Dallas Mavericks’ Nico Harrison Full Exit Interview: Luka Doncic, Team’s Plans, NBA Finals Run, More

Dallas Mavericks’ Nico Harrison Full Exit Interview: Luka Doncic, Team’s Plans, NBA Finals Run, More

hey Nico Mike Curtis with the Dallas Morning News um just curious what’s your overall assessment of how the season went just giving where you guys started um the moves you made the trade deadline and just getting all the way to the NBA finals good question um we’re we’re proud of the way this season went um you know we’re committed to to building a a winning organization that has championships aspirations um I’m proud of the the coaches the staff um the players I really felt like we grew um some of the things I talked to them uh you know the staff as well as the players and coaches is that you know really want everybody to come back 10 to 15% better uh Mind Body Spirit and I think if we do that um we’re going to be proud of the results uh for for the next year go did this team run up against a team who just their time do you think you’re a couple of pieces away I mean it seems like you guys are right there with yeah I I I mean I really love our core um I feel like we were really in the playoffs since March 7th um you know just we were fighting just to get into the playoffs and not be in the play and I think after a while uh you you know you have that Grind from March 7th and then we had three really tough series I think after a while you you just you know we didn’t we didn’t have the same juice uh in the finals that we did in the first few rounds and I think it just wore on us and and you know give the give those guys credit you know they they’ve had to go through their trials and tribulations to be where they at but they were the better team for sure Nico you you said you love this score and your your goal is to build this team for Championship aspirations when you look at the roster construction what areas would you say um needs to improve for this team really I think we have the pieces I think we just need to get better ourselves um I’ve since I’ve been here I’ve always um I say I but our our front office staff we’ve always been looking to to make it better so we’ll continue to do that but the core is intact um you know our our if you look at our top seven eight players that play the the biggest minutes I don’t see anything happening with that Nico uh Jo started with clutch points uh we got to see a full year of Derrick Lively and just his development has been really incredible I just want to get your take on his season and just his development and maybe expectations for the future yeah I mean um di live he’s he’s improved right right before our eyes I mean literally um the guy from the first part of the Season all the way through through the playoffs he’s just continue to improve um I think the sky’s the limit I think we we really we got a good one in him um def uh all defensive player Allstar type type guy I mean who knows when his timeline will happen but he’s he’s well on his way to being a special player you mentioned keeping the top seven or eight players obviously D Jones is included in that group uh what’s your optimism as far as being able to work something out with him and do you anticipate that it will require some kind of tinkering to be able to get to uh a number um yeah I mean I I don’t know how we’re going to do it but he’s a priority he’s Priority One onea and 1B um I think he fits in with our team he loves it here we have to figure out obviously the the the Dynamics to to get them to stay but yeah that’s a priority and we’ll do what we have to do to to get it done and so what are the other prior this summer you mentioned 1 a 1B no I said he’s 1 a and 1B oh he’s 1 a he’s both I got you yeah uh how’s Luca get 10 to 15% better uh easy I think you know if if you look at if you look at luuka one we’re not where we’re at without without Luca I think that’s important to point out um and we also won’t be able to get where we want to go without the best version of Luca and if you look at a guy who had you know after game three had the world on his neck you know the scrutiny which was which was crazy the amount of scrutiny that he had to face uh and for him to focus in and do what he did in game four I I just think it just shows um the character of him and is willing to fight through adversity uh and I think he’s going to continue to get better he’s 25 years old so I think just going through the finals uh him seeing uh what he needs to do to be at his best in the finals after going through a grueling end of the year and then three tough tough uh matchups I I think you’re going to see the best version of him Nico back to uh Derek Lively and looking ahead at at his career and you said you know sky the limit for him what is next do you think in terms of what you’d like to see from him in his development and how do you guys go about helping him uh have a plan for his first NBA off season well one I think he needs the rest uh you know one of the things Michael Finley pointed out to me in my first year like they always talk about the rookie wall it’s not really that rookies hit a wall but they go from college straight to workouts um for the for the NBA combined and so they actually don’t rest you know and so you take a rookie like him went straight from college to work out to work