Public enemy number one in Dallas. That’s how you could describe Nico Harrison, the man who left the Mavericks’ fans orphaned by trading Luka Doncic to the Lakers. One of the biggest trades in NBA history and also one of the most controversial decisions ever seen in the American professional league. But it was not made by an upstart, but by someone with extensive experience in professional sports and who has dealt with some of the best basketball players of all time.
Because Harrison, a journeyman player who studied at West Point and went through Belgium, Japan and Lebanon, knows what it is like to deal with stars such as Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitzki and Tim Duncan. He did so from his position at Nike, where he rose to become vice president of basketball operations in North America.
He was working as a representative for a pharmaceutical company when a friend told him that Nike was looking for someone with his profile. He applied and was selected. He rose through the ranks and soon began to have contact with NBA players. He spent 19 years with the sportswear company and, thanks to his personal skills, earned the trust of some of the world’s greatest basketball stars. He also earned the trust of executives such as Rob Pelinka, Kobe’s former agent and now general manager of the Lakers, with whom he ended up making the trade of trades.
A slip-up that prevented Curry from signing with Nike
With Nike, he also suffered a resounding slip-up when Stephen Curry slipped through his fingers after a meeting full of errors. It is said that, first of all, he called him Seth, who is the brother of the Warriors star. And that the presentation was prepared for Kevin Durant. The target ended up signing a contract with Under Armour, of which he is the image and with which he has his own line of products.
Harrison arrived as the Mavericks’ general manager and president of operations in 2021. Alongside him came Jason Kidd, the coach who has not been informed of the moves that have been made for weeks for the trade of Doncic for Anthony Davis, which has gone down so badly in Dallas. “Defense wins championships,” justified the executive to explain the departure of the Slovenian and the arrival of ‘The Brow’.
Doncic’s departure, according to Harrison, would also avoid a problem when at the end of this season the point guard would be eligible to sign a supermax contract that the franchise was not convinced to give him because of his constant physical problems. “With this trade we are positioning ourselves to win now and also to win in the long term and we are getting ahead of a busy summer. My job is based on this, on making difficult decisions. I understand that people were surprised,” he explained.
The Mavericks executive revealed that he had not yet spoken to Doncic: “I texted him and left him a voicemail… but I guess he doesn’t want to talk to me right now,” he said. Few people in Dallas would want to do so at the moment. Fans left jerseys, bouquets of flowers and banners of affection for the idol at the door of the American Airlines Center.