Charles Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal call out Nico Harrison following latest Luka Doncic trade gaffe

Nico Harrison was back making headlines on Monday due to another press conference. This one was with cameras, following an exit from the NBA Play-In Tournament for the Dallas Mavericks due to a loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.

While Harrison may have wanted to talk about his team, most of the discussion centered around Luka Doncic. Quotes coming out of the press conference just angered Mavs fans even more, particularly where Harrison claimed to not know the impact Doncic had on the franchise.

This led Charles Barkley to call out Harrison ahead of Monday night’s NBA Playoffs slate. Barkley is wishing the best for the Dallas GM but advised him against publicly speaking anytime soon.

“Listen, man,” Barkley began. “I consider you a friend of mine, Nico Harrison. I consider you a friend of mine. I wish you nothing but the best. I thought he did a good job last year with the Mavs and obviously, whatever happened this year didn’t work out.

“Man, don’t do any more press conferences. I don’t know what you’re even doing. I really don’t. Like, I got sympathy and love for you. But I have zero idea what you’re trying to do. This war is over, brother. You’ve taken the L. I hope you keep your job, hope the team gets healthy. But man, don’t do any more interviews. Please don’t.”

Chuck has a message for Nico Harrison: pic.twitter.com/jBPZvxSGuq

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 21, 2025

The Mavericks made the NBA Finals last season and Doncic was viewed as the main reason why, at least from the outside. He averaged 28.9 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 8.1 assists per game before Dallas fell short of a championship to the Boston Celtics. The future looked incredibly bright too as the same core was projected back for the next few seasons.

Harrison then dealt Doncic less than a year later, continually using the term “defense wins championships” when asked for reasoning. Acquiring Anthony Davis from the Los Angeles Lakers helps him buy into that philosophy, as Harrison has called Davis one of the NBA’s top two-way players.

Davis has already produced a couple of great performances with the franchise but the outrage with Harrison continues in Dallas. Shaquille O’Neal believes Harrison is hoping to be liked when, in O’Neal’s opinion, the main focus should be on his job.

“His problem is, he wants to be liked,” O’Neal said. “When he should be focused on doing his job. He made a decision… We live in a world where you’re going to like it or you’re not going to like it. I can tell in his answer, he wants to be liked… My advice to you, brother, is just do your job and just go with the flow. As long as the owners have your back, you should be fine.”

Reports have indicated tensions between Harrison and Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont may be increasing due to the Doncic trade. Dallas does appear to move forward with Harrison as the general manager, though, turning attention to the 2025 NBA Draft. The next time we hear from Harrison, he might have a newly drafted player sitting next to him.