Draymond Green isn’t so sure Nico Harrison deserves the never-ending criticism he received for the Luka Doncic trade.
The Warriors star called out NBA media members who weren’t on board with the blockbuster deal during an episode of his self-named podcast this week.
“So many people crushed Nico for the reasons that he gave [for trading Doncic],” Green said. “When Nico gave those reasons, everybody said, ‘He’s ridiculous, he’s crazy.’
“Now, when I turn on the TV, all I see is the media that crushed Nico Harrison, which essentially aided in him getting fired, regurgitating the same things that Nico Harrison was saying.”
Green’s comments come as the Doncic experience in Los Angeles hasn’t quite lived up to the hype.
While the perennial MVP candidate is putting up 32.7 points with 8.6 assists and 7.8 rebounds per game, his defense has been lacking, and the Lakers as a whole rank 24th in the league in defensive net rating.
Despite their 34-24 record, the Lakers have been outscored this season, winning an outsized number of close games while being blown out more than the team would like, and are widely seen as far behind true Western Conference contenders like the Thunder, Nuggets and Spurs.
“I haven’t seen one person come out and say, ‘Hey Nico, I’m sorry for the things I said about you when you made that move because I just said the same things out of my mouth,’” Green continued. “This has nothing to do with Luka and everything to do with the media and Nico Harrison. Nico gave his reasoning as the general manager of the team, why he thought that was the right move. Everybody said, ‘You’re a f—king idiot. You should be fired. Worst GM in NBA history.’”
After calls for his job from the Mavericks fan base, Harrison was fired nine months after the trade, which sent Doncic, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris to Los Angeles with Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick going to Dallas.
Whether Harrison deserved the backlash or not, it’s safe to say the deal didn’t end up being all the Mavericks organization hoped for at the time.
After dealing with various injuries and playing in just 29 games as a Maverick, Davis was dealt to Washington, D.C. along with Jaden Hardy, D’Angelo Russell and Dante Exum for Khris Middleton, AJ Johnson, Malaki Branham, Marvin Bagley III and five draft picks.
The Mavericks lucked out in the lottery last year, landing the No. 1 pick and prized prospect Cooper Flagg, who has starred en route to a possible NBA Rookie of the Year campaign, although the Mavericks are currently 21-38 and sitting in 12th in the West.
