Nico Harrison became a household name earlier this year for an unexpected reason: he traded Luka Doncic.
The Dallas Mavericks general manager drew widespread condemnation from Mavs fans and raised eyebrows around the NBA when he dealt Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in a blockbuster trade on the night of February 1. Every move Harrison has made since has been heavily scrutinized; it seems this will be the status quo until Dallas builds another NBA championship contender.
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Harrison’s personnel choices off the court have not been exempt from fan criticism, either. It was announced Monday that the New York Knicks’ training staff — led by two former Mavericks trainers — had been named the National Basketball Athletic Trainers Association’s Athletic Training Staff of the Year. Fans on social media wasted little time getting their shots in on Harrison in light of the news.
“This is so funny,” wrote X user @sahilisbalmy. “Nico gets rid of these guys and his whole team goes down with injuries including Luka and he blames the injury on Luka being unfit so he trades him. And the NBA just lets him wipe away all the harm by giving him Flagg.”
The X user was referencing the recent NBA Draft Lottery, in which the Mavericks won the right to select Duke phenom Cooper Flagg with the #1 overall pick. But Flagg will be under immense pressure to deliver, as some fans still are not over the Doncic trade.
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“They can thank Nico for firing Casey Smith,” an X user wrote in reference to the Knicks’ VP of Sports Medicine. “Meanwhile, Mavs had the most injured roster in the league.”
One Mavs fan sarcastically commented that Knicks’ staff “can’t be” better than the Mavericks’. Another X user said “nice one” while mentioning Harrison’s official account on the platform, while another only wrote “thanks Nico.”
“Fire Nico,” wrote @KeepIt_G24. “To go from the best medical staff to hiring your guys who have no credentials should get you fired.”
Related: Jason Kidd Makes Strong Luka Doncic Trade Statement Before NBA Draft