The Dallas Mavericks have been the most talked-about team this season! N0, not because of their game, but we all know why. Yes! It is because of their blockbuster trade that pushed out long-time superstar Luka Doncic. A move that shook the basketball landscape, players, and beyond. Additionally, it has also been a move that hasn’t quite worked out for the Mavericks organization. They’ve visibly struggled since Doncic’s departure, and to make matters worse, they’ve been hard hit by injuries. Further, making this deal look even more one-sided. Many have blasted the Dallas ownership and front office since, including former Mavericks owner Mark Cuban himself.

While Cuban no longer calls the shots in Dallas, he remains closely linked to the franchise. The 66-year-old doesn’t have a say in the team’s ownership, but still, everyone was curious to know his opinion on the trade. “If the Mavs are going to trade Luka, that’s one thing,” Cuban said. “Just get a better deal. I still firmly believe if we had gotten four unprotected number ones and Anthony Davis and Max Christie, this would be a different conversation.” First of all, he was against trading a 25-year-old superstar who’s close to his prime. But despite that, if the owners still wanted to ship Doncic, Cuban suggested they should’ve gotten a better deal. However, Mavericks’ GM and public enemy number one, Nico Harrison, thinks otherwise. Harrison’s philosophy is simple: Defense wins championships.

He’s stated that several times, and while it doesn’t seem like the case, watching Dallas’ current situation, Harrison continues to stand firm on his ideas. So much so that he doesn’t even want to weigh in on Cuban’s suggestion. And then, there’s an answer from the man who made the trade move to the one who once was at the helm.

“When you look at this trade, we targeted AD. With our philosophy of defense wins championships, we wanted a two-way player to lead our team, and that was Anthony Davis. Everyone’s going to have their criticism. I’m not sure what Mark (Cuban) said, but that’s a better question left for him. But we got what we wanted.” Harrison stated in his recent interview with the Dallas News. The Mavs GM believes that the team is much more likely to go all the way with a player like AD. Despite Doncic leading them to the finals just last season, it doesn’t sound right. Putting that aside, Nico Harrison must have a few regrets, correct?

Nope. “Yeah, there’s no regrets on the trade. Part of my job is to do the best thing for the Mavericks, not only today but also in the future. Some of the decisions I’m going to make are going to be unpopular. And that’s my job, and I have to stand by it. One last thing, I’ll also add that every trade I’ve done has been met with high scrutiny, and so eventually, I’ll earn the trust of this community back. Some of these trades are going to work out, and they have at a high level.” Harrison stated.

The Mavericks’ GM doesn’t have any regrets: In fact, he believes that soon, he’ll be able to win over the community’s trust. That seems highly unlikely, given the team’s situation. While we wait and watch how well Harrison’s words age, he also made a big announcement about his future.

Nico Harrison makes a huge announcement on his future in Dallas

Nico Harrison has been in the spotlight for as long as anyone can remember. That too! For all the wrong reasons. Harrison has become one of the, if not the most hated person in the hoops community. All this came after he approved the trade of fan-favorite Mav, Luka Doncic. Everyone viewed Doncic as the heir of Dallas legend Dirk Nowitzki, and he was tipped to be the one to lead the franchise toward the first NBA championship since Nowitzki’s era. However, Harrison made that deal only months after Doncic led the Mavericks to the NBA finals. This broke the hearts of not just Dallas fans but NBA fans all over the globe. What made things worse was what followed this massive trade.

The Mavericks just had a poor regular season campaign. They barely managed to secure a ticket to the postseason after securing the 10th seed in the Western Conference with a poor 39-43 record. While injuries to key players such as Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis haven’t helped, they’ve looked lackluster without Doncic. This led many people to believe that this might lead to Nico Harrison getting fired. However, that has not been the case. On the contrary, Harrison has made a big statement about his future in Texas. “I have three years left of my contract. I see myself finishing it out.” Harrison stated. “In terms of Dallas, this is our home. My family, they’re going to finish school here. This is where we live, so this is where I’m living.”

He indicated that he’s going nowhere soon. Instead, he considers Dallas his home, and he and his family will continue to stay in Texas, at least for the foreseeable future. (Even Doncic thought the same.) But Harrison believes that soon, everyone will change their minds when they see this newly assembled Mavs team fire on all cylinders. Rest assured, it seems Nico Harrison is going to stay despite several people’s wishes. It remains to be seen how well this team fares, as they are still in the competition. The Mavericks have a play-in tournament to look forward to. We wait and watch where Harrison’s team finishes.