Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison held a press conference on Monday, following up on an attempt to hold a “small media roundtable” with select reporters in which no cameras or recording devices were allowed.
The topic that reporters most wanted to address was the controversial Luka Dončić trade that Harrison hadn’t made much effort to explain publicly to a fanbase outraged by their beloved star being dealt to another team.
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In a surprising admission, Harrison said that he didn’t realize Mavericks fans would react as strongly as they did.
“I knew Luka was important to the fanbase,” he said. “I didn’t quite know it to what level.”
Harrison continued to emphasize the notion that Dončić was traded because “defense wins championships” and the Dallas roster was better suited for that after the deal. However, the team that he and the Dallas front office presumably envisioned following the trade was never apparent on the floor due to injuries.
“The way we looked at it is if you’re putting a team on the floor that’s Kyrie [Irving], Klay [Thompson], P. J [Washington], Anthony Davis and [Dereck] Lively, we feel that’s a championship-caliber team,” he added. “We would’ve been winning at a high level and that would’ve quieted some of the outrage.”
This article will continue to be updated.
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