Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki shared his thoughts on the recent firing of general manager Nico Harrison, stating the move should have happened earlier. The decision came amid a poor start to the season following a controversial trade involving Luka Dončić. Nowitzki expressed sadness over the trade's impact on fans and the franchise.
The Dallas Mavericks fired general manager Nico Harrison earlier this week, less than a year after he orchestrated a controversial trade sending Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis. Harrison, hired by the franchise in 2021, was dismissed the day after a 116-114 home loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, during which fans chanted "fire Nico" throughout the game.
Mavericks icon Dirk Nowitzki, who spent his entire 1998-2019 NBA career with the team and played one season alongside Dončić in 2018-19, commented publicly for the first time on Friday during the Prime pregame show. "This move probably should've happened this summer, honestly," Nowitzki said. "Too many distractions, too much going on to keep going this way. I didn't want this negative energy and this black cloud over the Cooper Flagg era. ... This trade just made no sense. It made no sense to them, and really, there was no explanation for it either."
Nowitzki reflected on the emotional toll of the trade, calling it "very sad" and noting that fans felt robbed of seeing Dončić's potential championship run with Dallas. "The fans feel like they got robbed of actually seeing the end, seeing this through. Seeing Luka develop into a champion one day. Felt like they never got to see the end to this, very heartbreaking," he said. "But now I think it's time to move on."
The Mavericks are struggling with a 3-9 record to start the season, having lost six of their last seven games.