permanent star forward Anthony Davis dominated the discussion.
“There is no regret about the store,” said Harrison, whose only further availability of the media from the store was the next day in Cleveland a short pregame. “Part of my work is to do the best for Mavericks, not only today, but also in the future, and some decisions that I make will be unpopular. That’s my job and I have to stand.”
Harrison concluded an agreement only months after Doncic led Dallas to the NBA finals after a number of shops to build applicants around the franchise player. Harrison referred to these stores – including shops Kyrie Irving, Daniel Gafford and PJ Washington – When he asked about the extensive desire of Dallas fans for him to be released.
“Well, the beauty of Dallas is that it’s a passionate fan base,” Harrison said. “To achieve our goals, we need the fan base. And to be honest with you, every shop I’ve been here since I have been here has not been considered a good trade, so sometimes it takes time. When I traded Kyrie, I met great skepticism and it was again when I traded. Again (again) and that it is, that it is, that it is with a big trade.
“But our philosophy, as I said, is a defensive victory in the championships and we are built in defense. And this business is cemented for it.”
Didn’t Harrison believe that the core of the final of the final season, with Doncic as a highlight, could fight for the title?
“I’ll say it again: Defense will win the championship,” Harrison said.
MAV had the highest NBA defense for the last 20 games of the last season. The Boston Celtics He eliminated Mavs in five games in the final, but the defense was not Dallas’s biggest problem in this series. In the finals, Mavs allowed 109.2 points per 100 property, a defensive rating that would place second in the league in the last regular season.
Harrison surrendered to control over the first MAVS rounds from 2027 to 2030, while this number of successful shops as well as brand and trading agreement Grant Williams It didn’t work well. He said he believed that he had set up a team on “three to four -year time frames” to face titles, although the injury was destroyed by MAVS Hope this season.
“We believe in the move we have done,” Harrison said as he asked how the logic of the time framework ends when the team enters the section when it does not control its first round is in the long -term best interests of franchise. “Obviously not, and that’s okay. You are entitled to your opinions, but we are excited. … I think that as soon as we win, then it will change your mind.”
Asked if he would imagine that he would continue as Mavs’s GM in the time frame of three to four years, Harrison said he was considering Dallas’s home and said, “I have three years left.
“I think once we win, then it will change your mind.”
Mavericks GM Nico Harrison on those skeptical towards the Luk Doncic Trade
Harrison said he hoped that “showcase would disappear” due to the performance of the “team of the championship”, which he built with Davis and star guard Irving as a highlight. Many injuries, however, derailed Dallas’s season when Mavs limp to record 39-43 to claim the final games of the Western Conference.
The most important of these injuries was the torn ACL, which suffered from Irving, which will extend it to the extended section and start next season. Davis, who was postponed with abdominal injuries during Mavericks on February, suffered a related left tribe adductor and was displaced for another six weeks.
That 116-105 home victory over Houston Rockets – When the fans organized a big protest pregame outside the American Airlines- was the only time when Irving and Davis played together for Mavs. Davis had 26 points, 16 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 blocks in 31 minutes before he suffered an injury.
“This is a team of caliber of the championship and you could see it for 2 and a half quarters,” Harrison said. “Unfortunately, it is a small sample size, but this is a pretty dominant defensive team. And if you look at us, our philosophy will change. We are a team that is built in defense, we are based on versatility and depth.
MAVS minority owner Mark Cuban, who lost control of basketball operations when he sold the majority of franchise to the families of Adelson and Dumont last season, is one of the many who criticized Harrison for maximizing the return on generation talent.
Davis faced a package from Lakers, which also included a promising wing Max Christie and 2029 selection from the first round. Lakers CEO Rob Pelinka used the secret nature of the discussion that Harrison considered partially partially prevented from preventing Doncica and his agent Bill Duffy to have any effect, as a leverage effect in business interviews.
“We focused on advertising with our philosophy of defense victories,” Harrison said. “We wanted our team to lead a two -way player, and it was Anthony Davis. And so everyone will have their criticisms and I’m not sure what Mark said, but that left for him. But we got what we wanted.”
Cuban was not consulted in a decision to trade Doncic, who said he was planning to sign a five -year extension of Supermax by $ 345 million this summer to stay in Dallas for a long time. Neither the Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki, who also publicly criticized the agreement.
“First, no one really knew about this store,” Harrison said. “It was very silence, but you can’t seek advice from people who are not constantly in the building. They don’t understand what the team goes through every day.”
Variations of Doncic No. 77, including editions from The Mavs, Lakers and the Slovenian National Team, continue to exceed all other jerseys combined during domestic games in Dallas.
This is especially true when Doncic returned with the Lakers 9th April when Tears ran down his face During a video with a homage to Pregame before burning MAVS for 45 points during the Los Angeles 112-97 victory. That night was booked by standing ovations for Doncic from a crowd of selection, which often sang “Fire Nico!” throughout the game.
Welts, however, quoted the level of renewal of seasonal tickets between 75% and 80% as evidence that the fan base remains enthusiastic about MAV.
“That doesn’t mean there is a segment of our fan base that doesn’t feel stolen now, and I think we’ll hear them,” Welts said. “And it is up to us to gain this confidence back. I am very sure that this is exactly what we do in the way we behave in court and outside the court every day.
“One thing that was amazing for me, I think I have never seen a more passionate fan base than any team in any sport. In my kind of glass half, I think it’s really positive.
