Nico Harrison
Screenshot from YouTube

The chants were the final sound, a deafening verdict from a betrayed fan base. 'Fire Nico!' echoed through the American Airlines Centre as the Mavericks collapsed yet again.

On Tuesday, the fans got their wish. Nico Harrison, the 52-year-old architect of the disastrous Luka Dončić trade, has been fired. The nightmare is finally over for the Dallas GM, but the one he created for the franchise is just beginning.

The Dallas Mavericks confirmed Harrison's dismissal on Tuesday, ending a tumultuous nine-month period that has seen the organisation plummet from contender to laughing stock. The firing comes less than 24 hours after the team's latest humiliation: a home loss to the Bucks, where they squandered a 13-point lead.

That loss, which dropped the Mavericks to a dismal 3-8 record, was the last straw for an ownership group that backed Harrison's franchise-altering gamble. The gamble, of course, was the February trade that sent generational talent Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis.

A Franchise-Altering Gamble That Doomed a GM

That 'seismic deal' has proven to be a franchise-killing disaster. While Davis has struggled with injuries, Dončić has flourished in Los Angeles, looking like a perennial MVP candidate.

The trade immediately backfired on Dallas, which tumbled out of the playoff picture last season and landed in the play-in tournament, where they were swiftly eliminated. The fan base was irate, but the organisation preached patience.

Why the Cooper Flagg 'Jolt' Wasn't Enough

The lone bright spot in the post-Dončić gloom was securing the No. 1 pick in the draft. The selection of consensus superstar Cooper Flagg provided a momentary 'jolt' of optimism.

Harrison himself led the charge, framing the pick as the start of a new, accelerated rebuild. But a single rookie, no matter how talented, could not patch the enormous hole left by Dončić.

The optimism evaporated quickly. The Mavericks are currently 3-8, languishing in second-to-last place in the Western Conference. The on-court product has been disjointed, the pressure on Harrison became unbearable, and the new-look roster built around Davis and Flagg simply does not work.

From the NBA Finals to the Firing Line

The fall has been as swift as it has been brutal. Harrison took over as Dallas' GM and president of basketball operations in June 2021, earning praise for his roster construction.

He led the Mavericks to the conference finals in his first year. Just last season, in 2024, the team (with Dončić) reached the NBA Finals. Harrison was lauded as one of the league's sharpest executives.

Now, he is out of a job, a victim of his own hubris, according to multiple reports. The decision was made Tuesday morning, a swift and final indictment. The 'Fire Nico!' chants from Monday night were the final, damning verdict on a tenure destroyed by one catastrophic trade.

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