Since Sunday morning, each new episode of the Luka Dovantic-Anthony Davis exchange, which is akin to the Big Bang on the Planet Basket, is tasty. With a few hours of perspective, the Tweet of the official Mavericks account, celebrating on Saturday the day of independence of Texas with a video of Luka Doncic coming out of his 1970 Chevrolet Camaro in the colors of his franchise took a completely different dimension. He still has to scam 99 % of Dallas fans who officially entered depression.
A report by Fox 4 News thus shows Texan supporters screaming against the departure of the one they saw as the successor of Dirk Nowitzki, “the one who also had to have his statue in front of the American Airlines Center”. Many of them denounce the “worse trade In the history of the NBA “and a supporter goes so far as to compare the end of the Doncic era to” the death of a loved one “. At the head of this drama of US/World Sport is a man, whose general public was unaware of existence three days ago. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome Nico Harrison.
The pretty shots Irving and Thompson in oblivion
Let us be honest, this ephemeral ex-professional professional in Belgium, Japan and Lebanon, which became in June 2021 “General Manager” (GM) and president of the MAVS basketball operations, did not present a bad balance sheet until then. By initiating the surprise arrival of the cleavage Kyrie Irving in Dallas in February 2023, Nico Harrison had nevertheless suffered many criticisms. The association between two also strong rear/Ballon gluttons in hand was not obvious. Except that with this exciting “backcourt”, the Texans rose to everyone’s surprise in the NBA finals last spring (1-4 against Boston).
But this pretty blow, and to a lesser extent the coming in July 2024 as “free agent” From another renowned All-Star, Klay Thompson, shattered on Sunday. Nico Harrison became the laughing stock of the whole NBA for having dropped his Slovenian jewel in full force of age (25). Anthony Davis is certainly a dominant interior on both sides of the field, but he will celebrate in a month his 32 years, and he only has a season with more than 65 games played (out of 82) since 2018. A crime of Lèse- Majesty, when we know that Texan fans unanimously loved Luka, despite his often unbearable behavior on the field and his questionable rigor outside the prosecution.
Rob Pelinka as a national hero
Never in the history of the NBA a “Playchise Player”, which is more marker in the league the previous season (33.9 points per game), had been transferred against its will, without even being aware. Dallas Jason Kidd coach was not more so. Face lost alongside Nico Harrison to (try to) defend this transfer during a well gloomy press conference on Sunday evening, the former big playmaker admitted to having been “shocked” by learning the news, almost at the same time that the whole world.
He too probably wonders how his GM (with the blessing of the owner of Mavs Patrick Dumont) was able to swing his best player so brutally, currently injured, without even putting it on the market beforehand in order to obtain the offers More stratospheric of most NBA franchises ready to do anything to offer such a star. But no, only Rob Pelinka, a friend since twenty rods of Nico Harrison and GM of the Lakers, was mysteriously in confidence.
This one has succeeded downright the feat of making Nico Harrison ‘initial demand, due to the doubts issued by his counterpart of Donic’s physical condition, revision, as specified by several American media.
“Everyone would congratulate me for doing nothing”
Result ? The Mavs are finally satisfied with Davis, Christie and a single first round of Draft in 2029. Almost a robbery placing our Nico Harrison on the bench of the accused and well in arguments:
« I understand that we are shocked at the start. For me, the easiest thing to do is do nothing, and everyone would congratulate me for doing nothing. But we really believe in it. It is up to me to make difficult decisions and time will tell us if I am right. We really have the feeling of having taken the lead which was going to be a tumultuous summer, since Luka Doncic was eligible for the supermax and that he was a year of being able to be “free agent”. I think we are now built to win in the short and medium term. »
And therefore to do better, without its best scorner/passer/creator, than this third NBA final in the history of the franchise last year? A monumental bet, and the opportunity for a pack of chief trolls to peel the CV of the man. It didn’t take them long to dig up a fail A major attached to Nico Harrison (52) during his previous professional experience: having led to the departure of Stephen Curry from Nike to Under Armor in 2013.
A PowerPoint Nike devoted to Durant and not Curry
Nico Harrison was then the vice-president of US basketball operations for the Vergule brand, when the leader (not yet star) of the Warriors, already upset not to be promised a shoe in his name and a major contract (2 , $ 5 million per year against a $ 4 million proposal from Under Armor), had experienced a meeting with Nike. A representative would have called him Stephon and not Stephen, while launching a PowerPoint devoted to … Kevin Durant.
“It was not me who called him Stephon,” defended himself Nico Harrison in 2022 with the Kicks media we if I may have called him Seth (his younger brother) but I n I have a lot of name his first name. Nike made a mistake that day, and in all honesty, if he had stayed with Nike, his business would have become monstrous. »»
“Nico Harrison has betrayed a whole fanbase”
If the bleeding of the Instagram account of Dallas Mavericks (4.6 million subscribers), which has just lost more than 700,000 followers since the trade From Luka Doncic, will not prevent him from sleeping, Nico Harrison has undoubtedly won as many haters For life, starting with the X Dallas Mavs France account, author of a touching post Monday on the essential part of emotions in sport.
“On February 2, 2025 will remain as the worst day in the history of Dallas Mavericks,” he said. Nico Harrison betrayed a whole fanbasea whole city. He snatched us a magnificent story far from over. And it doesn’t matter that he offers us another where we win, this is not the one we want. By withdrawing Luka so brutally, Nico Harrison decided to show no compassion, no remorse towards all the people who support the MAVs on a daily basis. He only looks at basketball by the prism of the results, without having an ounce of emotion. »»
Our file on the NBA
You have won gentlemen, we only live for the supported looks of Luka Doncic towards his old GM, at each of the Slovenian 55 points on February 25 during the next Volcanic Lakers-Mavs in California. And again, we are targeting low.