Nearly three weeks after he was hired as the Mavericks’ general manager and president of basketball operations, Nico Harrison still doesn’t have a Wikipedia page.
But thanks to Thursday’s introductory news conference, and his Friday morning interview with 105.3-FM The Fan, we know a little more about him besides the facts that he played basketball at Montana State and left a 19-year career at Nike to come to Dallas.
We now know that he was born on Dec. 28, 1972, grew up in Spokane, Wash. and owns roughly 600 pairs of sneakers.
He obviously was an outstanding Nike executive; otherwise he wouldn’t have risen to vice president of North America basketball operations. All Mavericks fans want to know, though, is how effectively he will evaluate and procure talent and oversee the franchise’s basketball operations.
Time, and results, will determine that. The fundamental facts, however, about who Harrison is, what he’s accomplished and the relationships he’s forged are why multiple NBA teams have tried to hire him over the years. So why was Dallas able to lure him? And why now?
“For me to leave a dream job to go to another dream job, every box has to be checked,” Harrison said, specifically mentioning owner Mark Cuban, Mavericks players, new coach Jason Kidd, Dallas and its fans as boxes that checked for him.
A fast riser
After seven years of playing professional basketball in Belgium, and with a biology degree and pharmaceutical sales job in hand, Harrison applied at Nike in 2002 and was hired as its Southwest United States marketing rep.
And he initially was based in Dallas while, in time, establishing relationships with players such as Michael Finley, Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash of the Mavericks and Spurs stars Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.
Eventually Harrison became Nike’s marketing liaison to Kobe Bryant and then-recently retired Michael Jordan, among other NBA stars, and in his role as VP of operations supervised Nike’s brand managers.
“To go from just being a baller at Montana, taking basically a low-level position, and working his way up over 19 years — talk about a commitment,” Cuban said. “And the levels of success he’s had, not only for himself, but the way he has empowered people around him.
“He demonstrated a long history of putting people into a position to succeed, and then enabling them to succeed. That’s a unique skill set that’s hard to find.”
After last month’s forced resignation of Mavericks president and general manager Donnie Nelson, Cuban said it was a “no-brainer” to focus on Harrison as the top replacement candidate.
How much say will Harrison have in Mavericks drafts, trades, contract negotiations and other basketball matters? Cuban said the Mavericks hierarchy essentially will remain what it was before — Cuban, CEO Cynthia Marshall — with Harrison’s and Kidd’s voices substituting for those of Nelson and Rick Carlisle.
Although Cuban did not mention vice president of basketball operations Michael Finley by name, and though Finley did not attend Thursday’s news conference, Harrison said Friday on 105.3-FM The Fan that Finley “is going to end up being my right-hand man. The organization really respects him. Other teams really respect him.”
Cuban during the news conference reiterated that while basketball decisions will be collaborative, he gets the final say because “it’s a lot of money. It always comes down to money at some point.
“One thing I will say,” Cuban added, “is we didn’t have a lot of structure before, and one of the skill sets that Nico brings is putting together an organization that has defined roles, so everybody knows what they’re supposed to do and can succeed in them. But I do understand that you can’t give somebody responsibility without also giving them authority.”
And that’s the point that Harrison seemed to emphasize on The Fan when asked which member of the front office will take trade calls (“me,” he said with a laugh) and how strong his voice will be in personnel matters.
“Mark didn’t bring me here to just sit around and watch the games; I’m definitely going to make decisions, but at the end, everybody has bosses.”
Cultural upheaval
Cuban on Thursday declined to address whether Bob Voulgaris, the franchise’s director of quantitative research and development, will have an ongoing role in the organization.
It was Voulgaris who was portrayed in a story in The Athletic as a divisive figure who usurped Nelson’s authority and made lineup recommendations to the coaching staff. Team sources have described Voulgaris to The News as brilliant, with a sometimes abrasive personality, but downplayed any perceived role in Nelson’s and Carlisle’s departures.
Harrison told The Fan that he had not met or spoken to Voulgaris, adding “I can honestly say I don’t know” whether Voulgaris will remain part of basketball operations. But Harrison didn’t shoot down the possibility, either.
“I’ll get a chance to get with him and try to understand his philosophy, what went wrong, if anything,” he said. “I don’t know how much of the article was true or not.”
Kidd, appearing Friday morning on 1310-AM/96.7-FM The Ticket, said analytics are an important tool for coaches in making lineup decisions, but he didn’t address whether Voulgaris might continue in his role.
Assuming Cuban is true to his word and that the franchise’s decision-making process will be at least somewhat collaborative, Harrison and Kidd should at the least have strong if not ultimate say in whether Voulgaris is a positive fit in the reconstructed Mavericks regime.
“My approach is really simple,” Harrison said. “It’s going to be about servant leadership that kind of empowers the team and the staff to be at their best.”
He cited strong, truthful communication as most essential to establishing an effective culture, on and off the basketball court.
“A culture that everyone wants to be part of,” he said. “The fans want to be part of. The staff wants to be part of. And the team wants to be part of.”
The kind of culture that Harrison hopes will make Dallas an attractive player destination, after years of free agency whiffs and a decade of no playoff series victories.
Briefly: Indiana on Friday announced four hires to Carlisle’s Pacers staff. They include Mike Weinar, who arrived with Carlisle in Dallas in 2008 and ultimately rose to the Mavericks’ offensive coordinator; and Jenny Boucek, a Mavericks assistant coach since 2018.
Read more
— Mavs’ introduction of new GM, coach made one thing clear: Mark Cuban is still in charge around here
— In Mavs intro, coach Jason Kidd doesn’t directly address past domestic voice charge, arrests
— New Mavs coach Jason Kidd’s plan for Luka Doncic: ‘Poetry in motion’ that will only improve with age
— Who’s joining Mavs’ coaching staff? Watch for Luka Doncic connections and Jason Kidd’s teammates
Find more Mavericks coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
