Mavs legend Dirk Nowitzki reacts to firing of GM Nico Harrison: 'Probably should've happened this summer'

The Dallas Mavericks made a significant change to their front office earlier this week when the franchise fired general manager Nico Harrison. The move came less than a year after Harrison orchestrated one of the most controversial trades in NBA history, which saw Luka Dončić go to the Los Angeles Lakers and Anthony Davis return to Dallas as part of the deal.

Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki commented publicly for the first time since Harrison was fired on Friday, stating that this move "should've happened this summer."

"Too many distractions, too much going on to keep going this way," Nowitzki said on the Prime pregame show. "This move probably should've happened this summer, honestly. I didn't want this negative energy and this black cloud over the Cooper Flagg era. ... This trade just made no sense. It made no sense to them, and really, there was no explanation for it either."

Mavericks owner Patrick Dumont let Nico Harrison trade Luka Dončić. Firing the GM doesn't change that

John Gonzalez

Nowitzki, one of the most celebrated players in Dallas' franchise history, played his entire NBA career (1998-2019) with the organization. He even played with Dončić for one season during the 2018-19 campaign before his retirement.

"It was very sad," Nowitzki said. "Very sad how that ended. The fans feel like they got robbed of actually seeing the end, seeing this through. Seeing Luka develop into a champion one day. Felt like they never got to see the end to this, very heartbreaking. But now I think it's time to move on."

Dallas is off to a 3-9 start to the season and has lost six of its last seven games. Harrison, who was hired by the franchise in 2021, was fired the day after a 116-114 loss at home to the Milwaukee Bucks in which fans inside the arena chanted "fire Nico" throughout.