Just about 8 almost nine months
on the job. What do you think?
I'm I'm enjoying it.
I'm enjoying it. Still,
I feel like there's lots to learn,
but I feel like I've learned a
lot and it's it's been great.
You know, 'cause my previous career.
I was there for 20 years,
so there's always challenges.
And but the day to day stuff.
I knew I kind of was a master
or expert at if you will.
But here I'm I'm a rookie and
so I'm still still learning,
but it's it's been great.
It's been a great challenge.
Teams had been after you.
NBA teams for at least a few
years have been trying to get
you to go down this path.
Why, here and why now?
I think it was just a perfect storm,
you know, Amazing city,
which you gotta have a good city to,
to have good players.
I think you know from the
fridge standpoint, amazing fans,
you know nobody wants to go to empty arena.
You got it, you got, you know,
Luca Doncic which is, you know,
once in a lifetime player. Thank you,
Add all that up Cuban as the owner.
My daughter,
my oldest ones in the eighth grade.
So it's like if you're going to make a movie.
I start thinking about how it
affects them so her not not
having been in high school yet.
It's like the perfect timing.
So it was really just a perfect storm.
Everything you're talking about with
the realities of this organization are
obviously true in that moment though,
as you were coming in.
This was a little bit of a Hornets nest.
The Expos Rick and Donnie both leave.
It was a little bit of an
unsettled situation, right?
As you first walk in the door.
What was that like to come into?
Honestly, I was oblivious to all of it.
I was in my own little cocoon and
I really until I got the job.
That's when I realized where Hornets nest.
I was walking into,
so I really didn't know anything about it.
I just knew, you know,
The Mavericks from afar.
I didn't know him that intimately,
so I I didn't know all the stories.
So when you do now have that realization.
Once you're here, how do you navigate that,
and how did you kind of bring everything?
Because now it kind of
becomes incumbent upon you.
Obviously Mark as well, too.
Alright, let's.
Kind of circle the wagons
here and reel it back in.
How did you guys go about
that? Well, I think you know
leadership is everything,
and I think whenever there's
a little bit of disarray,
that's when leadership is.
That's when it's.
You have to have it. You know,
that's that's when it's most important.
So I think just just being
present and then looking at it
as an opportunity versus like oh,
there's you know so much stuff
that has to change. Like no.
It's an opportunity.
So come here,
be present and you know be
the leader that they need
two decades at Nike.
You roast through the ranks pretty quickly
and and got yourself into some pretty
high cotton over the course of your time.
Their relationships were kind of the
central tenant everybody talked about
you making this change from that.
World into being an NBA executive.
Relationships was the central tenet of why
people thought you'd be good at this job.
What do relationships mean to you?
I think it's just about
being authentic to people.
I think it's you know.
Always being yourself,
treating people with respect.
Especially true number respect when
you have leverage because there's
always gonna be times whether you're
in a negotiation you have leverage.
How do you treat people always?
You know when people have leverage,
how do they treat me?
That's to me shows a sign of
their character and I think just,
you know, at the end of the day,
being a good person doesn't mean
you don't have tough conversations.
It doesn't mean that you don't do
what's right for your company,
but at the end of the day,
making sure that people walk away
feeling like they were respected.
Who is the impact Kobe Bryant had on you?
A huge impact, you know,
'cause we worked together for so many years,
but I think the biggest thing is that he's.
Very detailed in everything he does on and
off the court and he challenges everybody.
Whether it's his teammates or whether
it's me on the business world
or any designers that work with
them challenges them to be great.
You know if he's going to bring
himself to the table he wants you
to bring your best to the table and
nothing less than that is acceptable.
Still, I suppose in your
infancy of working with Luca,
but in a little bit that you do know
him from your previous careers.
I know you guys interacted a little
bit during your time at Nike,
but then also working with him closer now.
Do you see some parallels
between whether it's Kobe?
Whether it's I know you worked with Michael.
I mean, you worked with. You name it.
Chances are good you worked with it,
especially if they had a
relationship with Nike.
Are there parallels that
you see between Luca and.
Again, you probably know the
name that's that's popping into
your head better than I do.
Well, if you say Luca and any other great,
I think it's the competitiveness you know,
like when the games on when the lights are
on, that's when you know they rise to the
occasion no matter how they're feeling,
no matter what the odds
are stacked against them.
That's when you see them at their best,
and I think he's no different than
any of those names that you want to.
You want to name.
He's right up there with them.
Why do you think I don't know?
I don't know how easy this is to evaluate.
For of yourself, but why do you think
you've been able to connect with?
