Nico Harrison instantly became the most hated person in Dallas when he traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers last season.
Harrison, who was then the general manager of the Dallas Mavericks, insisted that he made the right move. He reasoned that Doncic's subpar conditioning and work ethic would hamper the Mavericks' future.
Doncic simply scoffed at it and entered his first full season with the Lakers with a much-improved physique.
Unfortunately, with just a handful of games remaining in the regular season, he suffered a hamstring injury, sidelining him indefinitely. Doncic will seek specialized treatment in Europe to expedite his return.
Amid the unfortunate development, Fox Sports' Colin Cowherd brought up Harrison's decision to trade Doncic to the Lakers, noting that it was not too irrational in retrospect.
“When you look at that trade now, I still wouldn’t have made it, but it does make you think, okay, like Nico Harrison was thinking, he’s going to age really quickly,” said Cowherd.
“With the Luka injury, yes, he’s great. But you do understand a little bit what Nico Harrison (was thinking). If he had gotten a couple of first-round picks with it, you would’ve said, ‘I kind of get what he was thinking.’ I wouldn’t have done it, and without the draft picks, it’s egregious.”
Of course, everything is clearer in hindsight, and Cowherd tried to understand Harrison's logic. He, however, might strike a chord with the people of Dallas.
The Mavericks received Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a 2029 first-round pick from the Lakers in exchange for Doncic. Davis only played 29 games for Dallas due to different injuries before being shipped to the Washington Wizards in February.
Mavericks owner Patrick Dumont fired Harrison in November and penned a public apology to their fans for greenlighting Doncic's trade.
