More sad evidence has emerged on the far higher value fired Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison had on Anthony Davis, compared to Luka Doncic.
When Harrison decided to trade beloved Mavericks star Doncic in February, it was universally seen as a terrible decision. Not just because he traded away a top-five talent who is only 26 years old. But because of the pathetic return he got back in the deal.
If Harrison opened up a bidding war to the rest of the NBA, he would have gotten a king's ransom for the five-time All-Star. Instead, he worked in the shadows and was hyper-focused on specifically landing oft-injured All-Star Anthony Davis. A player he has known since he was a teenager and signed to a deal with Nike when Harrison was working for the apparel giant.
Unfortunately for Harrison, the deal has been a disaster because he only got one first-round pick in the trade, and Davis has barely suited up in a Mavs uniform since arriving in Dallas. It is pretty much why the embattled GM was fired on Tuesday, just weeks into the new season.
Harrison's deep admiration for Anthony Davis over Luka Doncic ended his career in Dallas, and some new evidence on that confusing fact emerged this week.
In a new report on the return time for Davis, ESPN NBA insider Tim MacMahon noted that Davis' "personal medical staff" feels the 10-time All-Star is ready to return to the court soon. In giving that report, he also mentioned an interesting factoid about the big man's medical team.
"He thinks he's healthy. His personal medical staff -- which is on the Mavericks' payroll, by the way, something that was never done with Luka's medical staff -- they have cleared him," MacMahon said on ESPN's NBA YouTube channel.
Issues with Doncic's medical team were a key part of Harrison souring on the young superstar. He felt they were a major reason why he wasn't in the shape he needed to be and were part of why he continued to have injury woes.
It's understandable if a team doesn't want to pay for medical staff working with just one player. However, the fact that Harrison was willing to do that for Davis when he arrived in Dallas last year is another bizarre example of how infatuated he was with him.