Hours before the Dallas Mavericks gear up for a win-or-go-home play-in clash with the Sacramento Kings, team general manager Nico Harrison decided to speak candidly behind closed doors.
No media circus, no podium drama, just a handpicked crew of insiders. ESPN’s Tim MacMahon was at the table, and the one thing Harrison kept repeating was that “defense wins championships.”
Over and over again. The room may’ve been small, but the message was loud and clear.
Nico Harrison Doubles Down With 1 Philosophy
Harrison didn’t dodge the elephant in the room. Instead, he stared it down and gave it a name: defense. The controversial trade that sent five-time All-NBA First Team guard Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers still has Dallas fans boiling. However, Harrison isn’t backing off one inch.
“Nico doubled down, he tripled down, he quadrupled down. I could go on, I ran out of fingers counting how many times that he said defense wins championships,” MacMahon said.
The Mavericks haven’t exactly been thriving since the swap. Post-trade, Dallas has gone 13-20. Meanwhile, Los Angeles locked in the No. 3 seed, and Dončić just dropped 45 in his first Dallas return while the crowd roasted Harrison with “Fire Nico!” chants at the free throw line.
But according to MacMahon, Harrison is sticking to his talking points like glue, even if that floor time barely lasted 2.5 quarters before Anthony Davis went down with a strain and Kyrie Irving tore his ACL.
Harrison’s Long Game Isn’t Sitting Well With Everyone
Harrison’s tenure in Dallas has been active, to say the least, with 15 trades since 2021. From Irving to now Davis, he’s betting big — even if it means sacrificing future picks and elite-level talent.
Harrison reminded the group that the Irving trade was also mocked early but eventually paid off.
“Nico Harrison created what he calls a three- to four-year time frame to be a championship contender. Obviously, year one was ruined by injuries,” MacMahon stated.
Still, letting go of a 26-year-old MVP candidate who wanted to sign a $345 million supermax and buy a home in Dallas is more than just a “time frame” — that’s franchise-altering. And Mavs Nation isn’t feeling it. Regardless, Harrison says he’s here to stay.
“Quite frankly, a lot doesn’t make sense, but Nico made it clear he does plan to be the general manager of the Mavericks for the rest of his contract, which has three years left,” MacMahon added.
With no first-round picks until 2027 and a core made up of 32-year-old Davis and 33-year-old Irving, the “win-now” window is already sweating under pressure.
Harrison may be sticking to his playbook, but if the Mavericks fall short again this postseason, Dallas fans won’t be as patient as their GM hopes.