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Nine months too late. As soon as Dallas Mavericks owner Patrick Dumont heard that Nico Harrison wanted to trade Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers … for Anthony Davis and Max Christie … and just one first-round pick … that’s it. That’s when it should have been over.
Instead, the team decided to wait nine months to make the decision that just about everyone in the fan base was clamoring for. On Tuesday, the Mavs finally parted ways with infamous general manager Nico Harrison after fallout from the Dončić trade had become too much to bear. The Mavs went 16-28 after trading Dončić, as Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis have barely played together. Even lucking into the No. 1 overall pick to select Cooper Flagg couldn’t save Harrison his job. If anything, it accelerated the timeline for his successor.
For any free agent executive looking at Dallas, Flagg is the primary reason you take the job. The 18-year-old is a generational talent who on Monday night broke out of an early slump and put up 26 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists in a close loss against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks.
So now what? Here are five candidates to replace Nico Harrison and bring light to the darkest chapter of the Mavericks' franchise history.
The former Golden State Warriors president of basketball operations and general manager recently left his TV job at ESPN to work full-time for Josh Harris’ ownership group in Philadelphia. A four-time champion with the Warriors, Myers hasn’t ruled out a return to the throne of running a basketball team, and has been patient about his opportunities ever since he left the Warriors in May of 2023. Top jobs in New Orleans, Washington, Phoenix, Sacramento and Atlanta have come and gone without Myers taking the plunge.
Bob Myers could bring some credibility back to the Mavs organization. (Photo by Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images)
Allen Berezovsky via Getty Images
None of those teams can flaunt a transformational talent like Cooper Flagg to appeal. But that’s not the only reason Dallas could be the job Myers has been waiting for. A key reason why: Rick Welts. The current CEO of the Dallas Mavericks was Myers’ front-office colleague in Golden State while they were raising Larry O’Brien trophies. In June of 2019, when Warriors owner Joe Lacob announced extensions for Welts and Myers, he told fans, “We feel Rick and Bob are two of the best leaders in professional sports and, quite honestly, in any line of business.”
If Dumont wants to win back credibility, it’s hard to imagine a more decorated tandem than Welts and Myers running the program.
The Hill and Flagg bonds go deep — Duke deep. Duke hoopers collectively refer to themselves as The Brotherhood, which may get eye rolls in Chapel Hill, but you can’t argue it hasn’t been a winning formula. As an executive, Hill has ascended to the top of the sport as the head of Team USA basketball. In that position, he boldly tabbed a 17-year-old Cooper Flagg to join the 2024 Paris team in a Las Vegas Select team.
[Get more Mavs news: Dallas team feed]
One key detail that folks might not know about Hill: He was born in Dallas. Hill’s father, Calvin, played six years for the Dallas Cowboys and was a four-time Pro Bowler while Grant was in diapers. The Dallas ties, Flagg connection and vast USA Basketball network could make Grant a strong fit to lead the franchise in the post-Nico era. Hill would likely require an overwhelming offer if he was ever to leave his role as a part-owner and vice chairman of the Atlanta Hawks. Indicative of the vast Rolodex of Hill’s, he played for Phoenix while Mavs CEO Rick Welts was in the front office for the Suns. Could they reunite in Hill’s birthplace?
The NBA’s new TV partner Amazon Prime might not love this one, but hey, if JJ Redick can leave his marquee TV gig early, why not Dirk and Nash? To be honest, I did not have on my bingo card that LeBron James’ podcast Mind The Game would become a pipeline for top NBA jobs, but alas, the name of LeBron’s co-host, Nash, will pop up anywhere there is demand for a top basketball, um, mind.
Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash would reenergize the Mavs fan base. (Photo by Tim Heitman/Getty Images)
Tim Heitman via Getty Images
Nash is currently in an advisory role with Suns ownership, which could complicate matters on the team side, but from where I sit, it’s not enough to dissuade him from getting into the Flagg business, especially with Nash once being a two-time All-Star in Dallas. As for Nowitzki, he opened up and said the Dončić trade “really hurt,” but that he would always be a Mavs fan. Would a president of basketball operations gig help soothe those wounds? Bringing Dirk back into the fold officially, promoting assistant GM Michael Finley (who along with Matt Riccardi will replace Harrison in the interim) into a GM role and installing Nash as a head coach or front office member might be just the thing to make Mavs fans completely forget the Nico era. OK, maybe not completely.
