AD on Nico’s firing: “It was surprising more than anything. Nico’s my guy. He played a huge part in getting me here & wanting me to fulfill his vision that he saw. It was definitely tough.”
He has to buy into it because if he disagrees with the non-existent “vision”, on a level he’s agreeing that he’s highly injury prone and not nearly as valuable on the trade market
Nico also straight up said he’s a better asset than Luka Doncic.
AD as a world class competitor has to agree with that.
Yeah, AD is probably Nico’s biggest believer
Even if he’s not, he has to at least pretend to be. If he says he’s not surprised Nico was fired then he’s basically shit-talking himself and his value as a player. It’s a lose-lose situation for him.
Yeah imagine if he was like “honestly crazy they traded Luka for me given my injury history, makes sense that guy got fired.”
I feel like if AD said “Yeah man idk that was a crazy ass trade” dallas fans would love him lol. Not that i think they hold anything against him now, just that he’d really endear himself
This is the right answer
“Nah fuck that guy, also I’m as surprised as you are that I’m here”
His ego will not make him say otherwise
A champion, all star, 5x all nba athlete believes in himself. I don’t really think it’s ego
I mean it is it’s just fairly justified
The ego that likely contributed to his drive to succeed.
Of course. He wouldn’t be there without it. Im not trying to deny that
Ah the mythical vision Nico saw.
It’s so crazy man. I was watching the game last night and I had a moment where I just felt this intense sympathy for Clippers fans. Put aside the recent controversies for a second, you watched your team give up everything it possibly could for an injury prone superstar and his running mate to bring a championship to a historically pathetic team. The day the PG trade was announced must’ve felt incredible, but the price tag to put that team together was, let’s just say, steep.
That team failed, you never reached a finals, things look about as bad as they could possibly look right now, you have no future, and you just watched your most hated rival, your eternal big brother, smoke you in the 4th quarter with the 25 year old superstar they acquired midseason last year for a fucking song.
I don’t know if I could watch the sport, I’m not gonna lie.
Clippers out here catching strays on a Nico/AD thread
Just couldn’t help but notice the contrast last night. One team full of promise, over-performing and entering their next era led by a clear all time talent just entering his prime. The other a complete mess of a team on and off the court, saddled by years of disappointment, injury, and unmet expectations, just hoping to make one more run at a play in spot before they either die of natural causes or end it themselves.
And doubling down!?
To any Clips fans reading this, I don’t take joy in it lol. I’m not a Lakers fan. I root for a team that’s a pretty big fuckin mess in its own right (Sixers). The Clips are just in their own world of misery though, imo. Maybe the Kings can join them.
Kings fans have it worst. The Sixers can lose and you still get to live in Philadelphia. Kings fans lose and they have to live in a city whose biggest tourist attractions are an unlit beam and some of the worst allergies in the country.
You can and should shit on the kings, but I won’t be hearing any Sacramento slander. It’s a great place to live
Keep the Kangz separate from Sacramento lol
I never got the Sacramento hate. Good food. Old Sacramento is very unique vintage feel that hard to find any major city in California. Decent music scene. Decent sports scene. And you’re not that far from an elite city in San Francisco.
Ill take living in Sacramento and being 90 minutes from SF vs living in other inland cities in Northern or Southern California.
Have I entered an alternate universe here when Philadelphia and Sacramento swapped or something.
Lmao wasn’t considering the quality of life angle
That other team has more Aspirations though, so it seems pretty balanced. Once they clear the deck and rebuild, they might even have some good draft picks eventually!
LMFAO
For real, man. Before I got to the second paragraph I was wondering if he was responding to the wrong thread. Lol
The Clippers situation made sense though a lot of people thought they hit a home run. The vision was real they just took a big swing and missed. Nico trading luka was closer to getting drunk in the locker room and shitting himself in the dug out.
But that makes it even worse. You did everything right, or at least enough right that it should’ve worked. But it didn’t, your Rival won another championship, and now you’re fucked for, honestly, probably close to a decade. A decade in which the Lakers will probably be contending for Championships.
I don’t think its worse its very hard to win in the nba the most you can ask for especially a team that was perennial bottom dwellers is to try. Atleast clips had some competitive seasons mavs would be entirely fucked they just got lucky with flag but will be hard pressed to actually build a team around him.
