The Dallas Mavericks have fired general manager Nico Harrison after a disastrous start to the 2025 season and his questionable decision-making the past few years. Harrison was signed by Dallas on June 28, 2021, where he made an immediate impact on the franchise.
The Mavericks would go on to have a 52-30 record in Harrison’s first season, where they made the playoffs and reached the Western Conference Finals, but ultimately lost to the Golden State Warriors. In just his first year with the team they nearly made the NBA finals so it looked like Harrison was a fantastic hire. However, he made some very head-scratching moves in the following years that led to him being relieved of his duties.
Such as getting rid of NBA All-Star Jalen Brunson, who has completely saved the New York Knicks franchise. Brunson was drafted by Dallas in 2018, where he was coming off a national championship at Villanova. He then grew into a very good role player for Dallas and had massive playoff performances when Luka Doncic was out with an injury.
Despite all this, when Brunson became a free agent and wanted to re-sign with the Mavericks, Nico Harrison did not value Brunson enough to give him the contract extension he desired and let him walk. Since that decision, Jalen Brunson has evolved into a top-five point guard in the NBA and has taken the New York Knicks to three straight playoff appearances.
Not only did Harrison let Brunson walk, but he also traded All-Star Kristaps Porzingis for Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans. Dinwiddie was very solid in his first stint with Dallas but it was short lived as he was then traded to the Brooklyn Nets just a year later in 2023 for Kyrie Irving.
Kyrie Irving is one of the best players in NBA history but ever since that trade occurred he’s been unable to stay healthy. Appearing in just 138 games over the last three years, and has yet to play in 2025 as he is recovering from a torn ACL.
The final straw for Nico Harrison was when he decided to trade the generational talent and franchise favorite Luka Doncic to the Lakers in 2024 for Anthony Davis. This was a move that no one ever saw coming, as it seemed Luka would remain a Dallas Maverick until his career was over. This sent the entire Mavericks fanbase in a frenzy from which they still have not recovered from to this day. Hundreds of fans gathered outside the American Airlines Center and protested the decision.
This move was so serious that Nico Harrison would receive death threats from Mavericks fans. His time was up in Dallas, it was just a matter of when at this point. Harrison somehow lasted the entire 2024 season in Dallas and they proceeded to miss the playoffs just a year after reaching the NBA Finals lead by Doncic.
The organization finally had enough after the Mavericks started this season 3-8. Following his firing on Tuesday, fans once again gathered outside the American Airlines Center, except this time they were cheering and relieved. It was a horrible ending to Harrison’s tenure and who knows what his future in the NBA looks like.