Yes, believe it or not, there’s another Welts connection on this one. That’s why you hire Welts in the first place. Griffin and Welts worked together in Phoenix while Griffin worked his way up the ladder in the Seven Seconds Or Less era. Griffin joins the aforementioned Myers with the distinguished accomplishment of being a former championship top decision-maker who has also worked with Welts in a previous organization.
After his time in Cleveland rebuilding the Cavs following LeBron James’ departure, Griffin knows a thing or two about rebuilding a tarnished image of an organization and eventually assembling a championship roster. Shortly after Griffin and James led the 2016 championship squad, Griffin left to run the show in New Orleans for six years, which wasn’t nearly as successful as his previous stint. Griffin was let go in April, but if Welts came calling, would his free agency last much longer?
Hear me out on this one. What do Myers and Paul have in common? They both ascended to the top of their industry as player agents. Myers left mega agency Wasserman in 2011 to work in the Warriors front office and became one of the most influential executives in the sport. Could Paul follow in his footsteps?
Crazier things have happened. Anthony Davis is one of Paul’s top clients and any hopes of one day running the LA Lakers seemingly evaporated when Pelinka brought in Luka Dončić and his superagent Bill Duffy into the inner-circle of LakerLand. Paul also represents Dereck Lively II in addition to Davis, giving him a close perspective of the goings-on in Dallas during the Nico era and a handy roadmap of what-not-to-do with the ownership group.
If Paul feels a certain way about how the Luka-Davis trade went down, he could have a chip on his shoulder and work for the other team. If Paul has aspirations of joining LeBron James in his dream of owning of Las Vegas franchise, he might not want to invest his time and energy running the Mavs. But then again, what better way to learn about Vegas and the casino industry than learning from Dumont and the Adelsons, the famous owners of The Las Vegas Sands?
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Instead, the team decided to wait nine months to make the decision that just about everyone in the fan base was clamoring for. On Tuesday, the Mavs finally parted ways with infamous general manager Nico Harrison after fallout from the Dončić trade had become too much to bear. The Mavs went 16-28 after trading Dončić, as Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis have barely played together. Even lucking into the No. 1 overall pick to select Cooper Flagg couldn’t save Harrison his job. If anything, it accelerated the timeline for his successor.
For any free agent executive looking at Dallas, Flagg is the primary reason you take the job. The 18-year-old is a generational talent who on Monday night broke out of an early slump and put up 26 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists in a close loss against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks.
So now what? Here are five candidates to replace Nico Harrison and bring light to the darkest chapter of the Mavericks' franchise history.
The Credibility Play: Bob Myers
The former Golden State Warriors president of basketball operations and general manager recently left his TV job at ESPN to work full-time for Josh Harris’ ownership group in Philadelphia. A four-time champion with the Warriors, Myers hasn’t ruled out a return to the throne of running a basketball team, and has been patient about his opportunities ever since he left the Warriors in May of 2023. Top jobs in New Orleans, Washington, Phoenix, Sacramento and Atlanta have come and gone without Myers taking the plunge.
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Bob Myers could bring some credibility back to the Mavs organization. (Photo by Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images)
Allen Berezovsky via Getty Images
None of those teams can flaunt a transformational talent like Cooper Flagg to appeal. But that’s not the only reason Dallas could be the job Myers has been waiting for. A key reason why: Rick Welts. The current CEO of the Dallas Mavericks was Myers’ front-office colleague in Golden State while they were raising Larry O’Brien trophies. In June of 2019, when Warriors owner Joe Lacob announced extensions for Welts and Myers, he told fans, “We feel Rick and Bob are two of the best leaders in professional sports and, quite honestly, in any line of business.”
If Dumont wants to win back credibility, it’s hard to imagine a more decorated tandem than Welts and Myers running the program.
