Mavericks fire Nico Harrison: General manager ousted less than a year after Luka Dončić trade

The Dallas Mavericks have fired general manager Nico Harrison, team owner Patrick Dumont announced in a letter to fans Tuesday. The decision comes less than a year after Harrison's controversial decision to trade Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers, which set up his downfall in Dallas despite building the 2024 Western Conference champions.

"No one associated with the Mavericks organization is happy with the start of what we all believed would be a promising season. You have high expectations for the Mavericks, and I share them with you. When the results don't meet expectations, it's my responsibility to act," Dumont wrote.

"Though the majority of the 2025-26 season remains to be played, and I know our players are deeply committed to a winning culture, this decision was critical to moving our franchise forward in a positive direction.

"I understand the profound impact these difficult last several months have had. Please know that I'm fully committed to the success of the Mavericks."

Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi, both assistant general managers under Harrison, are expected to be named interim leads of basketball operations, according to ESPN. Finley was part of the five-man team hired by Mark Cuban to hire a new coach and manager, a search that led to Jason Kidd and Harrison himself. Riccardi has become a more public face of the franchise since the Dončić trade.

Rumors about possible management changes in Dallas began almost immediately following the trade. Harrison managed to stave off a firing long enough for the Mavericks to win the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery, which allowed them to draft Cooper Flagg No. 1 overall. However, a slow start to Flagg's rookie season as well as a miserable 3-8 record for the Mavericks as a whole so far this year was enough for Dallas to pull the trigger and move on from one of the most controversial executives in NBA history.

The Mavericks hired Harrison in 2021 after parting ways with Donnie Nelson, who had been the general manager for nearly two decades. The decision was somewhat unorthodox given Harrison's background. He had never worked for an NBA team before he was hired, but had been a sneaker executive at Nike, most notably working with Kobe Bryant. While doing so, he formed a relationship with Bryant's agent, Rob Pelinka, who eventually became the general manager for the Lakers. That relationship helped facilitate the Dončić trade.

Upon his hiring, Harrison quickly set about tearing down the team that he inherited, trading Kristaps Porziņģis at the 2022 trade deadline and then losing Jalen Brunson for nothing in 2022 free agency.

The off-court changes were as sweeping as their on-court counterparts. In 2023, Harrison fired Casey Smith, the team's head athletic trainer since 2004. That, according to ESPN, prompted the departure of Scott Tomlin, the team's vice president of basketball communications, who had been with the team for a similarly long period. Following the 2023-24 season, they fired strength coach Jeremy Holsopple and manual therapist Casey Spangler, prompting Dončić to reportedly gripe before his trade that "they get rid of everybody I like."

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Despite those behind-the-scenes changes, the Mavericks did eventually rebound on the court. The acquisition of Kyrie Irving led to a year-long hot streak for Harrison, who drafted standout young center Dereck Lively and traded for Daniel Gafford and PJ Washington ahead of a surprising trip to the 2024 NBA Finals. Ultimately, though, Harrison lacked faith in the finalist that he built.

At the 2025 trade deadline, Harrison traded Dončić to the Lakers for a package headlined by Anthony Davis. Virtually every element of the deal was criticized. The overwhelming consensus was that Dallas should have kept Dončić and signed him to a five-year, $345 million supermax extension over the summer. Even if a trade was necessary, the Lakers did not have the most to offer, and even if they did, they didn't ultimately surrender it. While the Mavericks got Max Christie and a first-round pick in the deal alongside Davis, they failed to pry away budding star Austin Reaves, then-promising rookie Dalton Knecht or any draft capital beyond a 2029 first-round pick. The Lakers could have theoretically offered their 2031 first-round pick along with first-round swap rights in 2026, 2028 and 2030, but managed to hold onto all of that in the deal.

The 2024-25 season spiraled out of control from there. Davis was injured when the Mavericks acquired him and then aggravated that injury upon his return. Kyrie Irving tore his ACL soon after the trade and has not yet returned to the floor. With a number of other Mavericks hurt as well, Dallas fell out of the playoffs and was eliminated in the Play-In Tournament by the Memphis Grizzlies.

Meanwhile, fans in Dallas did not let up one inch in their criticism of the Dončić trade no matter how much time passed. Chants of "fire Nico" filled the arena at every home game. Protests were held outside of the arena. Season-ticket holders cancelled their plans. Things reached a head in early April, when Dončić returned to Dallas as a member of the Lakers. The Mavericks shared a tribute video for him, but cameras caught Dončić crying as he watched. This further enflamed an already scorching fanbase.

Harrison held a press event less than a week later, reportedly at the behest of team governor Patrick Dumont, but that only made things worse. The team limited the event to certain pre-selected media members only and did not allow audio or video recordings. Harrison frequently defaulted to the axiom that "defense wins championships" as responses to a wide variety of questions. He dismissed the input of former owner Mark Cuban and team legend Dirk Nowitzki because they "weren't in the building at a constant basis." He would not commit to remaining in Dallas beyond the three years remaining on his contract despite the fact that he himself had traded all of the team's first-round picks between 2027 and 2030. The event proved to be a public relations disaster.

Dallas was only rescued from what appeared to be a remarkably bleak future when its 1.8% chance to win the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery hit and gave the Mavericks the No. 1 overall pick. They used that pick to select Flagg, one of the most highly regarded prospects in recent history.

Yet Flagg has struggled thus far this season due in large part to the unconventional roster Harrison has constructed. Despite being a 6-9 forward, Dallas opened the season with Flagg playing point guard due to Irving's absence and a roster stuffed to the brim with big defenders but lacking smaller ball-handlers. As predicted, the Dallas defense was promising, but the offense has been an unmitigated disaster. Injuries have remained a problem under the revamped training staff and aggrieved fans, while supportive of Flagg, never stopped chanting "Fire Nico." In the wake of those struggles and the negativity that has surrounded the team since the trade, the Mavericks have elected to pull the plug on perhaps the most unpopular general manager in the history of the NBA.

Now, the team begins the process of mending its relationship with its fans. The Dončić trade very easily could have set the Mavericks back a decade, but Flagg's presence granted a reprieve that offers at least a glimmer of hope for the future. We don't yet know who will build the team around him, only that it won't be the man who traded Dončić