The Dallas Mavericks fired general manager Nico Harrison on Tuesday, less than a year after he orchestrated the controversial trade of Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers. The move comes amid a 3-8 start to the season and ongoing fan backlash over the deal that brought Anthony Davis to Dallas. Executives around the league expect the Mavericks to explore trading Davis as they search for Harrison's replacement.
The Dallas Mavericks parted ways with general manager Nico Harrison on Tuesday morning, a decision driven by the team's struggles following the February trade that sent Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a single first-round pick. At the time, Dončić was a 25-year-old perennial All-NBA first-team selection, and the deal drew immediate widespread criticism. Mavericks fans expressed their frustration with chants of "Fire Nico" during home games, including after a recent 13-point blown lead loss to the Milwaukee Bucks that dropped Dallas to 3-8, second-worst in the Western Conference behind only the New Orleans Pelicans.
Owner Patrick Dumont, who approved the trade after assuming control from Mark Cuban, issued an open letter to fans acknowledging the disappointing start. "No one associated with the Mavericks organization is happy with what we all believed would be a promising season," Dumont wrote. "It's my responsibility to act," he added, confirming the firing. Dumont defended the trade in a post-deal interview but faced backlash for comments implying issues with Dončić's work ethic, such as referencing players who "worked really hard, every day, with a singular focus to win."
Since the trade, Anthony Davis has appeared in just 14 of 44 possible games for Dallas, currently sidelined by a low-grade calf strain that has caused him to miss the last six contests. Kyrie Irving, another key piece, suffered an ACL injury in March and remains out. NBA executives anticipate the Mavericks will shop Davis, given his $54.1 million salary this season and a $62.78 million player option next year at age 34, despite his injury history. The team lacks its own draft picks from 2027 through 2030, complicating any rebuild.
In the interim, executives Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi will lead basketball operations while the Mavericks conduct a comprehensive search for a permanent replacement. As Doc Rivers noted on Monday, "The whole Luka thing just doesn’t go away. And it won’t. That’s a rough one." Harrison, a former Nike executive hired in 2021, leaves behind a legacy defined by the Dončić trade, widely regarded as one of the worst in NBA history.
