Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison didn’t back down on his decision to trade star guard Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, a move that sparked outrage among the team’s fanbase.
The Lakers officially acquired Doncic on Feb. 2 for perennial All-Star forward Anthony Davis in a deal that also sent Max Christie and a 2029 first-round draft pick to Dallas and Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris to Los Angeles.
“Yeah, there’s no regrets on the trade,” Harrison said on Tuesday, per the Dallas Morning News. “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.”
Harrison was speaking to reporters for the second time since the trade — however, reportedly with one caveat. Cameras and audio recording devices were not permitted, per The Stein Line.
Harrison, 52, also addressed calls from members of the fanbase for majority shareholder Miriam Adelson and team governor Patrick Dumont to fire him.
“Well, the beauty of Dallas is it is a passionate fanbase,” Harrison said. “For us to reach our goals, we need that fanbase. And to be honest with you, every trade I’ve made since I’ve been here has not been regarded as a good trade. So sometimes it takes time.
“When I traded for Kyrie (Irving), it was met with a lot of skepticism and it was graded as a terrible trade. You didn’t see it right away, but eventually everyone agreed that it was a great trade. When I traded for (Daniel Gaffney and (P.J. Washington), it was like, ‘Oh, he gave up way too much.’ These guys are going to help us. Now that trade, you saw the evidence a lot sooner.
“So I think a lot of times, trades take a little bit of time but our philosophy going forward is defense wins championships, and we’re built on defense. This trade cements us for that.”
The Mavericks limped to a 39-43 record and the 10th seed in the Western Conference. They will visit the Sacramento Kings in a Western Conference play-in game on Wednesday.
Led by Doncic, the Lakers secured the third seed in the conference.
