Stephen A. Smith Crushes Nico Harrison for 'No Regrets' Comment on Luka Doncic Trade

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Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison on Tuesday held his most comprehensive media briefing since pulling the trigger on the much-maligned trade that shipped Luka Doncic out of town. Microphones and other recording devices were not allowed during the question-and-answer session, a choice that a lot of people had a problem with—but it's worth considering if Harrison's response would have fallen equally flat if we had moving pictures instead of a complete transcript.
The thing he said that got the most attention was claiming that he didn't have any regrets about the deal, which has turned him into a very unpopular figure in the Mavericks universe. And again, just because Harrison is America's softest target right now, what is he supposed to say? That he really biffed it and can't stop thinking about what a mistake he made? People wouldn't like that much either.
Anyway, First Take and Stephen A. Smith dove into the topic on Wednesday and the network's highest-profile pundit didn't love it.
"You shut up and you go home. That's what [Nico Harrison] should do." 😳 @stephenasmith says he "hated" Nico Harrison's recent comments on having "no regrets" about trading Luka Doncic 👀 pic.twitter.com/GnyHw33TN5
— First Take (@FirstTake) April 16, 2025
"It might behoove you not to talk at all," Smith said. "Just let the whole damn season end. Because there's nothing that you can do to explain it ... You don't have a press conference right now and talk about it, you just don't. You shut up and you go home. That's what you do. Do your exit interviews when the season's over."
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Kyle Koster is an assistant managing editor at Sports Illustrated covering the intersection of sports and media. He was formerly the editor in chief of The Big Lead, where he worked from 2011 to '24. Koster also did turns at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he created the Sports Pros(e) blog, and at Woven Digital.
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