The Dallas Mavericks have reportedly given general manager Nico Harrison a special privilege this season amid calls from the fanbase to get him fired. Harrison has been unpopular in Dallas since he traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers back in February.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein of The Stein Line, the Mavericks have introduced portable stairs every game at the American Airlines Center for Harrison. It’s placed between the benches and closer to where the GM sits during home games.
The reason for this new benefit is to prevent Harrison from walking through a sea of fans if he wants to exit or visit the locker room. The Dallas Stars have been using it at NHL games, but the Mavs have adopted it for their 52-year-old executive.
“Portable stairs are rolled in every game via the tunnel between both benches and adjacent to the new seat location that enable Harrison to exit at any point without having to walk through sections of the crowd,” Stein wrote.
While the hostile reaction to the Doncic trade has subsided, the Mavericks’ slow start to the season has magnetized Harrison’s decision once again. Anthony Davis, the main asset acquired from the Lakers, was injured just five games into the season.
Mavs Ownership’s Patience Wearing Thin
In the same report by Marc Stein, the Dallas Mavericks ownership, led by governor Patrick Dumont, is contemplating the future of Nico Harrison as general manager. Harrison getting the boot could boost the fanbase, though it might not be a long-term solution to the franchise’s problem.
“With the Mavericks already in a significant hole when it comes to simply reaching the playoffs, league sources tell The Stein Line that the rising and virtually ceaseless negativity that surrounds the franchise is indeed wearing on and troubling ownership,” Stein wrote.
Will Miller of The Smoking Cuban put the blame for the Mavericks’ struggles offensively on Harrison trading a generational offensive machine in Luka Doncic. While Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving could have been a formidable duo, both are currently injured.
Irving’s status this season is uncertain after suffering a knee injury carrying the team’s offensive load after Doncic got trade and Davis was out injured. AD, the main piece the Mavs acquired from the Los Angeles Lakers, has only played a total of 14 regular season games since February.
Mavs Insider Predicts Harrison’s Fate
ESPN’s Tim MacMahon gave a gloomy prediction for Nico Harrison amid the Dallas Mavericks’ 3-7 start. MacMahon, a longtime Mavericks insider, believes Harrison will get fired by the franchise at the midway point of the season.
“There’s a whole lot of things that ain’t good with the Mavericks. And hey, at this point, I believe it is a matter of when, not if, Nico Harrison will be fired. There is a very, very strong likelihood that it will be mid-season,” MacMahon said on “The Hoop Collective” podcast, via Bleacher Report.
To make matters worse for the Mavericks, Luka Doncic has been fantastic for the Los Angeles Lakers. Doncic got in shape in the offseason and is averaging 37.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, 9.5 assists and 1.8 steals in six games this season.
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