NBA executive had savage quote about Mavericks GM Nico Harrison

Nico Harrison became one of the most unpopular people in sports when he traded Luka Doncic during the season, but at least one rival executive is still a huge fan of the Dallas Mavericks general manager.

ESPN reporter Tim MacMahon discussed Harrison’s job security during the latest episode of the “Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective” podcast, which was released on Wednesday. MacMahon said Harrison still seems to have the support of Mavericks owner Patrick Dumont. The GM also has an executive from another team pulling for him to keep his job.

Why? Because that exec is hoping his team can somehow take advantage of Harrison.

MacMahon said he was told by one NBA executive that the exec hopes Harrison survives the summer with the Mavericks because, “It’s always good to have a desperate GM out there.”

Ouch.

Harrison has already had to deal with “fire Nico!” chants almost everywhere he goes since he traded Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. Opposing fan bases have also taken shots at him.

Unless Harrison sticks around in Dallas and orchestrates some sort of miraculous turnaround that leads to an NBA title in 2026, he is never going to escape the criticism from the Doncic trade. Though, the Mavericks did pull a weak move recently to try to shield him from some of it.

Harrison has been the general manager of the Mavericks since 2021. Anytime your counterpart is rooting for you to keep your job because he think it will benefit his own team, that is not a good sign.