The Kobe Bryant, the Michael Jordans
the Luca Doncic is the dark.
I know you had a relationship
during your time with Nike.
Again you name it,
it seems like you had a relationship
with him and and in a lot of those
circumstances are pretty close relationship.
With players that can be
sometimes difficult to.
Be cohesive with why do you think
that's a skill that that you and
maybe maybe to call it a skill is
too Machiavellian but but why do
you think that that's something
that you've been good
at? I don't know.
I think I'm just blessed.
I don't know, I just try to be myself.
Honestly I don't know. If I knew,
I would bottle it up and write a book.
But honestly, I just try to be myself
and all situations and and I don't take
myself too serious like it's not about me.
It's you know my career.
Throughout my career,
the people I work with it's always
been about them and not about me.
And and maybe that's help.
It's probably been a big a big part of it,
and even here,
like it's not about Nico Harrison,
it's about the team and
Jason Kidd and and you know,
it's not about me,
so I think being able to not
take yourself too serious and
making about the people that you
work with. What do you think
Steve Harrison? Your father?
I would say to you right now,
what advice do you think he
would have for you as you've
navigated this career change?
He would be super proud.
He's smiling for sure.
Keep doing what I'm doing like
you know, keep pushing it.
And don't don't stop like keep pushing it.
That's that's the advice
he would give me,
sure. We were talking this about
this a little bit before we started,
but you're a father yourself
now as well and have been now
for over a decade as you've.
As you look at it from the flip side,
what is being a father mean to you?
What does that?
What does that role signify in your life?
Well, it's everything you know.
Being a father is everything
and being a husband is too.
But but being a father is just,
it's it's. I don't know,
it's just like undeniable one because I had
an amazing father and then two when you,
when you know you're responsible
for the lives of these.
You know 22 girls.
It's like it's like the most
responsibility anybody can ever have.
And so I think it puts everything
in perspective.
You have a tough day, you lose a game.
Maybe you don't get the trade you want.
Whatever it is,
you know you can always come home.
You know the family that's that puts
everything kind of in perspective.
This
is more of a problem in the NFL.
But representation amongst people
of color isn't what it should
be in the NBA either when it
comes to management positions,
head coaching positions.
What does it mean to you
to be a black GM in the
NBA? It means everything and not only that,
like if you look at our team you have.
You have Jason Kidd.
You have me like that. You know,
say coup, general counsel like that's
representation at the highest level,
like there's no other
teams that look like us.
So it's I'm extremely proud about that,
and I hope there's kids that look like us.
They see us and think,
Oh yeah, I can be a gym Monday,
'cause they absolutely can.
I'm not asking you to come
up with a magic bullet here,
but but how does that get better?
How do you mean that's again in the NFL?
It's a bigger problem,
but it still should be.
More representative in the
NBA than it is even now.
It was 7-8 nine years ago it was.
I think there were 14 black
coaches in the NBA at that point.
It's now half that.
General manager Total is
Yoyo back and forth.
How do we get better with this?
Well, the people making the decisions
on hiring have to give people of
color opportunity and then we
gotta do a good job when we get it,
you know, so it's coming up on me
to do a good job so that somebody
else who comes from a nontraditional
background can get an opportunity.
So that's I mean, ultimately,
it's it's the people in the decisions
that that it relies upon. It
seems like a second bite at the
apple is less common for a person
of color than it is for for a
white GM or a white head coach.
How instrumental is that piece of it?
In your mind?
Yeah, I mean, you can look at it and
see the people that get recycled,
whether it's coaches or GM's,
a lot of recycling.
Again, I think having having conversations
and dialogues like we're having you know,
I think the world is is changing
because of because of the stuff
that's happened with the civil
unrest over the last couple of years.
I do think that.
Opportunities are going to come up.
I think the fact that you're
talking about diversity,
equity inclusion like you probably wouldn't
have talked about that two years ago.
So I do think the fact that we're having
these conversations it's important.
And hopefully again people that are in
leadership roles start taking that seriously.
When I and I think they are,
I think they're going to be
held to that standard.
I know the leagues need to do that
and the leagues aren't doing that,
especially the NBA.
On a more micro level with what's
going on in the last few weeks,
when did you know it was time to
move on from Kristaps Porzingis?
Good question. You know the the trade
at the end of the day was really about
The Mavericks and and what makes them.
How can we make us better?
And it was less about Kristaps like you know,
a lot of people say Oh well
he's injured a lot and he was,
but he's still a talented player, you know.
I think the other other day he played
for the first time he had like 25
points like he's a good player.
He's gonna have good games.
He would have had good games here.
