Please stop talking
The architect of one of the worst trades in NBA history really needs to stop trying to explain himself. PLUS: A conversation with Ron MacLean
The Kerguelen Islands are a windswept archipelago in the southern part of the Indian Ocean. They are one of the most remote places on Earth, inhabited only by birds, seals and penguins.
I think Dallas Mavericks GM Nico Harrison should move there for a while. Six weeks, maybe. It is guaranteed that no one will stick a microphone in his face, and therefore guaranteed that he will not say anything stupid. Unless it is to the penguins.
Some backstory here is probably required. Harrison is the architect of the February trade of Mavericks franchise cornerstone Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis and a 2029 draft pick. It was immediately recognized as one of the very worst NBA trades of all time, and quite possibly one of the worst trades in any professional sport. Doncic, 26, is unquestionably one of the top five offensive talents in basketball. Davis, 32, is an excellent player who gets hurt a lot.
It’s genuinely difficult to imagine an equivalent terrible deal in another sport, simply because there are so few players on an NBA roster that having an all-world talent like Doncic is the difference between having a championship-contending franchise and not having one. The Mavericks went to the NBA Finals with Doncic just last year and now the Lakers will be among the West favourites with him for at least the next five years. This would be like the Buffalo Bills trading Josh Allen for a great edge rusher and declaring that “defence wins championships.” Or the Edmonton Oilers trading Connor McDavid for a goalie. It’s insane.
It’s also, by this point, pretty much old news. People have spent months trying to figure why the Mavericks did what they did and I don’t think anyone has come up with a coherent explanation for a) why they would want to unload Doncic in the first place and b) if they did why they would do it in such an underwhelming fashion. But what is fascinating is that the Mavericks, and Harrison, keep trying to pretend that this was, in fact, a good idea. That’s understandable, to a point: They were universally mocked and ridiculed for the trade, and tried to explain themselves a little. They had concerns about Doncic’s conditioning, they said, especially in light of the fact that he would soon command a mega-contract north of $300-million. They wanted to build a defence-first team in Dallas. They hate Slovenians. (OK, I made that last one up.)
No one has bought any of these rationales. And meanwhile, Davis was injured in his first game with the Mavericks, star guard Kyrie Irving also suffered a season-ending injury, and Dallas slumped out of the playoff positions. The Lakers, behind Doncic and LeBron James, secured the third playoff seed in the West. Dallas fans have been in something like open revolt since February, and made “Fire Nico” chants a regular feature of home games.
I’m not sure there is a great PR strategy for what Harrison and the Mavs should be doing at this point, but it is probably something that involves saying as little about the trade as possible. “You know what, fellas, we have said all we can say on the Luka matter, and we look forward to getting our guys healthy again and competing next year. Any other questions?”
But, nope. Harrison has in recent days said he has “no regrets” about the deal, and on Monday said that while he knew Doncic was important to the Dallas fanbase, he didn’t “quite know to what level.” Truly, a wild quote. I didn’t know that our beloved superstar was in fact beloved.
That latest one prompted some pleading from one Charles Barkley: Please stop talking, Nico. Honestly, this clip is amazing.
I also enjoyed this headline, over on Defector.com: The Mavericks Just Keep on Sending Nico Harrison Out There.
Anyway, the Kerguelen Islands are also known as the Desolation Islands, in French. Seems about right!
And now, the other stuff
I had the chance to talk to Ron MacLean recently for a feature in the National Post. He’s one of the nicest guys in the business, which probably wouldn’t surprise anyone, and while I think hockey fans can reasonably be concerned that the new Rogers deal with the NHL doesn’t provide a lot of incentive for Rogers to improve their broadcasts, I’m glad that MacLean will keep doing his thing.
A column that aged well
For theScore, I wrote recently on the Toronto Maple Leafs returning to the playoffs, making the point that, with a first-round matchup against the happy-to-be-there Ottawa Senators, this team was fresh out of excuses. So far that has proven true enough. The Leafs are better and more experienced. Game 3 on Thursday night will bring an entirely unfamiliar Maple Leafs playoffs thing: a night when all the pressure is on the other team.
A column that aged less well
At this time last week, things were going pretty well for the Toronto Blue Jays. Vlad Guerrero had signed his mega-deal, the pitching was solid, and if the team still hadn’t hit much there was still plenty of time for that to come around. I wrote a piece for theScore that essentially said, hey, at least the vibes around the team are good. Sometimes low expectations are helpful that way. Since that piece was published, they have lost five straight and the vibes are decidedly not good. Wanted: dingers. Very much so.