NEW ORLEANS – On Wednesday, before the Dallas Mavericks took on the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center, general manager Nico Harrison took some time to sit down with Mavs Step Back to talk about his team’s mounting injuries in the first half of this season, whether those injuries alter his NBA trade deadline plans, Klay Thompson’s transition from the Golden State Warriors to Dallas, and more.
On Mavs injury woes and if he considered visiting a voodoo doctor while in New Orleans to potentially help out:
“Well, I wish you would have brought that idea up early, because I'll try anything. Obviously, it's been frustrating. We really do like our team. I'm an optimistic person, so I try to look at the silver lining. It's better to be injured now and not be injured in the playoffs. So if you're injured now, chances are you're going to be healthy when it really matters. So that's kind of what we're hanging our hat on.
“The other positives, a lot of young guys are getting playing time, which full healthy roster they're not. So I just look at that in terms of once we are healthy, we're going to be better.”
On whether or not the Mavs’ mounting injuries will affect their trade deadline plans:
“It doesn’t, because we like our team, and you don't want to take a short-term thing and make it a long-term. I feel like our team is built for the next few years. So again, if something comes along that makes sense, obviously, we'll do it. We look at everything, but we're not going to be reactionary to a short-term injury.”
On if there’s a specific type of player the Mavs are looking for on the trade market:
“No, we look at everything, but we really like our team, so we're not looking specifically at one position. You never know who's out there that some team is trying to offload, and if something comes our way that's opportunistic, obviously, we've got to take advantage of it, but we're not actively seeking to replace our players.”
On Mavs’ ceiling if able to get fully healthy:
“I’m not going to put an answer on it, but I think as we look at this team and the way we constructed it, we feel like this team is built to win. And so you have to be a little bit lucky and you have to be healthy. And so I think once we get healthy, we'll get to see the good part of this roster.”
On potentially investing more in a super-deep 2025 NBA Draft:
“Honestly, we spend the time (scouting), we consider everything. If it makes sense, we'll do it. We're not risk averse, calculating. If there's something that makes sense, we definitely will.”
On how Klay Thompson has handled the transition from Golden State to Dallas while also navigating the Mavs’ injury issues:
“I honestly think that he's probably a guy who's harder on himself than we ever would be. I'm super thrilled about him being on our roster. I think it's been amazing. I think it's only going to get better when we're healthy.
“I think you've been able to get a glimpse into what it's going to look like. He's built to win. He's won where he's been at. He's not scared of the moment. So imagine putting that in when you're trying to win at the highest level.”
On his Nike ties helping with a potential Mavs rebrand in the future:
“That's actually a good question. Well, I’ll answer this instead of deciding if I see (a rebrand coming soon). I’ll tell you it would make it easier because obviously my team used to do that at Nike. So I'm very familiar with the process and the people that do it. And that's kind of like my background. So yeah, I think it would make it lot easier.”
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