DALLAS — The chants started the moment the trade was announced. “Fire Nico! Fire Nico!” They echoed through American Airlines Center with a fury that transcended typical fan discontent, morphing into something closer to organizational revolt.
On Tuesday morning, the Dallas Mavericks granted those wishes, dismissing general manager and president of basketball operations Nico Harrison after four tumultuous seasons that will forever be defined by a single, franchise-altering decision: trading Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers on February 2.
A Decision That Changed Everything
When Mark Cuban hired Harrison in June 2021 to replace longtime GM Donnie Nelson, optimism ran high. Harrison brought NBA pedigree and fresh perspective. His tenure produced tangible results—building the 2024 Western Conference champions, including the acquisition of Kyrie Irving, drafting standout young center Dereck Lively and trading for Daniel Gafford and PJ Washington ahead of a surprising trip to the 2024 NBA Finals.
But none of that mattered after last season’s seismic trade.
Harrison traded Dončić—months removed from the then-25-year-old five-time first-team All-NBA selection leading the franchise to an NBA Finals appearance—to Los Angeles for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick. The trade was widely criticized, as Doncic was selected to five straight All-Star and All-NBA First Teams from 2020 through 2024.
“I believe that defense wins championships,” Harrison told ESPN in February about his reasoning. “I believe that getting an All-Defensive center and an All-NBA player with a defensive mindset gives us a better chance. We’re built to win now and in the future.”
The Fans Spoke. The Front Office Listened.
The backlash was immediate and unrelenting, prompting fan protests outside the American Airlines Center on the night of the deal and before the team’s next home game. Cameras caught Dončić crying as he watched a tribute video when he returned to Dallas as a member of the Lakers in early April, further enflaming an already scorching fanbase.
The anger included mock funerals for the franchise, and empty seats in the upper deck of American Airlines Center this season, something not seen consistently since 2018.
Governor Patrick Dumont initially stood firm. “In Nico we trust,” he told The Dallas Morning News in the aftermath, adding “You have to respect the track record. You have to respect his intellect, his relationships, his judgment.”
But trust, like championships, requires results. After Monday’s 116-114 loss to Milwaukee in which fans again chanted “fire Nico,” the move came. The decision was made after a Tuesday morning meeting between Harrison and team governor Patrick Dumont.
What Went Wrong
The execution proved disastrous from the start. 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.
This season has been no better. Dallas is 3-8 this season, fifth-worst in the NBA. Without Davis, who has missed five consecutive games with a calf strain, the team has lost each of their four games, struggling to create any sort of offense. The Mavericks average a league-worst 106.5 points when the league average across all 30 teams is 116.7 points per game.
Worse still, Dallas has mortgaged its future flexibility. The Mavericks gave up first-round draft capital, either outright or via swap rights, from 2027 to 2030, and won’t have complete control over their first-round pick until 2031.
A Lottery Miracle—And False Hope
Anger about the trade subsided some after the Mavericks got lucky in last season’s NBA Draft Lottery and, with a 1.8% chance, jumped up to the top spot and was able to draft Cooper Flagg at No. 1. Dumont, who just finished his first year as the Mavs’ governor, considered the opportunity to draft a generational talent such as Flagg a “gift.”
Flagg, 18, was the consensus college player of the year, only the fourth freshman to win the Wooden Award after averaging 19.2 points and 7.5 rebounds while leading Duke to the Final Four. Despite the overwhelming vocal opposition of the fan base after the trade last season, Dumont stood by Harrison, and the Mavericks’ good fortune to land the first overall pick in this summer’s draft seemed to offer a path forward.
But without Irving, and with Davis missing more than half the team’s games so far because of injury (a very predictable outcome, based on Davis’ history), coach Jason Kidd has tried using Flagg as a point forward, and the Mavericks have looked lost. No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg has struggled, as has Davis, who is currently averaging his lowest points per game since 2014.
Harrison’s Defense
At a closed-doors, invite-only media session in April, Harrison was asked about the constant “Fire Nico” chants. “There’s no regrets on the trade,” he said. “Part of my job is to do the best thing for the Mavericks, not only today but also in the future, and some of the decisions I’m going to make are going to be unpopular, and that’s my job. I have to stand by it.”
He added that history would decide if the trade was a good one and reiterated his belief in a core of Irving, Davis, Klay Thompson, and P.J. Washington. “If you pair [Davis] with Kyrie and the rest of the guys, he fits right along with our timeframe to win now and win in the future,” Harrison said. “And the future to me is three, four years from now.”
But as one observer noted: “Forget about 10 years: If things don’t change drastically, and soon, we might be throwing dirt on his Mavericks tenure inside of 10 months.” Harrison was fired 283 days after he traded Luka Dončić to the Lakers.
What’s Next
Assistant general managers Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi have been promoted to lead the Mavs’ basketball operations department on an interim basis. A comprehensive search for a permanent replacement will begin.
In an open letter to Mavericks fans, Dumont wrote: “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.”
He continued: “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.”
Coach Jason Kidd remains in place—for now. While it’s possible that all the puzzle pieces fit together once Irving is healthy (there is no specific timeline), this team will be in such a deep hole in the stacked Western Conference that the Mavericks will struggle to climb out.
The Legacy Question
Nico Harrison’s tenure will be remembered for one trade. Not the Finals run. Not the playoff success. Not the culture he tried to establish.
Ultimately, Harrison lacked faith in the finalist team that he built. 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.
Meanwhile, the Lakers are thriving with Luka Doncic. LA sits fourth in the standings with Doncic leading the way, making the contrast even more painful for Dallas fans who watched their superstar thrive elsewhere while their team cratered.
The Mavericks now face the daunting task of rebuilding credibility, competitiveness, and hope. For a fanbase that watched their superstar leave and their season crumble, the Harrison firing offers something they haven’t felt in months: the possibility of a different future.
Whether that future includes championships or more disappointment remains the question Dallas must now answer without the man who made the decision that changed everything.