Charles Barkley has wild take on Nico Harrison trading Luka Doncic

The Dallas Mavericks finally made the decision to fire Nico Harrison from his post as the general manager on Tuesday, which was a decision many expected as soon as he traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. It ended up taking just over nine months before they fired him, but at least they got there eventually.

However, there is a small minority of people who think Nico Harrison is being used as a scapegoat. Among those is Hall of Famer Charles Barkley.

"The Mavs were a mediocre team until he made those trades [for P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford]. He was doing a good job," Barkley said on Wednesday's "Inside the NBA." "Then, he had the bad luck with Anthony Davis never being available, basically. But the thing that bothers me is he's just being made a scapegoat... There's no way in the world Nico Harrison had the power to trade Luka Doncic unless the owner of the team signed off on it. ... I feel bad the way Nico's being made a scapegoat."

"There's no way in the world Nico Harrison had the power to trade Luka Doncic unless the owner of the team signed off on it. ... I feel bad the way Nico's being made a scapegoat."

Charles Barkley weighs in on the Mavericks parting ways with GM Nico Harrison. pic.twitter.com/ooMEl0a7iy
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 13, 2025

Sigh... Yes, no trade is executed unless the owners/team governor signs off on the trade; that is correct. But Charles Barkley is completely missing the point on a lot of things.

Nico Harrison was the mastermind of the entire trade. It was his decision to have a secret coffee meeting with Rob Pelinka, scheme together a trade because of his obsession with Anthony Davis, not shop Doncic for the most valuable possible, and convince ownership it was best for the direction of the franchise.

Harrison kept the trade away from everyone because he knew someone would talk him out of it. But EVERY report that has come out confirms that this was Nico Harrison's plan alone.

Oct 6, 2025; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison looks on before the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Dickie's Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Ownership is at Fault, but Not as Much as Nico Harrison

It's been reported that after Nico Harrison had a big hand in building the roster that made the NBA Finals (with the help of Dennis Lindsey), Patrick Dumont put his "blind faith" in Harrison. So, when Dumont was first approached by Harrison about the trade, he even laughed at it first, but eventually caved because Dumont knew nothing about basketball when his mother-in-law bought the team.

Dumont still doesn't know much, and he probably deeply regrets being talked into a horrible decision, but there's no reversing it. He can only address that he made a mistake, do what he can to repair the relationship with the fanbase, and try to rebuild a contender from here. It was never going to happen with Nico Harrison still making decisions.

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