The Brotherhood Play: Grant Hill
The Hill and Flagg bonds go deep — Duke deep. Duke hoopers collectively refer to themselves as The Brotherhood, which may get eye rolls in Chapel Hill, but you can’t argue it hasn’t been a winning formula. As an executive, Hill has ascended to the top of the sport as the head of Team USA basketball. In that position, he boldly tabbed a 17-year-old Cooper Flagg to join the 2024 Paris team in a Las Vegas Select team.
[Get more Mavs news: Dallas team feed]
One key detail that folks might not know about Hill: He was born in Dallas. Hill’s father, Calvin, played six years for the Dallas Cowboys and was a four-time Pro Bowler while Grant was in diapers. The Dallas ties, Flagg connection and vast USA Basketball network could make Grant a strong fit to lead the franchise in the post-Nico era. Hill would likely require an overwhelming offer if he was ever to leave his role as a part-owner and vice chairman of the Atlanta Hawks. Indicative of the vast Rolodex of Hill’s, he played for Phoenix while Mavs CEO Rick Welts was in the front office for the Suns. Could they reunite in Hill’s birthplace?
The Nostalgia Play: Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash
The NBA’s new TV partner Amazon Prime might not love this one, but hey, if JJ Redick can leave his marquee TV gig early, why not Dirk and Nash? To be honest, I did not have on my bingo card that LeBron James’ podcast Mind The Game would become a pipeline for top NBA jobs, but alas, the name of LeBron’s co-host, Nash, will pop up anywhere there is demand for a top basketball, um, mind.
You must be registered for see images attach
Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash would reenergize the Mavs fan base. (Photo by Tim Heitman/Getty Images)
Tim Heitman via Getty Images
Nash is currently in an advisory role with Suns ownership, which could complicate matters on the team side, but from where I sit, it’s not enough to dissuade him from getting into the Flagg business, especially with Nash once being a two-time All-Star in Dallas. As for Nowitzki, he opened up and said the Dončić trade “really hurt,” but that he would always be a Mavs fan. Would a president of basketball operations gig help soothe those wounds? Bringing Dirk back into the fold officially, promoting assistant GM Michael Finley (who along with Matt Riccardi will replace Harrison in the interim) into a GM role and installing Nash as a head coach or front office member might be just the thing to make Mavs fans completely forget the Nico era. OK, maybe not completely.
The Outside Hire: David Griffin
Yes, believe it or not, there’s another Welts connection on this one. That’s why you hire Welts in the first place. Griffin and Welts worked together in Phoenix while Griffin worked his way up the ladder in the Seven Seconds Or Less era. Griffin joins the aforementioned Myers with the distinguished accomplishment of being a former championship top decision-maker who has also worked with Welts in a previous organization.
After his time in Cleveland rebuilding the Cavs following LeBron James’ departure, Griffin knows a thing or two about rebuilding a tarnished image of an organization and eventually assembling a championship roster. Shortly after Griffin and James led the 2016 championship squad, Griffin left to run the show in New Orleans for six years, which wasn’t nearly as successful as his previous stint. Griffin was let go in April, but if Welts came calling, would his free agency last much longer?
The Bombshell Play: Rich Paul
Hear me out on this one. What do Myers and Paul have in common? They both ascended to the top of their industry as player agents. Myers left mega agency Wasserman in 2011 to work in the Warriors front office and became one of the most influential executives in the sport. Could Paul follow in his footsteps?
Crazier things have happened. Anthony Davis is one of Paul’s top clients and any hopes of one day running the LA Lakers seemingly evaporated when Pelinka brought in Luka Dončić and his superagent Bill Duffy into the inner-circle of LakerLand. Paul also represents Dereck Lively II in addition to Davis, giving him a close perspective of the goings-on in Dallas during the Nico era and a handy roadmap of what-not-to-do with the ownership group.
If Paul feels a certain way about how the Luka-Davis trade went down, he could have a chip on his shoulder and work for the other team. If Paul has aspirations of joining LeBron James in his dream of owning of Las Vegas franchise, he might not want to invest his time and energy running the Mavs. But then again, what better way to learn about Vegas and the casino industry than learning from Dumont and the Adelsons, the famous owners of The Las Vegas Sands?
Continue reading...
