Dallas Mavericks GM Nico Harrison
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When it comes down to it, the Dallas Mavericks ultimately parted ways with former general manager Nico Harrison because he made one of the worst trades in NBA history.
Harrison was responsible for sending superstar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis, whom the Mavs are reportedly already looking to move on from.
However, Harrison’s issues with the Mavericks reportedly ran far deeper, as evidenced by a new report from Tim Cato of All DLLS.
Nico Harrison Valued Jrue Holiday Similarly To Nikola Jokic
Cato’s report details several layers of dysfunction within the Mavericks organization, such as Harrison firing a long-term staff member who was caring for a terminally ill family member at the time.
But the biggest issue, by far, was that Harrison just had no clue how to evaluate NBA talent. As evidence of this, Cato points out that Harrison tried and failed to trade two first-round NBA Draft picks to acquire Kyle Kuzma.
However, somehow that wasn’t the most egregious example of Harrison’s ability (or lack there of) to evaluate talent.
“One team source recalls a document where Harrison placed Jrue Holiday within the same tier of talent as Nikola Jokić,” Cato reported. “While at Nike, Harrison’s role involved talent evaluation. But from the very first moment he was hired, several league sources say, there were questions whether those evaluations would translate to coherent team building.”
Now, listen, Jrue Holiday is, or at least was, a very good NBA player in his prime. He’s a two-time NBA All-Star, two-time NBA Champion, and three-time NBA first-team all-defense selection. While he won’t make the Hall of Fame, he’s a shoe-in for the Hall of Very Good.
But this is Nikola Jokic we’re talking about! One of the best big men to ever play in the NBA, a three-time (and counting?) NBA MVP, a Hall of Fame lock, and one of the 25 best players to ever step on an NBA court.
Comparing the two isn’t just wrong, it’s absolute lunacy.
There is no world where Holiday and Jokic are in the same tier of player, and the fact that Harrison ever thought that they were should’ve seen him fired on the spot.