out for all these teams to get drafted playing summer league they go through their whole first year and they don’t rest and then you take him playing huge minutes all the way into the finals so the first thing for him is just rest um but his maturation um the way he talks on the court um his resiliency all the stuff he’s gone through on and off the court and still being able to play at a high level like he’s gonna he’s going to get better uh I think you know obviously the the defense what he did in the playoffs was amazing you know being able to switch off some of the best guards in the league and really contain him um the way you can block shots finish at The Rim you all seen his shoot a three-pointer uh uh he can do that you know we’re not going to he’s not going to be a pick and pop guy but eventually he you know he has the skill to do it but for our team that’s not what we’re going to ask him to do he’s really good in the short role he can even get better than that he can pass from both sides of the floor so I think he’s just going to continue to get better um if they guard a little guy on him uh being able to post up and us having the confidence to throw it in in him finishing which I think he can do so I think there’s a lot of room for him to grow uh and he’ll do it Nico from over here in the back from uh year prior to missing the plan and knowing how that off season was and then this year obviously making NBA Finals how do you expect the off season for yourself and the players to kind of be different coming off in NBA Finals mentality wise and just everything that goes into that I think everybody’s you know once you get a taste of winning I I I like to believe that everybody’s going to be focused like we are uh to getting back there and so that’s that’s why I talk about everybody coming back 10 to 15% better I tell the staff the same thing the staff needs to come back 10 to 15% better and that’s that’s mind mind body and spirit and I think you know when you play this long um it it wears on everybody even though you’re winning it’s still it’s a grind and so people need to take time off kind of fill their cup back up uh and get mentally prepared for a long season Nico uh kind of a multifaceted Luca question uh obviously in the middle of a playoffs it’s not in a team’s best interest to be specific about how much a player is hurting and where he’s hurting what can you tell me tell us about the extent that he was hurting uh will he require any kind of uh offseason procedures and has a decision been made about whether he’ll uh play with Slovenia in the next week or so yeah I I mean you guys you guys all know Luca and you you see the way he moves like he was hurting um but he’s a warrior he’s going to fight through all those injuries that just who he is he he loves to play um but yeah he’s def I mean multiple multiple injuries throughout his body that’s that’s uh evident and you could see the way he’s walking and running but again he’s a warrior so he’s going to fight through it um in terms of playing for the national team I think that’s probably one of his biggest Joys so I think uh as long as he can walk he’s probably going to go out there and play for them that would be my expectation Nico you mentioned um the staff coming back 10 to 15 % better obviously the reports with Jared Dudley and Sean Sweeney getting interest from other teams um I think it’s expected from a finals run but I guess how do you balance letting them pursue those type of opportunities while trying to maintain them on your staff yeah I mean for for both of those guys we we love both of them we we respect them they they’ve been valuable to getting us to where we’re at but at the same time it’s about people um and our goal is to develop players and staff and so if opportunities present themselves uh we’re going to support them um but they know how much we want them back but it’s about growth like you can’t you can’t hamstring players from from uh or or uh staff from growing so we’re going to support them and but we do want them back and and we’re hopeful that they’ll be back Nico when you talk about right here Nico when you when you talk about the 15% better um you know where do you see that for PJ Washington another player who’s 25 part of part of this score going forward yeah I mean uh I go back to I probably should have said this from opening but you know we really to get to where we were we relied on four players who had little to no playoff experience um Lively Gafford um Derek Jones Jr and PJ so those four players who you all know played huge minutes for us were a big part of our team had little to no playoff experience and so just think about what they’ve learned and then how do they come back uh incorporate that in their game from the start I think it’s going to be huge um PJ specifically I think he can add a few more points a game um you know taking the ball off the rim and pushing it um posting up smaller players uh shooting a little higher percentage from the three-point line um Dr penetrating when they they run him off the line I think he can he can add a few more points a game um so he’s and he’s going to like he’s poised to to continue to get better but I really think just the the experience that all four of those players got in the playoffs is going to carry them uh into next season and then and then