To say Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison has been maligned since trading superstar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers earlier this month would be a massive understatement. And when the Lakers and Mavericks met for the first time last night, Laker Nation did not let Harrison forget about it.
Harrison was in attendance for last night’s Lakers win over the Mavericks, a game in which Doncic recorded a 19-point, 15-rebound, and 12-assist triple-double. During the course of game, which saw Doncic stare down the Mavs’ bench after hitting a 3-pointer early on, the fans unsurprisingly directed their attention to Harrison.
At one point, fans at Crypto.com Arena began chanting “Thank you Nico,” a sarcastic show of appreciation for trading the five-time All-NBA player to the Lakers for a relatively small price. Harrison apparently heard the chants too, according to The Athletic’s Sam Amick.
“‘Thank you … Nico!’ the Luka Nation bellowed several times during the Los Angeles Lakers’ 107-99 win,” Amick wrote.
“So, I asked in jest afterward: Did he say, ‘You’re welcome?’
“‘No,’ Harrison said with a smile before heading for the exits.”
Considering how much vitriol fans have directed at Harrison, it is likely a good thing that he is at least seemingly taking this in stride. The trade, in particular, has led to some fans protesting Mavericks games, calling for Harrison’s jobs, and a general ire across the Dallas fanbase.
Last night’s result will probably not help matters, as Doncic earned his first triple-double with the Lakers, who won the game despite not playing particularly well for a good chunk of it. Additionally, the Mavericks were again without Anthony Davis, the centerpiece of Dallas’s haul for Doncic. Davis, who has a lengthy injury history, went down with an abdominal strain in his first game with the Mavericks back on Feb. 8.
The Mavericks and Lakers will meet one more time in the regular season; on April 9, just days before the end of the season, they are set to play in Dallas, which would be Doncic’s return to his former home and assuredly one of the most anticipated games in recent NBA history.
