Dallas Mavericks Part Ways with GM Nico Harrison

The Dallas Mavericks are set to bid farewell to general manager Nico Harrison as the aftershocks of the shocking Luka Dončić trade linger.

The Dallas Mavericks will reportedly give the people what they want.

Per Shams Charania and Tim McMahon of ESPN, the Mavericks are set to fire general manager and president of basketball operations Nico Harrison on Tuesday.  Fans’ calls for Harrison’s firing, which first surfaced after he oversaw the controversial trade of franchise face Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers, have re-emerged as the Mavericks (3-8) sit in the second-to-last spot in the Western Conference.

Formerly an executive at Nike after a solid collegiate playing career at Army and Montana State, the 52-year-old Harrison has been stationed with the Mavericks since 2021. Though the Mavericks have done fairly well for themselves in that span (posting a .537 regular-season winning percentage and winning the 2024 Western Conference title), Harrison’s North Texas legacy will likely be remembered forever for the Dončić trade, which has gone down as one of the most shocking transactions in NBA history.

Fans chanting “FIRE NICO” last night.

(Via @MrBuckBuckNBA) pic.twitter.com/9Wda6Xwiwr https://t.co/4YJApyWGab

— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) November 11, 2025

The Dončić deal, a collaboration between Harrison and his friend and Lakers counterpart Rob Pelinka, went down last February. The three-team trade, which also involved the Utah Jazz, sent Dončić, Maxi Kleber, and Markieff Morris to SoCal, while Anthony Davis headlined the Mavericks’ package. Dallas also obtained Max Christie and the Lakers’ 2029 first-round pick in the deal, with both the Mavericks and Lakers receiving cash considerations from the Jazz.

Though the deal netted Davis, a 10-time All-Star and accomplished two-way threat, Harrison essentially became a public enemy in North Texas, with many fans outraged by Dončić’s departure. Chants of “Fire Nico!” became routine at Mavericks games and beyond, only getting louder as the Mavericks foundered at the start of this season. 

Nico Harrison Defends Luka Dončić, Anthony Davis Trade

Despite his status as a Dallas pariah, Harrison continually defended the deal, citing Davis’ defensive prowess as the driving point.

“We targeted AD with our philosophy of defense wins championships,” Harrison told Christian Clark of The Athletic in April. “We wanted a two-way player to lead our team, and that was Anthony Davis. Everybody’s going to have their critics. … But we got what we wanted.”

Davis, who is six years older than Dončić, has seen his Dallas career hampered by injuries, appearing in only 14 Mavericks games since the deal was announced. Davis endured a strained adductor during his Dallas debut on Feb. 8 and is currently dealing with a calf strain that has kept him out since Oct. 29. Just over a month later, Harrison’s other prized acquisition, Kyrie Irving, tore his ACL and has not taken the floor since.

.@espn_macmahon with insight from Mavs GM Nico Harrison on why he traded Luka Doncic 😳

“Nico doubled down, he tripled down, he quadrupled down. … He said, ‘defense wins championships.’” 👀 pic.twitter.com/jdjciOWO0p

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) April 15, 2025

The Mavericks have gone 16-28 since the trade, posting the third-worst record in the Western Conference, behind only New Orleans and Utah.  While the Lakers fell to Minnesota in last spring’s opening round, one round further than the Mavericks, who dropped the Western Play-In Tournament opener to Memphis, Dončić signed a three-year, $161.3 million contract extension over the offseason. Paced by the early efforts of Dončić, Los Angeles (8-3) sits fourth on the premature Western playoff bracket despite missing LeBron James.

Trading Dončić wasn’t the only notorious mark on Harrison’s Dallas resume.  Even before the infamous deal, he faced significant criticism for losing homegrown talent Jalen Brunson, who has since become the All-Star face of the New York Knicks after signing as a free agent in 2022.

The Final Straw: What’s Next for the Mavericks?

The Mavericks also lost conference championship contributor and current Los Angeles Clipper Derrick Jones Jr. for nothing, while trades involving Quentin Grimes and Kristaps Porzingis failed to yield any significant return. Even Harrison’s draft lottery luck, which saw the Mavericks defy minuscule odds to land consensus No. 1 choice Cooper Flagg in June’s draft, failed to buy him any significant time. 

The final straw may have come on Monday, when the Mavericks hosted the Milwaukee Bucks. Despite Flagg posting the best game of his infantile NBA career (26 points, 9 rebounds), Dallas lost a 13-point lead, as Giannis Antetokounmpo put on a masterclass to power the Bucks to a 116-114 victory. That inspired further chants of “Fire Nico!” and Mavericks principal owner and governor Patrick Dumont was said to have admitted to a fan that trading Dončić was a mistake, per Charania.

Cooper Flagg (26/9/4) joins LeBron as the only players in NBA history to score 25+ PTS at the age of 18

LeBron did it 9 times (6 with 30+ PTS). pic.twitter.com/SMKEDj1ooC

— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) November 11, 2025

Charania and McMahon further report that, with Harrison gone, vice president of player personnel Michael Finley and assistant general manager Matt Riccardi will jointly handle the Mavericks’ basketball operations on an interim basis. Finley repped the team on the floor for nine years and has been in the front office since 2012, while Riccardi joined the team in 2022.

Mavericks Owner Patrick Dumont Pens Letter to Fans

Shortly after the news broke, Mavericks owner Patrick Dumont released a statement to fans via X (formerly Twitter). Just a few seasons removed from an NBA Finals appearance, Dumont sought to reassure the fan base. 

“As fans of the franchise, you have every right to demand a commitment to success from us,” Dumont said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. 

With that, he acknowledged his displeasure with the start of the regular season and expressed high expectations for the franchise. In the statement, Dumont seeks to align with the fan base’s demands. 

Mavericks owner Patrick Dumont’s letter to Dallas fans after firing GM Nico Harrison: pic.twitter.com/rmM6SVFN7a

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 11, 2025

“No one associated with the Mavericks organization is happy with the start of what we all believe 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. I’ve made the decision to part ways with General Manager Nico Harrison.

“Though the majority of the 2025-2026 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.”

Dallas begins the post-Harrison era on Wednesday night when it hosts the Phoenix Suns (7:30 p.m. CT, KFAA).

Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags