Started from the top and now here we are—the Dallas Mavericks story of the 2024-’25 season. Only the lord knows how they went from being NBA finalists to only nicking a play-ins sport in the span of a year. It’s obvious that the February 2025 Luka Doncic trade wasn’t the only factor in their downfall. And to confirm that, we got ESPN insider Tim MacMahon spilling all the tea on Nico Harrison and his PR strategies in the private press hosted at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

“Well, I would like to just assure everybody, know there’s a lot of concern. We did talk those mad PR folks out of not letting us record our own audio. That was a big point of contention. So we got to turn on the boop, turn that little audio on, do a little transcribing—didn’t have to wait for theirs to come out later in the day,” said Tim on Brian Windhorst’s podcast.

Nico has since doubled down on his contemptuous decision. He doesn’t mind Luka being out of the team. But to be so secretive as to not let the media record the interview? It just goes to show that there might be more to it than what meets the eye. We all know Nico’s preference for secrecy. So I guess we’ll never know what actually took place in the private press conference.

From the Mavs fans’ perspective, even ‘feelings of hatred’ is an understatement. Chants of ‘Fire Nico’ and refusal to attend games are just the tip of the iceberg. But what’s funnier is CEO Rick Welts refusing to clear the air surrounding Luka Doncic‘s trade. So what did he want to talk about? Tim says, “Rick Welts wanted to chitchat about those arena plans next decade.”
That definitely wasn’t something they wanted to hear.

Like I said, all this is just the tip of the iceberg. The last two months have been a PR disaster for the royal blue and black. The only thing that could salvage this was Nico publicly speaking on the trade and reaffirming the fanbase. The need for privacy seemed like an act of cowardice to the Mavs fanbase. But what’s worse is that the GM didn’t even hold the conference of his own volition.

“Patrick Dumont made him”—Tim MacMahon on Nico Harrison’s private press

Yep, you read that right. The Dallas Mavericks majority owner Patrick Dumont had to persuade Nico to even go that much public with his remarks. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure the huge dent the Dallas PR would’ve taken in the 72 days since his trade. So to not even realise this despite its very public nature is fascinating.

“[He did it] because Patrick Dumont made him because he was supposed to do it two weeks ago. And for some reason, he was able to push it back. He was supposed to do it before Luka came back to town. And why did Patrick Dumont want him to have this press conference? Because it has been the worst two and a half month run of PR that I can remember in NBA history. And I gotta tell you, it didn’t get better today,” said Tim Mac on the Brian Windhorst & the Hoop Collective.

The need for giving it time was understandable. Ideally, it would’ve been best to go public when Luka returned to the American Airlines Center on 9th April. But to wait till the season was done and dusted, and not even give any concrete remarks on public speculation? This made Windy question the nature of it all. “I’m not really sure why they had this press conference because there was no change in the messaging.”

Just know that this saga won’t end until there’s some hard questions answered by Nico Harrison himself. The Mavs fans are demanding some clarity and understanding—with a resolute plan to march on into championship glory. The decision to address it behind the curtains was not the answer. And the timing—just a day before their play-ins clash against the Sacramento Kings—won’t bode well at the American Airlines Center tonight.