He's going to have good games
wherever I think we had opportunity
really in in Davis and Spencer.
Yeah, I got lost it better.
And that was really ultimately the decision
with a guy making that much money.
To then take that contract not
only turn one player into two,
but to turn one contract into two.
How how instrumental in
the deal was that for?
Being nimble as a franchise
going, yeah, you know that?
I mean, that's that's the reason
you do it one player into 21
contract into two and now you have
all the flexibility in the world,
which is what you want.
With that said, Spencer Dinwiddie
and Davos Britons have had
a pretty salty start here.
Is that even exceeded your
expectations with what they've done?
These first 8-9 games,
yeah. I mean, I'm, I'm super
happy with how it's turned out,
but again, when you do it,
you you want it to turn out that way,
but you know. You know,
and it's basketball.
So it's cyclical.
Someone's gonna have a bad game and
you know if we do this interview in
a weakened by Kyle Spencer had two
bad games and really couldn't have shot.
Why did you make that trade?
But I I think you just have
to trust the work.
Trust the the work that you
put into it going into it.
And then you just can't look back.
I've seen you say Luca dancers
is going to win championships.
It's your job to make sure it happens
here in Dallas with this team.
What's the next step in that process?
Obviously this trade was one step
in the evolution of this roster.
What comes next in your
mind? I think we just continue
to to get the roster. You know,
how do we get the roster better?
How do we get players that fit around Luca?
And that's I don't think
there's like a magic bullet.
I don't think there's
one player that does it.
I just think you continue to to work
it and work it until you get that.
That that right combination and.
And by the way, to win a championship you
got to have some luck to you know you can.
You can have the best team on paper.
You got to have some luck if you go
through the history of of any sport.
The winners you know they had some luck
along the way.
We talked about your relationships
with players around the league.
Big name players around the league.
I know you can't go into any specifics.
I'm not trying to get you in
trouble here with tampering
anything along those lines,
but how instrumental can that be?
In that process come July.
Listen, I think I think Dallas is
going to get a seat at the table
for free agents that they want.
I'm not sure if they if Dallas had
previously had a seat at the table,
but I think you know and it's
it's not just about me either.
If you look at Jason Kidd,
if you look at Mark Cuban between
the collective group will get us
a seat at the table for sure.
Why do you think that was an issue?
Just just your perspective?
Your opinion?
Why do you think having a seat
at the table in the free agency?
Landscape was such a problem
for this organization for the
last decade, if not longer.
Honestly, I don't have the history.
I don't know. I couldn't even tell you.
I don't know that they didn't
have a seat at the table,
but I just know that this group will
have a seat at the table. What can you?
I don't know if change is the right word.
What can you do to ensure that
that seat at the table leads to?
Walking away from the
table with somebody, well,
I mean, there's a lot.
There's so many factors
that go into free agency,
it's it's tough to say well.
One you got to have a seat at
the table to have a chance,
and so I think if you ever see
at the table then then now you
need a little luck on your side.
But I I think you have a seat at the table.
You have a good enough team on that
can win a team that has the culture
that people want to be a part of.
Which is is.
That's the work that you're doing now.
That's not the work you do
when you're at the table.
Then I think all that helps,
and then you get to see at the table and
then you just layer lay your cards out.
Take your chances.
Last thing for you,
we know Luka Doncic is obviously going to be.
The key piece of of what the future
of this organization looks like.
As you've had some time now
to evaluate this roster,
as you've had some time to evaluate him.
What's the arc type of what you're
looking for to pair with it?
What, what?
What does the ideal mab's
roster look like that can then
chase after a championship?
You know it's it's tough to answer that
question because we're playing really
good right now with the team we have,
so it's tough to answer that question
with without discrediting what's going
on right now on the floor. And so I,
I don't know that there is an actual.
Tight, sure, I think you know we're gonna
we're gonna get through this season
which we're playing high level now what
are we doing to playoffs? You know?
And then that gives us some more.
Some more feedback of of what we need,
what we're missing.
But I mean if you ask me today right now,
as good as we're playing. I don't.
I don't know what that is.
I mean, maybe this is part of the answer is
that the shooters that you've got around him,
the playmakers that you've got around him.
Maybe that is part of the answer, I suppose.
Yeah, yeah, I mean,
listen, there's always.
You can always take one player,
pull them out and say, hey,
we can upgrade that and make a better player.
But in actuality, that's not
necessarily makes a better team.
Chemistry is so important, and so I think.
I think you you know you.
You hope that you continue to
play good and then you get in the
playoffs and take your chances.
And then you learn from that.