Dallas Basketball

Mavericks finally admit mistake in trading Luka Doncic to Lakers, fire Nico Harrison

It took just over nine months, but the Mavericks have finally dismissed general manager Nico Harrison.
Austin Veazey|
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
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

In this story:

Dallas Mavericks

"The future to me is 3-4 years from now. 10 years from now, I don't know. They probably bury me and [Jason Kidd] by then. Or we bury ourselves."

It took 282 days, or about 9 months, for those words from Nico Harrison to come to fruition, as the Dallas Mavericks finally made the decision to fire their general manager on Tuesday morning after a loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, dropping the Mavericks to 3-8 to start the 2025-26 season.

A power-hungry move fueled by ego led Harrison to trade the beloved franchise superstar, Luka Doncic, to the Los Angeles Lakers in early February, and he only got an out-of-his-prime Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and one first-round pick in return. It was a move that no one in their right mind could make sense of then, and it's only gotten worse since.

Since the trade, the Mavericks are just 14-29, a massive drop-off from making the NBA Finals in the summer of 2024. It was time to fire him when the trade was suggested, but the stark fall-off since then only made it more needed.

The Luka Doncic trade was far from the only reason. Harrison fired the best athletic trainer in the sport, Casey Smith, while he was tending to his ailing mother, because he believed Smith had gained too much of a voice in the organization and replaced him with a training staff that wasn't qualified to work in the NBA. He traded Quentin Grimes and a second-round pick to the Philadelphia 76ers for Caleb Martin, who failed his physical, and instead of canceling the trade, they got a second-round pick from Philly. And that's just the beginning of his long list of mistakes.

Apr 9, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) during the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

READ MORE: Mavericks respond to "Fire Nico" chants after collapse against Bucks

Nico Harrison Brought This Upon Himself

“The easiest thing for me to do was do nothing, and everybody would praise me for doing nothing."

That's something else he said in the February 2nd press conference. Not only would it have been the easiest thing to do, it would have been the correct thing to do. He was praised for building a perfect roster around Luka Doncic, upgrading it from making the NBA Finals a few months before that.

And then he took out the one piece that made it all work: Luka Doncic. He destroyed a fanbase and a city in the process, all while thinking he could build a team around a frontcourt with little playmaking or shooting on the roster, as his obsession with Anthony Davis blinded what actually works in the NBA in 2025.

"Defense wins championships" is something we heard out of his mouth a lot in the months after the trade. The Mavericks have been pretty good defensively, but they have the worst offense in the NBA, which is why they sit with a 3-8 record just a few weeks into the season.

People will want to blame injuries, but Nico Harrison constructed a team full of people with checkered injury histories, relying on a failed training staff to make it work. Those injuries fall on his shoulders, and he's been fired for the consequences of his own actions. He will not be missed.

The last thing he will remember from the American Airlines Center is fans chanting "Fire Nico" with P.J. Washington at the free-throw line to potentially tie the game against the Bucks, which Harrison couldn't even stand up to watch from his seat because he was so petrified, only being able to watch the video board. Good riddance.

READ MORE: 3 overreactions as Mavericks choke double-digit 4th quarter lead to Bucks

Stick with MavericksGameday for more FREE coverage of the Dallas Mavericks throughout the 2025-26 season

Follow MavericksGameday on Twitter and Austin Veazey on Twitter

More Dallas Mavericks News

Published
Austin Veazey
AUSTIN VEAZEY

Austin Veazey joined NoleGameday as the Lead Basketball Writer in 2019, while contributing as a football writer, and started as editor for MavericksGameday in 2024. Veazey was a Florida State Men’s Basketball Manager from 2016-2019. Follow Austin on Twitter at @EasyVeazeyNG

Share on XFollow EasyVeazeyNG
Home/News