as a front office I’m curious um um when you kind of assess how the postseason went how do you how do you assess a series like like Boston and Boston is I think a team that makes it difficult on a lot of players you know the PJ the Dereks they were better earlier in the postseason um how do you look at that series and say yes that’s both the level that you as a team want to get to but also that’s a unique matchup that maybe doesn’t show the true test of you know the trueability of some of these players who might have struggled a little bit more than they did in previous rounds yeah I I don’t I don’t throw everything out the window that we did leading up to it I really think that um the accumulation of you know really being in the playoffs in March and then having those four grueling those three grueling um series leading up to it I think I think affected our our ability to play at our best and obviously they did too um but at the end of the day uh our best two players are going to dictate what our role players do Nico I’m sure you’re aware of Rich Paul saying the Mavs would be among those interested in bronny because you were basically an uncle to Brony what if anything can you tell us about that um I don’t think I can say anything about uh players that aren’t drafted um so you know rich is gonna say what he’s gonna say thanks uh ni you mentioned game three and the amount of attention Luca got one of the consistent narratives that we’ve heard then before is about his conditioning um Health weight it’s all from media members as he gets ready for another season and now even this summer is that a priority or do you think that is something that is uh uh needs to be addressed for him moving forward yeah I think you know I think one of the things that you’ll see is that with all the scrutiny how he bounced back with game four he’s going to he’s going to be reflective of of how does he get to his best how does he get 10 15% better and I think you’ll see them coming back um ready to to address those issues how would you describe the way your working relationship with Patrick Dumont operates in terms of you know trade deadline draft uh you know whatever business you guys are operating from a roster perspective this summer how do I see it happening yeah how how does that Dynamic with you and Patrick work uh it’s going to be great I mean Patrick is uh you know he’s he’s kind of similar to what I’ve been used to in Corporate America you know I mean he he runs a huge company he’s a CEO of I think they probably have like 35,000 people so he’s very much uh he’s not emotional he’s more like strategic um he’s not going to be in the weeds um but yeah we’re going to be fine we’re going to we’re going to have a great relationship we already do um I see it working very well Nico um you throughout the playoffs the consistent production from the offensive production From the Bench was kind of lacking where if the seven or eight guys are pretty much in place where is that Improvement going to come from there well I disagree with that I think our our um playoff uh production from our benches was really good that’s why we won those those Ser those three series leading up to it I think every game there was another guy that that um popped I just you didn’t see that in the finals but if you go back you know Clipper series OKC Series um the Minnesota series every game one of our bench guys um Rose to the occasion so I I don’t really agree with that now it didn’t happen in the in the finals but our team just didn’t play that good in the finals either you know including our our best players so it’s tough when we’re not playing good as a team to expect the the guys on the bench to come out and all of a sudden they’re going to play miraculously Nico you’ve kind of touched on it before but Celtics seem to be poised for for another run and let’s say it’s the same teams that match up next year hypothetically what gives you confidence that the Mavericks would be different or better suited besides just one playoff run to get over that hump well I think the biggest thing is experience um you know I said this earlier we had four guys who had little to no playoff experience at all so I think those four are all going to be better prepared um and then also the rest of the team just actually being to the finals and now knowing what it takes to get there and not just get there but also having enough energy to be at their best Nico I have a question about the guards um we know a lot about Luca um first of all what did you learn about Kyrie kind of off the court things that maybe some of us weren’t able to see and then for a guy like Jaden Hardy have have you seen his development and kind of where he falls into the rotation and where you see him in his growth points this off season yeah Jaden um Big Time growth when he first came in here uh I think he was a scorer everybody KN he could score but now he can you know he can see the passes to the corner he can throw lobs um he he’s really developed his three-point shot is is really uh solid so I think he’s going to continue develop um as he progresses but he’s he’s been he’s been great and he’ll continue to be better uh in terms of Kyrie you know I’ve known him since he was 16 so there’s really not much that I didn’t know about him um but I think the things that you guys probably all