Worst part is part of that trade piece being SGA who is a champion with an MVP/FMVP/Scoring title. Could have never predicted he would be what he is now when that trade went down but holy shit does God hate the clippers
Yeah, I mean it’s awful from every angle. SGA would not have been included in that trade if they had even a semblance of leverage, but Kawhi denied them that by insisting on getting PG in particular. People give Lebron shit for being a bad player-GM, well Kawhi might have done more damage to his franchise in one move than Lebron ever did in his 23 years.
Nah it doesn’t make it worse. Nothing is a sure thing in sports. You’ll fail more often than not when going for a championship but at least they had a shot.
Nico’s move being doomed from the start and an obvious disaster to everyone from the moment it happened would feel 1000x worse.
I don’t know if I could watch the sport if I was a clippers fan so your summary really tracks … regardless of the Doncic point lol
your eternal big brother
that’s why they have to move out of LA
Surely there isn’t a city on the West Coast desperate for a basketball team that the organization’s owner has deep ties to
They just moved into a new stadium bruh give it a rest
Rest in peace
A wild San Diego appears
Seattle was the reference above, but I’d personally like the Clippers to go back to San Diego
Yeah I know lol, but I figured San Diego would make the most sense for a relocation
Why? The players like living there and they have a really nice stadium.
They honestly should. I just wish it wasn’t gonna be Vegas. Kansas City Clippers has a nice ring to it.
If you ask me that’s karma, not a sob story. Kawhi sandbagged the Lakers with no intent to sign, he pulled PG a year after Westbrook convinced him to stay, then Kawhi took money on the side, and Paul George left.
Ballmer seemed like the great savior taking over a cursed franchise from a shitty owner but then decided to throw his (money) weight around and cheat the system.
Part of me wants to joke that it would’ve somehow worked out totally fine for the Lakers if they signed him, he would’ve stayed healthy and they would’ve won three chips.
But no, you’re right. It’s pretty clear that the Toronto year was an outlier and you did not want to be in the Kawhi business once his injuries started. It’s just not worth the insane amount of headaches he brings when you’re not getting him on the court when it matters. It does feel like some Karmic justice for Ballmer, but that’s not the fans fault lol
I’m sympathetic to some long suffering fans, but there’s a contrarian contingent out there that enjoys talking shit about the Lakers more than rooting for their team (I know this from personal experience, lol).
But as a long-suffering Bruin fan, I’m well versed in the pits of sports despair that comes from living in the shadow of the exalted big brother, hah. Sometimes it just is what it is.
Not only that, in the PG trade they have away SGA, who was a promising prospect at the time, but who has now turned into not only an MVP but the closest thing to peak MJ/Kobe I’ve seen in 20 years.
Nah. I feel bad for Kings and Wizards fans. They’re just supporting the local team and unfortunately the local team is a train wreck. The Clippers fans though? They had a choice and chose to be contrarian hater assholes. They chose this and they deserve this.
As a Raptors fan , I have no remorse.
Dude you guys lucked out lol, good on your ownership and Masai for not caving to his shady ass demands. I know he won you a Championship in a lot of people’s eyes, but in retrospect that was kind of a miracle, and your organizational strength enabled that more than he did.
Hey I agree man, in hindsight, it was a blessing in disguise.
Please this isn’t even top five of clipper fans painful seasons. They survived Donald Sterling baby. They dradted Olowakandi!!!!
I don’t think this season in particular is abnormally painful, it’s just the whole situation. It’s the fact that they’re staring down the barrel of another decade of seasons like this with very little hope of relevancy.
Its a hard life being a clippers,chargers and padres fan Also a drug addict Pain
most hated rival
0 rings vs 17 rings.
There was never a rivalry to begin with lol
Add it to the list of tragic things about this lol (from their perspective, I’m sure you’re thrilled). It should’ve started the rivalry in earnest, that was the consensus, instead the disparity grew even more. Almost nobody thought the Lakers would have a more successful 5 year run than the Clippers when those moves went down. And a year ago the narrative was “these LA teams are kinda screwed long term without any real championship upside in the short term, huh”
For the Lakers to have emerged from both of those situations victorious would kill me if I was a Clips fan
He saw it while on ayahuasca
Never go full Rodgers
Must’ve thought Luka was the hat man, had to banish him.
