SMU Students Chant for Mavericks GM Nico Harrison's Firing With Him in Attendance

Dallas's baffling trade of guard Luka Doncic continues to reverberate.

Nico Harrison before the Mavericks' 129–128 overtime loss to the Kings on Feb. 10, 2025. / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

By all measures, the dust has settled on the trade between the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers that brought guard Luka Doncic to the latter squad.

Doncic has debuted for the Lakers. Center Anthony Davis has debuted for the Mavericks. It's over, it's done, Basketball Reference has been updated, and so on.

For Dallas, however, a greater nightmare is beginning. The Metroplex's most reliable sports team this century has annihilated much of its community trust. Mavericks fans have protested outside of the stadium calling for the firing of general manager Nico Harrison for days after the trade, and were forced to watch the embarrassing spectacle Monday of a fan's ejection after mouthing "Fire Nico" into a camera.

On Tuesday, somehow, Harrison and Dallas' nightmare continued. As SMU hosted Pittsburgh in ACC men's hoops action, the Mustangs' student section serenaded Harrison with chants of "Fire Nico"—while he was in attendance.

Take a look at this video from Lia Assimakopoulos of The Dallas Morning News.

Only caught the tail end in this clip, but the SMU student section started a “Fire Nico” chant.

Mavs GM Nico Harrison is sitting in the section right next to them. pic.twitter.com/hxW0D50JtL

— Lia Assimakopoulos (@Lassimak) February 12, 2025

There are many ways to interpret this—as a deserved dose of medicine for what could become an all-time sports blunder, or as excessive punishment for a transaction that netted the Mavericks a future Hall of Famer in Davis, or a little of both.

None of these interpretations bode well for Harrison's image, now or in the future.

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