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Mavericks fire Nico Harrison as the Luka trade fallout finally boils over
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- Mavericks fire Nico Harrison as the Luka trade fallout finally boils over
The Dallas Mavericks ' season started off poorly; they are second-to-last in the Western Conference, holding a 3-8 record. With their stars, Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis , sidelined due to injury, the times seem dark in Texas.
So Mavs ownership decided to step in and started cleaning the slate. The first person on the firing list was GM Nico Harrison . As Shams Charania reported today he was axed and colcuded his four and a half year tenure in Dallas.
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Luka trade
Harrison's name will be forever connected with Luka Doncic , as he was the guy who executed the most baffling trade in NBA history. The story is quite well-known: a year after reaching the NBA Finals, the Mavericks decided to trade their superstar to the Lakers , and the rest is now infamous history.
This move sparked a debate that dominated the news for quite some time. It seemed that the team and their now-former GM never recovered from it and the fans never got on board. Of course, the injuries played a part, because maybe with a healthy Kyrie and AD, they would be a much different team.
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As the saying goes, injuries are a part of sport, so they do not abslove Harisson. He is still the guy who traded a five-time All-NBA first team member who is just entering his prime. So it is no surprise that fans are thrilled to see him gone.
Related: "Keep your head up" - Dirk Nowitzki has a powerful message to struggling Cooper Flagg
Dumont turned his back on Harrison
Nico was one of the two villains in Dallas; the second one was his boss, Patrick Dumont , who first defended their choice and stood behind his GM. He went so far as to even throw shade at Doncic and question his work ethic.
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However, with the season starting as it did, tensions began to rise and just as quickly, he jumped to Harrison's defense last season; he quickly changed his mind and decided to step in and get more involved. The trigger for it was Anthony Davis' injury and the Mavs' rush to get him back, which only caused an even bigger problem.
"Patrick Dumont went from blind faith in Nico to weighing in on whether a star can come back from injury," said MacMahon. "At this point, I believe it is a matter of when, not if, Nico Harrison will be fired."
The decision to cut ties with Harrios is no surprise and will sit well with Mavs fans, which might allow the tensions to die down and the team to finally recover from the trade.
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With a change in management, maybe the tide will start to turn in Dallas.
At the end of the day, they have the first overall pick of this year's draft on the roster — Cooper Flagg . They have a roster that, on paper, looks like a good combination of skill, athleticism, and basketball IQ, so they need two things — health and time on the court.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Nov 11, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