*crack cocaine
After taking peyote in the desert with his dead nephew’s goomar
Props to AD for being able to say this with a straight face lol
Bro was like Dr. Strange but he picked one of the million timelines where they don’t win a championship.
Muad’Dib
Are we talking William s Burroughs vision
Peyote, perhaps
and the mythical ‘surprise’ that he was fired
Nico’s vision involved Kyrie not getting hurt.
PR Media test, (Insane Demon Difficulty)
I mean, there was one right answer to give in these situations, and he said it. I’m sure his aides prepped him
Wow AD has aides???
How does this impact Magic Johnson’s legacy?
Nobodies got aidsh! I don’t wanna hear that word around here eva’ again.
They also picked out the “that’s all folks” shirt, as he pretty much said directly
Would it really be a bad look if a player just outwardly said something bad about Nico? Like who would genuinely care?
Well it would probably look bad if AD said “yeah I can’t believe Nico traded a generational talent for my washed ass”
Whatchu gon do with that trade huh? Let me in on the secret…wash ya ass
I would think I was watching NBA: Abridged
A player? No
AD specifically? Yea, because Nico believed him to be almost as valuable as Luka. If he said Nico was dumb as fuck and that the trade didn’t make sense he would be lowering his own trad value
you think it wouldnt make the headlines if AD said something like that?
ANY OTHER PLAYER besides AD, no.
It would be a bad look to any prospective GM who might wanna trade for him.
Even if they all agree the trade was horrible, why would they want a player who bad mouths a GM who saw value in him?
I just think Nico is a special case of where literally everyone would agree, “Yeah, he ain’t even wrong. I get it.”
Weird position for AD to be in
I feel bad for him because it’s made him subject to a significant amount of slander.
Like imagine if Nico actually traded Jokic for Jrue. Jrue would constantly receive insanely high levels of criticism as a player.
In Nico’s head, he’d probably think he needs to add a second round pick if he wants Holiday for Jokic.
I mean Jrue is pretty good
It bothers me that people talk about AD like he’s a pussy—and I would’ve said the same thing before he was on the Mavs. The guy is a Hall of Famer and people make fun of him for being injured as if it’s his fault.
This place acts like such garbage towards those they don’t like, it’s irritating beyond belief.
Dude played when he was so sick he was vomiting in the hallway
Most people have never been injured to the point of handicap, & most definitely haven’t been athletes, so they don’t understand or sympathize with the mental aspect that comes with being constantly hurt, not to mention unable to do what you’ve loved doing your entire life.
You also have back in my day fake “analysts” like Barkley talking his shit and people parrot it all day unfortunately
I dropped a box on my two a few days ago and Ive had to hobble everywhere. Nothings broken, I just have a bruise or big baby disease. Cant imagine what athletes with real injuries have to deal with, just these last few days with a swollen foot have sucked
I looked at the Mavs thread on this and feel so bad for AD. He was literally barred from exercise during the off season because he had surgery on his detatched retina, and they are bitching at him for coming into the season slightly overweight.
Yea pisses me off when people say Luka got traded for nothing. It was a bad trade. Luka didn’t want to leave. But AD isn’t some nothing.
At the time I likened it to trading a paid off house for a Lamborghini with some mileage on it. Lambo still a cool car, but thats overshadowed by the fact they teaded away a fucking house
That’s still nothing given ADs contract plus they didn’t even get Reaves
Yeah I mean he is not going to be like “Nico’s plan sucked, I don’t know what he was thinking bringing my old ass here who can’t even stay on the court”.
“Played a huge part in getting me here”
Translation: single handily traded away the 2nd most beloved player in franchise history in the dead of night for peanuts (that included me)
AD, being an NBA player prob just thinks more like “they traded Luka for me, they must really love my game and believe in me”
Which is obviously the right way of seeing it from a player’s perspective. To see it any other way would be weird
Wouldn’t expect anything less from a player of AD’s caliber tho. Its this mindset that got them there. That said, Nico can suck my ballsack.
imagine an alterbate universe where pelinka is the dumb one and trades AD for Klay + pics to the mavs with healthy Luka and Kyrie who probably doesnt die in this hypothetical because hes not overworked trying to clinch the 8th seed
I believe it was Kyrie’s turn to take a rest and be for the playoffs when Luka returned. Then Luka would’ve had 20+ games to build chemistry with Klay. It should’ve been a good playoff push for us. But fucking Nico torpedoed his own team’s chances because of his ego.
