Charles Barkley desires Dallas Mavericks common supervisor Nico Harrison to cease speaking with the media concerning the Luka Dončić commerce.
“Hear, man, I think about you a good friend of mine, Nico Harrison. I think about you a good friend of mine, I want you nothing however the very best,” Barkley mentioned throughout Contained in the NBA on Monday. “I assumed you probably did an excellent job final 12 months with the Mavs, and clearly, no matter occurred this 12 months did not work out. Man, do not do no extra press conferences.”
He continued: “I do not even know what you are doing, I actually don’t,” he continued. “Like, I bought sympathy and love for you, however I’ve zero thought what you are attempting to do. This battle is over, brother. You taking the L. I hope you retain your job, I hope that workforce get wholesome, however man, do not do anymore interviews. Please do not.”
His remarks come after Harrison held an end-of-season press convention early Monday the place he addressed all questions pertaining to Dončić. When requested concerning the outrage amongst Mavericks followers over the commerce, Nico confessed he knew Luka was “necessary to the fan base,” however underestimated how a lot the five-time NBA All-Star meant to them.
“I did know that Luka was necessary to the fan base,” Harrison mentioned on the 9:31 mark within the video above. “I didn’t fairly comprehend it to what degree.”
Nico believed that getting Anthony Davis within the deal, and placing him on a completely wholesome workforce that included Klay Thompson and Kyrie Irving would quiet the unfavourable responses. Nevertheless, accidents to Davis and Irving by no means allowed followers to witness the workforce’s full potential.
For the reason that commerce, Mavericks followers have been fairly vocal about their disapproval, most notably once they chanted “Hearth Nico” all through the sport when Luka returned to Dallas for the primary time. “When you’ve got 20,000 folks within the stadium chanting, ‘Hearth Nico,’ you actually really feel it,” Harrison mentioned on the 12:35 mark.
Nico repeatedly acknowledged that his intention with buying and selling Dončić was to solidify the protection by buying Davis within the deal. “We actually really feel that protection is our calling card, and what we’re gonna dangle our hat on, and when you’ve got a chance to get probably the greatest two-way gamers within the league, we jumped at that chance,” he mentioned on the 3:50 mark.