For only the third time since Feb. 1 but second time in a week, Nico Harrison took a few questions about what made him rip Luka Doncic from the fabric of the local sports community. He didn’t tell us much we didn’t already know Monday, let alone make it go down any easier, but at least the frequency is better.
Not that it’ll silence the city’s new sports mantra anytime soon. Not even the end of the Mavs’ season could do that. They were firing Nico at the end of the Stars’ game Saturday.
Maybe someone should explain it to Paige Bueckers before she hears the chant at a Wings game and wonders what’s up.
Frankly, short of tendering his resignation, little Nico could have done Monday would have satisfied an outraged fan base.
But he didn’t help himself any when, asked why he shouldn’t be fired, he didn’t just say “Good question” and leave it at that.
“Well, one, I think I’ve done a really good job here,” he said instead, “and I don’t think I can be judged by the injuries this year.
“You have to judge it in totality, from beginning to end.”
My guess is the end will come sooner than he expects, because at some point the cloud hanging over the franchise will make his presence untenable. Happens all the time in college football. Fans turn on a coach, money stops coming in and athletic directors pull the plug whether they want to or not. Becomes a business decision.
Patrick Dumont backed Nico after the trade, making it all but impossible to fire him now lest he look like a hypocrite. He has to let it play out. Normal protocol suggests another season, maybe two.
On the other hand, these circumstances are anything but normal. Trading a 25-year old superstar — biggest talent in franchise history — made a business decision personal with the fan base. The organization’s clumsy reaction has only made it worse. Nico admitted Monday he finally gets it, if you’re wondering. He’s only begun to hear the fallout.
Soon enough the Mavs will see the backlash in ticket and merchandise sales, advertising and sponsorships. No organization can stomach the daily public humiliation of its GM for long.
Except the Cowboys, of course.
From all appearances, Dumont has liked Nico ever since the Adelsons bought in. Liked him better than Mark Cuban, apparently. But people from Vegas aren’t exactly the sentimental type. Besides, it’s not like Dumont hired Nico. Once it becomes clear getting rid of him is the fastest way to making peace with the customers, he’ll eventually do just that. It’s not like he’d be firing Red Auerbach.
Only question is, how long will it take?
A year?
Two?
Nico seems under the impression winning is the answer, and not just winning, but winning it all. Defense wins championships. Maybe you’ve heard that somewhere recently.
Defense couldn’t even win Nico a second play-in game, but he held fast to his favorite cliché Monday.
Even if the Mavs make the Finals next year — which is asking a lot with Kyrie Irving coming off a serious injury and no plans to replace anything approaching his firepower in the interim — it won’t be enough.
Certainly wasn’t enough for Nico when they made the Finals in their final full season of Luka.
When I asked Monday at what point he decided to move Luka, Nico said it wasn’t any one thing. Called it “a change in philosophy.” Recent reporting by our Brad Townsend and ESPN indicated it was much more than that. Relationships with Luka and even Dirk Nowitzki were frayed by Nico’s my-way-or-the-highway dealings with the medical and training staff. The stories suggest animosity had been building for months, though Nico made it sound Monday as if the deal happened out of the blue.
“Once the opportunity presented itself,” he said, “we jumped on it.”
Wasn’t the only time he described his reaction so eagerly, either.
Like it was a no-brainer.
Like it still is.
One of these days, he’ll realize the mistake he made, if only because it’ll have cost him a pretty good gig. Same goes for Jason Kidd. Nico expanded on his remarks immediately after the trade in which he described his head coach’s role in the talks. When Nico let him in on the details “in the 11th hour,” Kidd apparently didn’t try to talk him out of it.
“He understood,” Nico said. “He aligns with how I think in terms of defense wins championships.
“And so it really wasn’t about agreeing or disagreeing, it was about, ‘I see the vision. Let’s go.’”
They’re going, all right. Going, going, gone. Like Luka, they probably won’t even see it coming.
The problem with saying it over and over and over is he’s created the perception that anything less than a title is unacceptable, a cardinal sin by any front office. Only one team wins it all. Doesn’t mean everyone else’s season is a failure. But that’s how it’ll go down in Dallas. Nico’s raised the bar to a height Chris Young couldn’t clear.