That’s also just true, Nico did love his game and believe in him. Still such a weird position for AD to be in since he’s gotta be aware of how the Mavs fanbase feels about the trade.
“Only GM out there who thought I’m worth $60 million the next 3 seasons, he was my guy.”
“He’s my guy. We both sacrificed to make the Lakers better.”
AD crushing it for 8 minutes following the trade before being injured has to be the biggest blue balls for Nico.
The NBA writers couldn’t have scripted it more Shakespearian. Like Act 3 in your typical tragedy.
Clearly joining the NBA writing staff is what Paul Westhead did after Magic got him fired
The annoying part is I am pretty sure they brought him back early like they wanted to do for Luka, like they played him but I think it was still a week or 2 before the Lakers reported expected return date. If they waited a little more then there is a good chance AD remains more healthy. But I guess then they don’t get into the lottery and jump from 12 to 1 and get Flagg
I get that this is pretty much an impossible situation for AD from a PR perspective but just say “it was rly surprising” and keep it moving.
At this point it feels like a trade absolutely has to happen. Dallas fans are never going to accept this dude.
Dallas fans are never going to accept anything
Idk man i would just be happy to see him lace it up instead of in street clothes.
First round picks lol.
Idk they were pretty excited to accept the #1 pick
Which I feel like they soured on when Nico acted like it was all part of his grand plan.
But Cooper should be at least fun to watch grow into a star player.
right on, the shorter the better. obviously no one expects him to say nico is dumb and that he’s washed, but people here act like he had no other choice than to give this answer. going on about nico being his guy, and mentioning his vision, using that specific word after all that transpired, makes him look absolutely tone deaf. but it’s not rly surprising, we know ad has one foot out the door already
I mean the trade was dumb as shit instantly. Once they got flagg their whole timeline shifted and they need to look at how to compete in 2-3 years. I doubt AD is playing meaningful minutes/games by then
He isn’t even playing meaningful minutes now lol
Redditors shocked that Anthony Davis sees the situation differently than they do.
Lol nobody is. That’s exactly what he’s gotta say whether he believes differently or not, and considering he was also close with Nico it’s not surprising in the least.
Nobody’s shocked by it, it’s still funny though
He sees the situation differently than most do
He’s a competitor, see it any other way and you might as well quit on your team. A lot of ball players are hilariously delusional for a reason
Not Monta Ellis. He have it all, including rationality.
What he says and what he feels may not be aligned …
No the crazy part is them thinking he doesn’t believe what he’s saying and this is just his PR answer.
The non-PR answer wouldnt be attacking Nico let me tell ya lol
-Redditor
The fans chanted fire nico for nearly a year straight as attendance and engagement with the team fell off a cliff and this man thought it was surprising when nico finally got fired?
Yeah… the arena stopped selling out and fans were being booted for chanting fire nico or bringing signs or apparel that said it. Nico made the team get him private security and relegated himself to the tunnel during games and I didn’t meet anyone who saw him out for the entire year in Dallas. It was the least surprising thing that happened.
We really don’t want him here, but he’s not even an asset at this point which makes the whole trade even more fucked.
That guy destroyed your team, for what? Literally no reason. He’s a Lakers/NBA operative. And then he gets to be fired? No. He should have to sit in that arena every single game and cop the abuse from every fan who poured their hearts and money into that team. Fuck Nico. Man fuck the NBA honestly. What a joke.
Right?
He’s a team player obviously he wasn’t going to blame Nico sadly
I mean Nico basically thought that AD was better than a Luka entering his prime. If I was an NBA player and a GM of any team thought I was better than Luka I would also be a huge fan of his.
AD is a good player, but there is no way he’s better than Luka.
Here I was expecting him to say Nico is a dumbass for trading for me.
What a shit position to be in lol.
I feel so bad for AD.
