The Dallas Mavericks are extending everyone during their run to the NBA Finals. First head coach Jason Kidd got a multi-year extension following the team's first round win over the Los Angeles Clippers. Now, following their Western Conference finals win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, they've signed general manager Nico Harrison to a multi-year extension according to Turner's Chris Haynes.
Harrison has been with the Mavericks since 2021 and put together most of the finals roster over the last year. Under his watch the Mavericks traded for Kyrie Irving and then signed him to a three-year extension, drafted Dereck Lively II and then acquired Daniel Gafford II and PJ Washington at the trade deadline. Once Gafford and Washington entered the starting lineup, the team's season turned around.
Of course, Harrison (and Kidd) also had the good fortune of joining a franchise that already had a perennial All-NBA first team superstar on the roster, which can make any coach or executive's job easier. Once a team has that guy they just need to put the right team around him. In the case of the 2023-2024 Dallas Mavericks, they've accomplished that goal.
Before joining the Mavericks, Harrison spent 19 years with Nike, most recently as Vice President of North American basketball operations. While he was there he was part of Nike's botched pitch to Stephen Curry in 2013. Obviously, he didn't let that get him down or dictate how the rest of his career in basketball would play out.
STEPHEN DOUGLAS
