Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison drew a new wave of criticism Tuesday for a weak move he made with the media.
Harrison held his first media availability with local Dallas reporters on Tuesday since the Luka Doncic trade in early February. However, the Mavericks hand-picked the reporters allowed to meet with Harrison, and barred those reporters from using cameras or recording devices during the media availability.
The evasive move was widely criticized by Dallas media and fans, as it gave the appearance that Harrison is trying to dodge pointed questions about the Doncic trade and its aftermath.
Harrison has become tremendously unpopular in Dallas for trading Doncic, and it has become commonplace for fans there to chant for his firing virtually everywhere. Harrison and the Mavericks are undoubtedly aware of that, and seem desperate to avoid fanning the flames. Moves like this, however, indicate that they are too desperate, and their lack of transparency becomes a story in itself.
The only way the Mavericks can mend fences at this point is to win championships. The front office certainly knows that. Still, they would do well to avoid unforced errors like this one that just open them up to more criticism. This just makes it look like Harrison is hiding from his critics, and that is a pretty bad look.
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