DALLAS (105.3 The Fan) - Following his team's defeat in the Western Conference Finals on Thursday, Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison met with the media for the final time this season on Friday afternoon to discuss the forthcoming offseason.
On the team's desire to bring back Jalen Brunson, who's set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason:
"I think it's easy. It's the top priority. We got to figure that out. We're not in control of it, but he's definitely a priority. We want to re-sign him. He knows that we want him back. He'll be a big part of our future."
What other areas of the team would you like to improve upon to get to the next level?
"If you look back at this series (vs. Golden State), we lost some games on the boards, and I think that's important. We need to get somebody that can help us on the rebounds, be a rim protector, we need to figure that out."
How would you say the perception of this team has changed around the league?
"26 teams watched us play this week. If you look at next year, we're not going to sneak up on anybody. They're going to see us coming, and that's a good thing. They should see us coming, and that's the position we should want to be in."
How involved will Jason Kidd and Luka Doncic be in offseason decisions?
"I think from a leadership standpoint, you want your best player, your want your coach, you want their input. You want them involved in the decisions. That's important.
"He'll [Doncic] know everything we're doing. We'll get his input. We're going to talk a lot, first of all. … He'll give us his opinions on things, and we'll give him our opinions. But he's going to be involved in the process, for sure. … I think you're crazy to try to build a roster but not include your best player. I don't think that makes sense."
The Warriors have several all-stars on their team, do the Mavs need to get more all-stars to help Doncic?
"I don't think it's just about having all-stars. There are tons of teams that have a bunch of all-stars and they're sitting at home watching us play. You need to keep upgrading the roster, but I don't think it's about getting a bunch of all-stars. I think it's about getting people that fit together. Starting with Luka, and people that can fit around him. I think that's more important than getting all-stars."
Along those lines, would you like to add more depth on the perimeter, or find somebody to help more inside?
"Yes," Nico said while laughing. "I think it's both. You always want to add depth, and clearly [the center position], that's no secret for us to not talk about it. We know we got beat up on the boards. But at the same time, our best lineup was [when we went] small. But when you're playing every other day, at some point you do wear down."
Related
Follow 105.3 The Fan on Social Media:
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitch
Listen live to 105.3 The Fan via:
Audacy App | Online Stream | Smart Speaker (just say ‘Play One-Oh-Five-Three-The-Fan’)