He can wipe his tears with all his m’s
IDGAF about AD. I feel so bad for the city of Dallas and my kid who I’m having to explain why Luka isn’t in blue and silver anymore.
Blame your stupid organization and owners then. The Mavs franchise is just a trainwreck all around.
I put no blame on AD, I just don’t feel bad for him.
Yeah it’s ass. NBA and Nico ruined our franchise so the lakers can stay relevant with their inability to grow a home grown player.
AD: Look at Nico, man. So inspirational.
This trade destroyed AD’s career and reputation.
imo AD is as much of a victim in the luka trade as dallas fans lol. one of the greatest modern players reduced to being called the worst return in a trade in nba history and magnifying his penchant for injuries
We know. That is why they fired him my guy.
i guess that’s one way to look at it
The worst trade in nba history
He better be careful the way he’s sitting on that chair or he’ll get injured again
yeah fuck you and your 3 quarters
I’ll drive you to the airport right now bruv
AD was never known for his smarts
This dude is going to play a game? STOP THE PRESSES
Nico the GOAT. AD knows what’s up
Just because it’s history now doesn’t mean you can’t still use it to farm rage karma on r/nba!
cant tell if AD is overly trusting or has exactly the attitude you want every player to have towards coaching, or just a really good person.
A huge part? He was the whole thing, dude.
AD: “We’re all trying to find the guy who did this”
It is just so crazy that they turned arguably one of the most valuable trade assets in the league into a player that will now be pretty hard to trade.
Just complete and total destruction of value: GM malpractice of the highest order.
“He was the only person in the organization that wants me here”
if they’re that close - did he know nico is trying to get him to dallas?
How the hell was this surprising???
The second part of the answer does a good job explaining the first part of the answer
Nicos entire vision relied on AD being an amazing player so he must have been gassing him up like crazy. Of course AD is a fan
Find someone who believes in you the way Nico believes in AD.
The vision is injury prone
Does this have anything to do with Seth Rollins’ Vision?!?
It’s hard to hate Nico if you’re AD because Nico basically felt you were worth Luka. How do you turn to Nico and say, FUCK is wrong with you?
On the other hand, Nico orchestrated the biggest trade of his career that took him out of a desirable position, and placed him in a spot he did not want to be in.
He has to have, at least, considered, that if Nico had been fired for even considering this trade, he would still be in LAL wearing street clothes and happy, while Luka would still be in DAL out of shape and content with his adoring fans being unbothered by the results.
Fulfill his vision = about to get traded for peanuts
What vision?
Only if you can play, literally just stay on the court
He got fired because you cant stay on the court, street clothes
Don’t let the door hit you on the way out
“My guy” has lost all it’s meaning.
You part of the reason he gone lol
That’s a bright attitude for someone that was collateral damage as part of what is considered one of the worst moves in professional sports ever
If he really was surprised then he’s actually stupid. This trade can’t get here fast enough
when you realize the guy that most believed in you and hyped you up was an absolute fucking idiot 😭
I forgot AD existed lmfao
AD should hate nico for believing in him. What a loser
Not the vision 😂😭
Feel horrible for this guy
LMAOO
Nico Harrison is Adam Silver’s hero.
nice haircut
AD fulfills Nico’s delusion. AD should cut tie with Nico and finds way to increase his value.
What do people expect AD to say? “Oh yeah, he’s trash. What a stupid trade decision he made that brought me here and vacated Luka”? Even if AD wasn’t in that very trade, criticism of a GM is risky even for a star player.
What he means is Nico’s vision was to allow him to get paid to do nothing a la (Kawhi)
If you worked as a janitor at McDonalds - and a manager at Burger King traded half a ton of gold for you - you’d love that manager too!
Wasn’t tough on anybody else, I’ll tell you that.
I mean everyone keeps saying this but you gotta feel kinda bad for him, it’s not like he chose to be traded 1-for-1 and then gets asked this shit lol
I mean… what else is he going to say?
Find someone who feels about you the way that Nico obviously felt about A.D. i.e. that they are willing to burn down an entire NBA franchise’s future and their own future career prospects because they believe in you so fervently.
i see nico’s vision. but the success rate was like 0.1%. risky is an understatement, totally irresponsible.