saw about him is what a great teammate he is in leader um and so it was great that people that are outside of his you know his Circle could actually see the type of a person he is and type of leader he is and I think that’s kind of been documented a lot lately so heading into the offseason do you see this core staying intact do you still see because last summer it was we’re still a few pieces away do you think you have all of the pieces or there still room to add and or is this an internal development deal where you just need need guys to play better and and develop for next season yeah I think it’s both I think I think um you know like I said earlier uh our our core call it the seven the seven eight guys that play the most I I don’t see much changing out of that um but we’re always going to try to get better that’s just that’s just the nature of our job um but there’s one there’s there’s one thing when you’re trying to get a little bit better um you know Tinker on the edges or you’re trying to massively overhaul when you don’t make the playoffs like last year like we were a little bit more desperate like when you go to the finals um now it’s like how can we just how can we get 10 10 to 15% better um I don’t think it’s a major swing Nico uh right here I’m just curious what the uh what the past couple months have been like um you know obviously the front office you know is going to do the job that they have but as you’re as you’re also navigating a finals run obviously you’ve been to the Conference Finals before and kind of had to navigate that but what was it like you know with the team still playing and you guys are also prepping for the offseason and preparing and and what’s it like you know just in your day-to-day with the you know job you have the jobs underneath you you know just about how that process has has kind of gone for yall it’s been a lot but I mean that’s like the good problems right I mean everybody wants to have those type of problems so we we accept them it’s also it’s also about leadership and delegation we have a huge front office we have a bunch of Scouts um it’s really trusting in what they do and their ability um I don’t have to be at every workout and we have a workout right now um but we we have a great front office staff they’ll give me all the notes and it’ll be like I’m actually there um so it’s really about delegation and trusting trusting the staff that we have in place and they’ve been great so uh again it’s a little more work got to watch a little more film but good problems to have it does it doesn’t sound like you’re planning to spend a bunch of money in the off season and there would be salary cap constraints anyway I’m just curious we’re going to spend all the money we have in offseason well that gets to the question that with new ownership with the addon and Dumont families what’s your sense of their commitment to spending what would be necessary on the player salary front to go where the franchise wants to go yeah I don’t I don’t think money is going to be an object I think it’s doing it the right way um bringing in people with good character uh the money is not going to be the the limiting factor they they want to win um we’re going to be smart about it though but I I don’t expect we’re not having money conversations I’m curious uh your thoughts on um with how the finals went and three-point shooting being such a big part of it uh what are your thoughts on like the three-point volume that the team has gotten and um what are your thoughts on the shooting development what’s most important for an organization hitting into an offseason for shooting development just continue to shoot I think we we got good shooting coaches we got good development coaches um you know again you don’t want to boil the whole season down to how the finals ended even though it was a disappointment um you have to you have to kind of rise above that and look at the totality of the whole season look at the you know I like to say from March 7th on we were in the playoffs look at the other series we shot the ball fine um can we get better yes will we get better yes but I I just don’t want to look at the finals as the disappointment from that and now it’s like oh my gosh we’re we’re doomed like you you got to you got to pull up from that and kind of look at the whole season and and that’s what we’re doing I did want to ask are there any specific plans for prosper uh this offseason yes for him to get better no omx is going to be good uh that we we we had his uh exit interview and really for him uh we just want him to have a really good summer um get back get confidence um because the kid can play he can play on both sides of the ball uh and the goal for him is to come back in September in great shape with a lot of confidence and ready to compete for minutes um you know he’s a rookie playing with a a team with a uh a lot of good players in front of him and so I think if he attacks this summer like like he will he’s he has really hard work at the great kid um that next year he comes he comes back in great shape and uh confident enough to compete for minutes yes he’s going to play in Vegas y thanks

Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison spoke to reporters after the team’s NBA Finals run for his exit interview.

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