Nico Harrison’s ignorance of Luka Doncic’s connection with Mavs fans has NBA Twitter losing it: “How is he still employed?”

Dallas Mavericks fans have vented their frustrations to GM Nico Harrison after he traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Nico Harrison’s ignorance of Luka Doncic’s connection with Mavs fans has NBA Twitter losing it: “How is he still employed?”

Dallas Mavericks GM Nico Harrison and former star Luka Doncic

The last time Dallas Mavericks GM Nico Harrison spoke with reporters, it did not turn out well for him. He held a closed doors no video session to answer selective questions about the Luka Doncic trade. That did not sit well with basketball fans as well as the rest of the media.

In that press conference, he reiterated that he had ‘no regrets’ about trading Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. Media members fumed that he was doubling down on his decision even though the logic has so far not helped his cause.

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Media members wanted to ask more questions, and now the timing was right. The Mavericks’ season was over after they lost to the Memphis Grizzlies in the play-in final. That meant, players, coaching staff and front office officials had to go through an end-of-season open interview.

That session took place at the American Airlines Center earlier today. He answered quite a few questions which mostly centered around the tremor inducing trade. One question and its respective answer quickly caught the attention of fans. A reporter asked Harrison if he envisioned this level of backlash after trading Luka Doncic.

I did know that Luka was important to the fan base. I didn’t quite know it to what level.

Nico Harrison said

This answer struck a nerve amongst the reporters present. It seemed as if Nico Harrison did not understand fully what he was about to face. He was trading away a generational talent in Luka Doncic. On top of that, he did not get an absolute like-for-like return in Anthony Davis.

Basketball fans fume at Nico Harrison’s reply

When clips of this spread online, basketball fans lost their minds. They now had further proof that Nico Harrison is not fit for his job. Any GM worth their careers would anticipate everything that could arise from a decision.

Trading away Luka Doncic was a monumental decision. Fans cannot understand how the GM could take this decision believing the Slovenian was just another superstar. Not understanding how a decision can impact gave fans the idea that Harrison should not stay on the job. Check out examples of such comments below.

Nico Harrison is walking a tight rope. If his vision of deploying a defense heavy team to fight for an NBA title does not come to fruition, fans will continue to turn on to him. He might have a couple of years left on his contract. But if the anger amongst fans continues to rise, it could cost him his job.

Harrison believes he has not spoken ill of Luka Doncic

One of the matters that have angered fans is how the Dallas Mavericks organization have dealt with the aftermath of this trade. They tried to subdue angry fans inside American Airlines Center. But that anger was building after the organization started to malign their former superstar. But Harrison clarified he never walked that path.

I’ve never actually spoken ill of Luka at all.

Nico Harrison said

This was his response after a reporter quizzed him about Luka Doncic’s comments about his former team running a smear campaign. He believes he has not spoken ill about his former superstar. But according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, Harrison has already done enough over the past few years to alienate Doncic.

In a quest to have total authority over how the team runs, the GM fired people who were part of the Slovenian’s inner circle. That included some who were very close with franchise legend Dirk Nowitzki. Now all of that is unraveling in front of the entire basketball community.