After the Dallas Mavericks dropped eight of their first eleven contests to start the 2025-26 season and slipped to the 14th seed in the Western Conference standings, the organization decided to hit the panic button by firing GM Nico Harrison and subtly signaling that his vision of leading the team to a championship through a different, rather unconventional, approach had miserably failed. However, Draymond Green believes that Nico has become nothing but an easy target, largely because of the narrative that he traded Luka Doncic .
With many already against him and Mavs fans continuously showing their dismay with "Fire Nico" chants, Green feels Harrison's true vision never got a chance to prove its worth in Dallas.
When the Mavs acquired Anthony Davis last season, the clear expectation was that their frontcourt would utilize their size and defensive tenacity to lead the franchise to success. However, things went haywire quickly.
In his debut, AD aggravated his injury, whereas a couple of games later, injuries to Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II only exacerbated the situation. To make matters even more miserable for Nico, Kyrie Irving tore his ACL, which eliminated all chances for the new-look Mavericks to do wonders in the 202425 season.
Naturally, the reality was that Dallas would be without Kai for at least the opening three months of the 2025-26 campaign, during which Davis would help the team get off to a strong start, while also integrating Cooper Flagg into the lineup. However, The Brow went down with a calf injury, making it just 14 of the possible 46 games in which he has featured on the court for the Mavs.
Moreover, with Lively II also sidelined, Klay Thompson struggling to make an impact from the three-point line, and Flagg having a slow start to his NBA career, the Mavs inevitably fell into a 3-8 hole. Green pointed out how Harrison's true vision never truly got a chance to be out together on the court and that a fair evaluation of Nico's experiment could have only been made in January, when the roster was expected to be at its full strength.
"The team that Nico constructed to go win a championship hasn't been on the court. So I find it crazy that everybody's just going to act like Kyrie Irving is this easily replaceable guy. Do you see the Indiana Pacers without Tyrese Haliburton? They look like a completely different team. Yes, they got the No. 1 pick. Guess which teams get the No. 1 pick? Trash. AD? For the better part of the last two years, has been extremely healthy before going to Dallas. Kyrie, since being in Dallas, has been pretty healthy," Green said .
"Ya'll just wanna go, point the finger at Nico because there was a storyline. Now, let's make that a storyline again. That is whack to me. So, next year, they come back at full health, the full team that Nico intended to be out there, and they have success, then what?" he added.
While it is true that trading a five-time All-NBA First Team selectee in Doncic placed enormous pressure on Harrison, the circumstances surrounding Dallas' struggles were far more complex. With Davis repeatedly sidelined and Irving needing at least three months to recover before returning to action, the Mavericks simply never had the opportunity to function as a complete unit.
Even if the 2025-26 season wasn't destined for immediate success, there was still potential for growth and adjustment — something that could have only been seen with time and patience. Instead, the organization's decision to fire Harrison only reflects a rushed, reactionary mindset driven by early-season frustration.
As Draymond rightly mentioned, while firing Nico sends alarms across the entire team, patience was the key to this experiment.
Related: Mavericks fire Nico Harrison as the Luka trade fallout finally boils over
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.
