Advertisement
This is member-exclusive content
icon/ui/info filled

sportsMavericks

Nico Harrison looks to keep Mavericks’ core intact, improve from within after finals run

Harrison said retaining free agent Derrick Jones Jr. is “priority 1a and 1b.”

There’s an immediate form of duality that comes with the conclusion of the NBA Finals.

One team enjoys the fruits of a championship parade, which the Celtics celebrated Friday morning as they drove through the streets of downtown Boston. The other begins the reflection process of the season before plotting a return to the Finals, which is the case for the Mavericks.

President of basketball operations/general manager Nico Harrison fielded questions Friday morning during his end-of-the-season news conference to address the state of the franchise.

Harrison, who signed a multiyear contract extension before the Finals, responded to questions about the team’s immediate needs, the desire to retain unrestricted free agent Derrick Jones Jr., Luka Doncic’s health and more.

Mavericks

Be the smartest Mavericks fan. Get the latest news.

Or with:

Internal growth and development was the primary theme of Harrison’s news conference, which lasted roughly 21 minutes.

“We’re proud of the way the season went,” Harrison said. “I really want everyone to come back 10 to 15% better — mind, body and spirit — and I think if we do that, we’re going to be proud of the results for the next year.”

Advertisement

Dallas finished 50-32 this season and transformed its roster at the trade deadline by adding P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford to the core group highlighted by a superstar backcourt of Doncic and Kyrie Irving. Jones’ improved performance, coupled with the emergence of rookie center Dereck Lively II, drastically changed the Mavericks’ defense. Harrison said he really likes the Mavericks’ core group of players, noting that the top seven or eight players in Jason Kidd’s rotation will likely stay intact. However, he noted the group ran out of gas against the Celtics in the Finals after three difficult series against the LA Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves.

Asked about the roster’s construction and what areas need to improve, Harrison didn’t reveal the type of players who need to be added. Instead, he praised his current nucleus.

“I think we have the pieces. I think we just need to get better ourselves,” Harrison said. “Since I’ve been here, our front office staff has looked to make it better and we’ll continue to do that. But the core is intact. If you look at our top seven or eight players that really played. I don’t see anything happening with that.”

Advertisement

There can be a deduction the Mavericks’ top seven players are Doncic, Irving, Lively, Washington, Jones, Gafford and Josh Green. An argument could be made the eighth player in that group could be second-year guard Jaden Hardy or veteran center Maxi Kleber, given their roles during the playoffs.

However, the first item of business on Harrison’s offseason checklist is to find a way to re-sign Jones, the two-way defensive forward who took a chance on himself last offseason. Jones was undervalued as a free agent last summer and could’ve signed with a different contender for a more lucrative contract, but he signed a minimum deal with the Mavericks for an opportunity to contribute. He played a career-high 76 games with 66 starts in the regular season and also started every game of the playoffs. He averaged a career-high 8.6 points and 3.3 rebounds, and shot a career-best 34% from the 3-point line.

The Mavericks are projected to be over the luxury tax and $3.6 million below the first apron, which will make it seemingly difficult to sign Jones for what he’s likely earned for the best season in his eight-year career.

“I don’t know how we’re going to do it, but he’s a priority,” Harrison said. “He’s priority 1a and 1b. I think he fits in with our team. He loves it here. We have to figure out the dynamics to get him to stay, but that’s a priority. We’ll do what we have to do to get it done.”

Harrison also mentioned he wants Kidd’s coaching staff to return 15 to 20% better, but that might not be possible since assistants Sean Sweeney and Jared Dudley are candidates to join rival teams. When a team makes it to the NBA Finals, other teams notice and develop interest in some of the key figures that helped facilitate the long postseason run. The Mavericks granted the Detroit Pistons permission to interview Sweeney for their head coaching vacancy. Meanwhile, Dudley is reportedly one of several targets for new Los Angeles Lakers coach J.J. Redick.

“We love both of them and we respect them,” Harrison said. “They’ve been valuable in getting us to where we’re at, but at the same time, it’s about people. Our goal is to develop players and staff. If opportunities present themselves, we’re going to support them. They know how much we want them back, but it’s about growth. You can’t hamstring players or staff from growing. We’re going to support them, but we do want them back. We’re hopeful that they’ll be back.”

The Mavericks will have a shorter summer than in previous years, which includes preparation for next week’s NBA draft. Dallas owns the final pick of the draft at No. 58 and will likely see most of the best prospects off the board by the end of the second round. Take that into consideration along with a limited free agency, and it appears Harrison and the rest of the front office will have to be creative in order to improve the roster around the margins. Harrison expects to return most of the same group, but he’s open to tinkering with the roster given the long Finals run.

Advertisement

“We’re always going to try to get better,” Harrison said. “That’s just the nature of our job. There’s one thing when you’re trying to get a little better — tinkering around the edges or you’re trying to overhaul. When you don’t make the playoffs like last year, we were a little more desperate. When you make the Finals, now it’s how can we get 10 to 15% better. I don’t think it’s a major swing.”

Related Stories
View More

Find more Mavericks coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.