The much-criticized Harrison and Mavs CEO Rick Welts are hosting a ‘small media roundtable’ with hand-selected members of the media on less than 24 hours’ notice.
DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks issued an invite to a hand-selected group of media members on Monday, offering them the chance to attend a “small media roundtable discussion” on Tuesday with Mavs CEO Rick Welts and General Manager Nico Harrison.
The invite, sent out with less than 24 hours’ notice, beckoned individual members of the press — not the organizations with whom they are affiliated — to attend a gathering at 10 a.m. with Harrison and Welts. The invite to the event, which is being held in the media boardroom on the platinum level of the American Airlines Center, promised “brief remarks followed by Q&A” with the top brass in the Mavericks organization.
The invite also clearly stipulated that no cameras or recording devices would be allowed in the meeting.
Instead, the team said it would provide a transcript of the discussion to attending media members after the fact.
It is not yet clear what the statement Welts and Harrison are set to provide will address, why the meeting is not being held as a press conference, or why no cameras or recording devices are being allowed.
The decision is just the latest in a series of questionable actions involving the Mavericks .
But could this latest move lead to real answers for fans who’ve been pleading for explanations behind it all? That, too, is to be determined. WFAA will have coverage of the meeting immediately after its conclusion, and will host a live special on our streaming app WFAA+ at noon, detailing what transpired during the event.
Interest in what may come out of the gathering is understandably high.
Aside from a quick question he answered on the blue carpet at the Mavs Ball charity gala about how his month of February went, Tuesday’s meeting represents just the second time Harrison will have addressed the media since his late-night trade of Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday, Feb. 1. His only previous public address of the trade came the day after news of it broke, during a pre-game press conference ahead of a Mavericks game in Cleveland.
Harrison, notably, did not attend the press conference in Dallas during which his trade acquisitions Anthony Davis, Max Christie and Caleb Martin were introduced to the media.
His silence has become only more noticeable as fans have continued to chant “Fire Nico!” — everywhere, anywhere, whenever — in the two-and-a-half months since the trade came to pass.
Welts, who officially began his tenure as Mavs CEO just one month before the trade, has been more prevalent in the media post-Luka trade as he’s been pushing the team’s messaging about wanting a new arena by 2032 and trying to drum up support for the cause.
Initially, former Mavs majority owner Mark Cuban, who still owns a 27% stake in the team, was also keeping his thoughts on the state of the franchise post-trade to himself — until he addressed it in an interview with WFAA and the floodgates opened up.
Meanwhile, the team’s governor and majority co-owner, Patrick Dumont, has been every bit as tight-lipped as Harrison. His only public comments have come in the form of a pre-recorded audio statement provided to the Dallas Morning News in the immediate wake of the trade, and remarks shared during a real estate luncheon he was honored at (that media was not allowed to attend).
WFAA has been in touch with Dumont’s press contacts with the Las Vegas Sands Corp. dozens of times in the now 500-plus days since news of his family’s purchase of the Mavericks first broke on Nov. 28, 2023, each time requesting a sit-down interview with the new top decision-maker in the organization.
Every request has been denied to date.
Just last week, a Sands Corp. spokesperson denied WFAA’s most recent inquiry for an interview, saying that, “In [Dumont’s] view, while he will speak on some matters related to the team, Nico Harrison and Rick Weltz [sic] run the organization and should be speaking for it.”
Tuesday represents the first time Welts and Harrison have ever addressed the media alongside one another.
“Patrick and his family love being stewards of the Mavericks and have deeply enjoyed their ownership experience over the last year and a half,” the spokesperson’s response to WFAA’s latest request continued. “They want what all Mavs want – a team that plays hard together and wins games. So, with that said, the focus should be on the remaining games the team has and its push to the playoffs. Coach Kidd and the staff have done a tremendous job putting the team in a position most thought would be unachievable a few short months ago.”
The Mavericks ended the 2024-2025 regular season with a record of 39-43. The team had a record of 26-23 at the time of the Doncic trade. It has posted a 13-20 record since. The team finished the season 10th in the Western Conference, making them the lowest-ranked team to reach the Play-In Tournament for a shot at the NBA Playoffs.
The 2023-2024 Mavericks, led by Luka Doncic, reached the NBA Finals.
A recent ESPN report citing unnamed Mavericks sources said the Doncic trade could cost the franchise “nine figures over the next several years” based on slumping ticket sales, lower merch sales and the possible loss of sponsorships.
In spite of this, and seemingly everything else, the Mavericks announced early last month plans to increase ticket prices for next season.
