Even after firing Nico Harrison earlier this season, the Dallas Mavericks’ front office is under criticism. They deserve some serious credit after finding a way to land five draft picks in exchange for Anthony Davis at the trade deadline, but this clearly wasn’t enough for CBS Sports.
Sam Quinn of CBS Sports ranked every front office in the NBA, and the Mavs came in at No. 27, which is even worse than their ranking back in July. The Chicago Bulls, New Orleans Pelicans, and Sacramento Kings were the only three teams ranked below Dallas, and they clearly have more work to do if they want to be respected around the NBA once again.
The Mavericks’ front office, led by Nico Harrison, was praised for the moves that they made around the time of the 2023-24 season. Drafting Dereck Lively II and trading for P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford were all moves that helped Dallas reach the NBA Finals in 2024 for the first time since 2011.
Mavericks’ front office can’t shake Nico Harrison’s shadow
Harrison was heralded as a genius for the moves that he made during the first few years that he was general manager of the Dallas Mavericks, but everything came crashing down when he traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. Dallas became the laughingstock of the NBA due to this one move, and everything that has gone wrong since this trade has.
Even though the Mavericks lucked into Cooper Flagg by winning the draft lottery after last season, the injuries to nearly the entire roster have caused the Mavericks to nosedive. Dallas went from the NBA Finals to a lottery team in back-to-back seasons, and this is largely due to Harrison’s decision to get rid of Doncic before he hit his prime.
The stain of the Doncic trade is still on the organization, even with Nico Harrison gone, and Quinn still doesn’t like what Dallas has going on. They still haven’t hired Harrison’s replacement, and they likely won’t do so until the offseason.
Quinn also flamed the Mavericks’ decision to trade Davis, as he believes that they should’ve taken on bad contracts and brought in better assets or held onto him rather than trading him for expiring money. He believes that the return Dallas got was “paltry,” and he doesn’t know what the Mavericks are going to do with the financial flexibility they created by trading Davis for expiring contracts.
Quinn clearly isn’t a believer in the Mavericks’ Anthony Davis trade, and for that reason, they’re near the bottom of his list.
On top of the Mavericks’ return for Davis, he also mentioned that Patrick Dumont is still in charge. Dumont ultimately approved the Luka Doncic trade when Nico Harrison pitched it to him last February, and for that, he isn’t free of any blame for how Dallas has performed over the last year. Mark Cuban buying the team back would at least put the Mavericks in a better spot, but for now, they’re stuck with Dumont.
Quinn ultimately ruled the Mavericks as “mostly a question mark,” and he’d like to see who they hire as the new GM before moving them up his list. Dallas has plenty of room to improve ahead of next season, and Matt Riccardi, Michael Finley, or whoever the team decides to captain the ship will have the chance to prove that they are much better than they’re given credit for.