How Nico Harrison convinced Mavericks ownership to trade Luka Doncic to Lakers

It's been a little over a week since the Dallas Mavericks dismissed Nico Harrison from his position as the general manager, a move that was nine months overdue after his decision to trade Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. It's a move that still baffles many; how do you trade away a five-time First-Team All-NBA selection before his 26th birthday, especially for the minimal return the Mavs received?

ESPN's Tim MacMahon revealed a lot of the behind-the-scenes of that deal, and how Harrison was able to not only convince team governor Patrick Dumont to make the deal, but also to keep it silent from others within the organization.

"Harrison built his case from a business perspective," MacMahon wrote. "Doncic would be eligible to sign a five-year, $345 million supermax contract extension in the summer. That deal would be an awful investment, Harrison told Dumont, pointing to Doncic's conditioning concerns, poor off-court habits and recurring calf strains, predicting that his body would break down.

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

"Doncic's camp and Harrison had several disagreements regarding the recovery process from the calf strain that sidelined the superstar at the time, which the GM portrayed to Dumont as proof that Doncic was not fully committed to the Mavs.

"Harrison also blamed the Mavs' five-game elimination to the Boston Celtics in the Finals on Doncic's defensive struggles. He pitched Dumont on his vision of building the league's best defense around Davis, who Harrison had been close with since Davis was a teen playing on the AAU circuit.

"...Harrison also convinced Dumont that the trade discussions had to be contained, minimizing the risk of it leaking to the media, which could have resulted in [Bill] Duffy, Doncic's agent, using his leverage to kill the deal. Looping in [Mark] Cuban would have likely led to a leak, Harrison told Dumont."

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

The Many Flaws in Nico Harrison's Arguments

The irony of Harrison being upset about Doncic's calf strain, trying to push him to return early, trading him for ANTHONY DAVIS because he wouldn't return early, then Davis gets hurt with a calf strain, is honestly crazy. And then he tried to push Davis to return early from injury before Patrick Dumont stepped in, told Davis to keep sitting, and fired Harrison.

It doesn't help that Doncic got into great shape over the offseason, something that was reported he would do anyway, and that Davis showed up at least 15 pounds overweight to the season this year.

Blaming the loss in the NBA Finals on Doncic's defensive inefficiencies is also just flat-out wrong. The Mavericks as a whole held the Celtics to an offensive rating of 111.0, well below their season average of 123.2. A 111.0 offensive rating would've been the 25th-ranked offense that season. Defense was far from the biggest issue in that series.

The biggest issue was three-point shooting. The Mavericks were 48/152 (31.5%) from behind the arc in the 2024 NBA Finals, with P.J. Washington, Derrick Jones Jr., and Kyrie Irving combining to go 17/63 (27%) from deep. That's why they let Derrick Jones walk in free agency and signed Klay Thompson, with Nico Harrison even saying that summer that they believed they were a Klay Thompson away from winning the championship.

He was clearly lying through his teeth the whole time, but it's a shame no one called him out on it before he traded away a generational player and ruined a franchise.

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

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

Mark Cuban says how 'painful' it is with Luka Doncic on Lakers instead of Mavericks

Mavericks already pushing for former executive to be Nico Harrison replacement

3 Anthony Davis NBA trade ideas now that Mavericks have fired Nico Harrison