Gary Payton believes the Dallas Mavericks fans need to embrace Nico Harrison.
The Dallas Mavericks are in an interesting position heading into the next season. After trading Luka Doncic and losing Kyrie Irving to an ACL injury, all hope for their future seemed lost.
But after they landed the first overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, there is a lot of optimism heading into the next year.
The potential of pairing Cooper Flagg with Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving over the next few years could be the recipe to win a championship.
There is some concern that Nico Harrison might trade the first overall pick, possibly to the Celtics. But one NBA legend believes fans should trust the Mavericks GM.
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Gary Payton sends message to Dallas Mavericks fans
Gary Payton was a guest on the Club 520 podcast. The former NBA champion came to the defense of Nico Harrison, who was his handler at Nike.
Payton claimed that the Mavericks, if things go the right way, will go quite well for them. But he does believe that Harrison doesn’t deserve the criticism from fans.
“I feel for my boy Jason Kidd as a head coach, I feel for my boy Nico, my rep at Nike, like a little brother to me. I feel for him because of what he took.”
“He’s the president/general manager, he can’t make the calls on his own. All you fans messing with him, get up out of here like that. It wasn’t his call, it wasn’t his decision.”
“He made a decision on what he was told to do or what had to be done. I’m happy for him. What’s going to happen? Get all the guys to get healthy. If their whole team gets healthy, Dallas is gonna be a beast.”
Read More: Jason Kidd believes Anthony Davis is ready to ’cause a problem’, and how it impacts Klay Thompson
Nico’s work is just getting started
After the debacle of the Luka Doncic trade, Nico Harrison has a lot to prove. There is no way he fully earns the trust of the fanbase. But a few right moves would be a step in the right direction.
As things stand, the Mavericks will not trade the first overall pick. This mandate reportedly comes from governor Patrick Dumont.
Another priority is to sign a point guard to fill the gap that Kyrie Irving’s ACL injury has created in the squad.
The Mavericks can redeem the last few months of struggles with the right moves and put themselves in a position to compete for an NBA championship.