The Dallas Mavericks’ decision to trade away Luka Doncic has largely landed with Nico Harrison, but he has continued in his position running the team’s front office. “Fire Nico” chants became a common refrain at Mavericks’ games, but Harrison has largely retained the support of Patrick Dumont. However, Dumont is believed to have interest in hiring another executive to work with Harrison.
“I was talking to somebody who’s in an ownership group of another Western Conference team recently, and they basically said, ‘I hate to say it, but this is going to be his legacy. This trade’s his legacy. Like he’s never going to work in the NBA again,” said ESPN’s Tim MacMahon on The Right Time With Bomani Jones.
“And there are people around the league who are just like ‘You have to fire him. That’s the only way to begin the healing process with the Mavericks’ fan base,'” added MacMahon.
“But Patrick Dumont is not there. He’s not there yet. Now, the ‘In Nico We Trust’ era has ended. He wants him to bring in an experienced exec. I think he’s realized he’s got to have some checks and balances that weren’t in place.
“I think this has been a very educational experience for Patrick Dumont in his first full year as an NBA governor. Also, the realization [that] in this world [the] management’s not the stars. The stars are the guys on the floor. That’s what this whole league revolves around… The superstars are the guys who drive business in this league not the bosses.”
MacMahon also argues that the business decision of trading Doncic is as challenging to justify as the basketball side of it. MacMahon believes the Mavericks could lose as much as $1 billion in potential revenue because Harrison convinced Dumont than signing Doncic to a five-year, $345 million supermax contract was a risky financial maneuver.
“This was a disastrous business decision,” said MacMahon.