Mark Cuban Made Case To Patrick Dumont Over Last Several Months Nico Harrison Was Steering Dallas Mavericks In Wrong Direction
According to NBA reporters Joe Vardon, Christian Clark and Sam Amick of The Athletic, Mark Cuban made his case to Patrick Dumont over the last several months that Nico Harrison was steering the Dallas Mavericks in the wrong direction.
Harrison, who traded Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers last season, was fired by the Mavericks on Tuesday.
“Cuban, who still owns 27 percent of the team, was known to be frustrated with Harrison for freezing him out after the sale and not consulting him on the choice to trade Dončić,” Vardon, Clark and Amick wrote. “League sources say he made his case to Dumont over the last several months that Harrison was steering the franchise in the wrong direction.”
Harrison was the person who insisted that the Mavericks needed to trade Dončić, who appeared in 422 games with Dallas. He averaged 28.6 points, 8.7 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game and made five All-Star teams and five All-NBA teams.
Dončić signed a three-year, $165 million extension with the Lakers on August 2. He’s expected to spend the rest of his NBA career with Los Angeles.
The Mavericks are 3-8 on the season, while Dončić is averaging 37.1 points per game for the Lakers, who are 8-3.
A few days after the Mavericks traded Dončić to the Lakers last season, Dumont insinuated that Dončić didn’t work hard.
Dumont’s comments “pissed” Dončić off, sources told DallasHoopsJournal.
“If you look at the greats in the league, the people you and I grew up with — [Michael] Jordan, [Larry] Bird, Kobe [Bryant], Shaq [O’Neal] — they worked really hard, every day, with a singular focus to win,” Dumont said. “And if you don’t have that, it doesn’t work. And if you don’t have that, you shouldn’t be part of the Dallas Mavericks. That’s who we want. I’m unwavering on this. The entire organization knows this. This is how I operate outside of basketball. This is the only way to be competitive and win. If you want to take a vacation, don’t do it with us.”
Dallas has appointed Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi as co-interim general managers to oversee basketball operations. A comprehensive search will begin for a permanent replacement.
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