"Championship-caliber team" - Nico Harrison sings praises of Anthony Davis-led roster beset by injuries

The biggest story of the 2024-25 regular season will be the Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis trade, which has earned Nico Harrison a lot of hate. To make matters worse, Anthony Davis suffered a left adductor strain in his debut game for the Mavs, causing him to miss 18 games.

The fans aren't shy about letting Harrison know how they feel about him. They've chanted for him to be fired and continue to attack him on social media. However, the Dallas general manager remains unfazed and believes his decision will eventually pay off.

Nico Harrison shared his thoughts with ESPN's Tim McMahon in an article published Tuesday. Per the Mavs GM, Davis and Kyrie Irving could bring home another title to Dallas when they're healthy.

"That's a championship-caliber team, and you guys were able to see it for 2½ quarters," Harrison said. "Unfortunately, it's a small sample size, but that is fairly a dominant defensive team. And as you look for us going forward, our philosophy is going to change. We're a team that's built on defense, we're built on versatility and depth. I think that's important going forward and that's going to be the blueprint to our success."

Aside from the injury to Anthony Davis, other Dallas Mavericks players were also plagued by health issues everywhere.

Kyrie Irving tore his ACL against the Sacramento Kings on Mar. 3 and will likely miss some games at the beginning of next season. Other significant injured players include Dereck Lively II, Daniel Gafford, P.J. Washington and Jaden Hardy.

Davis - who eventually returned to the lineup - only averaged averaged 19.3 points and 9.4 rebounds, slightly lower than the 25.7 ppg and 11.9 rpg he put up with the LA Lakers this year.

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Nico Harrison and Rick Welts faced the media but recording devices were reportedly banned

Nico Harrison and the Dallas Mavericks front office haven't said much since trading Luka Doncic to the LA Lakers. On Tuesday, they finally entertained media questions, but there was a caveat — no cameras or recording devices were allowed.

Harrison and Welts were reportedly going to address the media members they invited before opening the floor for questions.

The first time that Nico Harrison addressed the media following the Luka Doncic trade was early in February.

During that press conference, Harrison explained that he and Jason Kidd had a vision for the players they wanted in Dallas. He also mentioned his belief that defense wins championships, which explained why he wanted Anthony Davis.

The Mavs's season isn't over yet. They're still hunting for a postseason, which they'll need to earn via the play-in. Still, it's a far cry from last year, when they were competing in the NBA Finals.