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Sirius XM NBA: “I let Steve Nash go, and the whole town hated my ass for a long time” 🤣🤣 @mcuban joins @termineradio, @jumpshot8, & Ryan McDonough - hear why he still has confidence in Nico Harrison Hear live Summer League shows all weekend long on NBA Radio! sxm.app.link/nbaradiolive pic.x.com/iBVqgus2O5
D'Angelo Russell: "Nico, what's good? Hey, I can't believe I still got your number. I appreciate you, bro. I'm so excited — you really fit what we're trying to do." Nico Harrison: "Who you telling? I like when you get a chip on your shoulder." D'Angelo Russell: "Man, I like me with a chip on my shoulder. I haven’t seen it in a while. I'm here, and I'm excited, bro." Nico Harrison: "It's good. I got you, I got you. I know Klay's out here in Miami — that's where I'm at. We're probably going to start getting in the gym a little bit." D'Angelo Russell: "Okay. Cool, cool. Yeah, man..."
Jared Dudley: Thankful For Coach Kidd and Nico for giving me the opportunity to go from a Player to front bench coach.. Excited for my next chapter with Coach Adelman and the Denver Nuggets! Let’s get it!
Mark Cuban: For all the hell that Nico Harrison's gotten, he’s done a great job putting us in a really good position
During Friday’s news conference, Cuban and Dumont stood in the back, shoulder to shoulder, smiling throughout. Afterward, Cuban made it a point to praise publicly embattled Harrison. “For all the hell that Nico’s gotten, he’s done a great job putting us in a really good position,” Cuban said. That’s right: “Us.” Cuban, after all, still owns 27% of the franchise. Cuban certainly did not agree with the Doncic trade. And clearly Cuban has been surprised — shocked — to lose oversight and control of the basketball operations, after telling us at the time of the sale that it was part of the agreement.
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Of course, landing Flagg was sheer luck, but Cuban noted how well-positioned to contend the Mavericks will be if Irving returns strongly from his torn ACL sometime after January. “The front office has done a great job of putting together a team where we can compete,” Cuban said. “A couple breaks here and there; Kyrie comes back; Cooper is who we expect him to be; and we can have a really, really good team.”
Cuban was the GM. But Nico was the relationship guy. Cuban had his quants over here, the analysts and strategists over there— And Nico could get into rooms that Cuban either couldn’t or had pissed people off in. But then the sale happened. And somehow, Nico gets the confidence of the new owners. And all of a sudden, he’s doing things he wasn’t actually hired to do—like make a trade on his own."
Nico Harrison: 'We’re in win-now mode, and Cooper Flagg adds to that'
"Obviously, a great draft — but there was a consensus number one in this one. How does having Cooper change the trajectory of the franchise?" Nico Harrison: "I think it changes everything. We’re in win-now mode, and Cooper adds to that. But he’s also the future of the franchise. You get two in one, so to speak. It’s a perfect storm for us — we get to coach the number one pick who can help us win today and lead us into the future. We’re all blessed and excited."
Harrison said that structure will allow Flagg to grow without pressure. “He’ll be able to develop on his own time, whatever that is,” Harrison said. “We have the support to allow him to do that. We’ll be able to win when he’s having good games and also win when he’s not having his best.”
Harrison recalled that during Flagg’s visit, six Mavericks players took him to dinner. PJ Washington was at his workout and gave his immediate approval. “There’s no jealousy. I think guys are excited to play with him,” Harrison said. “When I asked PJ, ‘Do you think you guys can play together?’ He said, ‘Oh yeah, we can play together.'”
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Nico Harrison on Jason Kidd: 'He will be the head coach next year'
Abby Jones: “Are there rumors out there about J-Kidd? I thought I shut them down. Yes. He will be the head coach next year.” - Nico Harrison on the return on Jason Kidd
Tim MacMahon: Nico Harrison on the Mavs winning the lottery — and the right to draft Cooper Flagg — despite 1.8% odds: “Fortune favors the bold. So exciting things fell our way.”
Throughout the conversations surrounding his player option and a new extension, both sides made clear their commitment to each other, and the Mavericks placed a premium on Irving's leadership and ability to team with All-Star Anthony Davis and soon-to-be No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg under the leadership of coach Jason Kidd and general manager Nico Harrison.
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