Nico Harrison has ‘no regrets’ about Luka Dončić trade: What Mavs GM said at strange, overdue press conference

The Dallas Mavericks just can’t seem to get out of their own way. Well, specifically general manager Nico Harrison, who, along with Mavericks CEO Rick Welts, held a press conference on Tuesday where select media members were invited to attend, with one caveat: no videos or recording devices allowed.

It’s an unprecedented situation to hold a press conference where media members are allowed to attend, and yet not record any of the responses. But given everything that’s happened since the Mavericks traded Luka Doncic in February, it’s par for the course really. Every word that Harrison, Welts and team governor Patrick Dumont have said since trading Doncic has not gone over well with Dallas’ fans, and Tuesday was no different.

Here are the biggest takeaways from the press event.

Harrison doubling down on defense of Luka trade

The overarching theme to Harrison’s answers to a variety of questions about why they would trade a 26-year-old superstar who just led them to the NBA Finals a season before was the same as it was the day he traded him: “Defense wins championships.”

We’re never going to hear from Harrison that he was wrong in trading Dončić — at least not while he’s still employed by the Mavericks — but to use that as the reason why you traded him for the often-injured Anthony Davis, who is also six years older than him, is insane. 

Yes, Dončić’s biggest weakness is on the defensive end of the floor. He was relentlessly targeted throughout the NBA playoffs a year ago, and the Celtics completely exposed him in the NBA Finals. But to ignore everything else about Dončić’s game and what makes him one of the top five greatest active NBA players right now is laughable. And to seriously think this team — healthy or not — is better now than it was prior to the Dončić trade is a gross underestimation of the new Laker’s talents.

Perhaps the most bewildering thing said at this secretive press event were comments from Welts, who in an effort to try and make a comparison on the situation only stoked the flames even more. Welts, according to DLLS writer Tim Cato, compared the Dončić trade to when the Golden State Warriors traded Monta Ellis for Andrew Bogut in 2012. At the time it was a shocking move, but the Warriors were betting that a second-year guard named Stephen Curry would be their centerpiece for the future. 

Obviously, Golden State was right, and the team is still reaping the benefits of Curry’s future Hall of Fame career. But by Welts’ comparison, that would mean Dončić is Ellis, and no offense to Ellis, but the two players are in completely different universes when it comes to basketball talent. Welts then went on to say eventually it worked out for the Warriors because Curry “made the fanbase fall in love with him.”

Sure, but who on this Mavericks roster is the equivalent to Curry? The only one close was the guy they traded away, and for whatever reason Dallas’ front office doesn’t understand that.

No regrets about trading Dončić

From an outsider’s perspective, it’s easy to say that the Mavericks are already regretting trading Dončić. Even more so after he returned to Dallas last week and dropped 45 points in his first game as a visitor inside American Airlines Arena. But Harrison still doesn’t see it that way.

“Yeah, there’s no regrets on the trade,” Harrison said. “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.”

Every trade Harrison has made since being brought in as general manager has been criticized, but then ended up working out for the Mavericks. He traded Kristaps Porzingis in February 2022, but the Mavericks then made the Western Conference finals later that season. The following year, he traded for the polarizing Kyrie Irving, who proved to be the ideal backcourt mate alongside Doncic and helped lead the Mavericks to the Finals a season ago. Even trading two first-round draft picks for PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford weren’t seen as slam dunk moves, but those guys ended up being catalysts for the Finals run.

But this isn’t swapping out role players, trading an oft-injured big man or taking a chance on a talented but baggage-laden star. Dončić is a bonafide superstar with a proven track record of success, especially in high-pressure situations. Trading him makes less and less sense with each passing day, even if Harrison stands by the decision.

On if the Mavericks got the best return possible

Setting aside the fact that trading Dončić alone was seen as insane, the return the Mavericks got was also heavily scrutinized, not just from fans and media members but from those with a connection to the Mavericks organization as well. Form majority team owner Mark Cuban, who sold the team to Patrick Dumont and still retains a minority stake, has criticized the deal on multiple occasions and said that the return wasn’t what it should’ve been. So has franchise legend Dirk Nowitzki, who remains in shock that the Mavericks traded away Dončić.

“When you look at this trade, we targeted AD,” Harrison said Tuesday. “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.”

It’s very evident that Harrison had a singular goal in mind: get Anthony Davis, regardless of what it would cost.