Nico Harrison: Mavs Gov. Dumont 'Laughed at Me' About Idea of Trading Luka Dončić

Dallas Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont may have thought general manager Nico Harrison was joking when he first proposed trading Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers.

"The first time, he laughed at me," Harrison said Sunday about bringing up the trade with Dumont.

Harrison continued: "Patrick, he's the owner, obviously he's the ultimate decision maker. But he entrusted in J-Kidd and I to lead this team, and he's putting the trust into us.

"You've got to get judged for the performance that you've done as a leader. And at some point, if it doesn't work out, then I'll be judged for that."

Rather than offering Dončić a supermax extension and building the Mavericks around him, Harrison traded the 25-year-old star on Saturday night for a package including Anthony Davis and a 2029 first-round pick.

Harrison went on to take responsibility for the trade by saying that head coach Jason Kidd had not learned about the deal until it had already been finalized.

NBA insider Marc Stein reported earlier Sunday that the trade took place after "Harrison made the decision, supported by new Mavericks majority owner Patrick Dumont, to pursue Davis and pretty much no one else."

Harrison cited his longstanding relationship with Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka when discussing the trade with the Dallas Morning News' Brad Townsend.

As ESPN's Dave McMenamin reported, the relationship between the two dates back to "when Harrison was Kobe Bryant's marketing manager at Nike and Pelinka was Bryant's agent."

Dumont was part of the group that purchased a majority stake in the Mavericks following Mark Cuban's sale of the team in December 2023. Cuban, who still holds a minority stake in the team, confirmed to WFAA's Ryan Osborne and Pete Freedman that he wasn't part of the decision to trade Dončić.

The Mavs offered Harrison a multiyear contract extension before Dončić and the Mavs played the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals last spring.

At the time, Dumont credited Harrison with having "propelled our team to two playoff appearances in three seasons and of course this year's NBA Finals."

That past success may have earned Harrison some decision-making leeway. His first major test will now be whether Dallas is able to find further playoff success without Dončić this spring.