Cuban's viral jab at a former GM over a controversial trade sparks a debate: witty insult or unfair dig at basketball blunders?
DALLAS - The NBA’s most deserving whipping post is being called out again, with poor Nico Harrison being trolled by his old boss Mark Cuban.
The clever rip job highlighted by Dallas Mavs man Mark Cuban is funny.
But …
Is it fair?
First, to Cuban’s burn: He shared on Instagram a video showing Harrison - recently deposed as the Mavs GM in the wake of last year’s disastrous trade of Luka Doncic to the Lakers - sitting alone in an airport waiting for a commercial flight.
The caption in the clip?
“Trading Luka made you go from private jet to public airlines.”
Cuban didn’t need to add commentary or context. He just reposted the dig.
And we all understand it … at least on its surface.
Harrison’s involvement in the ill-fated decision to trade Doncic is an albatross he will wear forever.
Hopefully, the Mavericks won’t be saddled with the move for an equally long time.
But to be fair - is it even allowed for me to be “fair” to Nico? - this awful mess wasn’t all his fault.
Some of it, in fact, is Mark Cuban’s fault.
Cuban, after all, was the owner who pinpointed Harrison as a first-time GM after Cuban’s relationship with long-time partner Donnie Nelson went sadly sour.
Cuban was also the guy who sold primary ownership of the Mavs to Miriam Adelson and her family, leaving son-in-law Patrick Dumont to be the first-time person in charge.
Cuban has made concessions along these lines, recently chuckling while saying of Nico, “I hired him. In hindsight, now, it was a mistake, but whatever.”
Indeed, if Cuban was allowed two professional-life mulligans? I bet he’d 1) un-do the Nico hiring and 2) retain control of basketball ops rather than hand them over to the neophyte Vvvv … who might actually have been the driving force in Luka’s goodbye.
And by way: Over the years, with Cuban in charge, the Mavs make mistakes, too.
Or must I remind MFFL’s of how this franchise goofed on keeping Steve Nash, drafting Giannis and keeping Jalen Brunson?
Harrison was dismissed in November and the Mavs haven’t even signed his replacement yet. When they do? Maybe this time, Cuban will have some input that will work out.
And really, an advancement like that in what we hope can be known as “The Cooper Flagg Era” will be a welcome one … maybe one so powerful that our bad memories of and bad feelings for Nico will fade.
Maybe.