Lead: The Dallas Mavericks dismissed general manager Nico Harrison on Nov. 11, 2025, nine months after he orchestrated the trade that sent Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers. The move, approved by Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont, comes amid a 3–8 start to the 2025–26 season and sharply negative fan reaction. Harrison, 52, had two seasons remaining on his contract; the team named Matt Riccardi and Michael Finley co-interim general managers while launching a search for a permanent successor. The decision ends a turbulent period in which the franchise fell from an NBA Finals contender to a struggling club in the Western Conference.
Key Takeaways
- The Mavericks fired GM Nico Harrison on Nov. 11, 2025; he had two years left on his contract.
- Dallas began the 2025–26 season 3–8 and sat 14th in the Western Conference at the time of the firing.
- The Feb. 1, 2025 trade that sent Luka Dončić to the Lakers brought Anthony Davis to Dallas as the centerpiece of the return package.
- Dallas ranked 29th in the NBA in scoring this season, after finishing among the league’s top-10 offenses four times in six years under Dončić.
- Key injuries included Davis (abdominal strain, then adductor strain in Feb.; left calf strain Oct. 29) and Kyrie Irving (left ACL tear), which severely affected roster performance.
- Fan unrest peaked with repeated “Fire Nico” chants at home games and public protests outside the American Airlines Center following the trade.
- The Mavericks hold the No. 1 pick for the upcoming draft (Cooper Flagg selected), but do not control several future first-round picks from 2027–2030 due to past trades.
Background
The Mavericks entered 2025 riding the high-water mark of a 2024 NBA Finals run that established Luka Dončić as the franchise’s foundational star. In an unexpected turn on Feb. 1, 2025, the team traded Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers in a deal centered on Anthony Davis, a move intended to accelerate a title window. That decision upended the roster and the franchise’s short-term identity and provoked immediate and sustained fan backlash at the American Airlines Center.
Nico Harrison, a 52-year-old former Nike executive who moved into the front office role, defended the transaction at the time as a win-now strategy pairing Davis with Kyrie Irving. The trade erased the continuity the Mavericks had built around Dončić, and several subsequent choices—roster timing, additional swaps that surrendered future first-round picks, and personnel decisions—left the team exposed when injuries struck. By autumn 2025, those accumulated risks and a poor start to the season left ownership and the fanbase dissatisfied.
Main Event
On Nov. 11, 2025, the Mavericks announced Harrison’s termination. The club said governor Patrick Dumont approved the move and emphasized a renewed commitment to building a championship-caliber organization. Matt Riccardi and former player Michael Finley were installed as co-interim general managers while the franchise begins a comprehensive search for a permanent replacement.
The Feb. 1 trade that catalyzed this sequence sent Anthony Davis to Dallas as the headline return. Davis, described at the time as six years older than Dončić, arrived with a known injury history; he was recovering from an abdominal strain when traded and suffered a left adductor strain in his first Mavericks game on Feb. 8, sidelining him for roughly six weeks. About three weeks later, Kyrie Irving tore the ACL in his left knee, removing a primary shot-creator from the lineup.
In July, the front office signed D’Angelo Russell to provide backcourt depth; coach Jason Kidd initially used Russell off the bench for the first eight games of the season, then moved him into the starting lineup after a Nov. 5 loss to New Orleans. Dallas’s struggles culminated in a 116–114 defeat to the Milwaukee Bucks in which late-game fan chants for Harrison’s dismissal intensified and, according to reporting, helped precipitate the front office change.
Analysis & Implications
The firing signals ownership’s acknowledgment that the Feb. 1 trade and ensuing roster moves failed to preserve the franchise’s competitiveness. Trading a generational player like Dončić is a high-variance decision; when it is paired with injury misfortune and the loss of future draft assets, the margin for error narrows quickly. Dallas now must balance repairing short-term performance with restoring long-term flexibility and credibility with its fanbase.
From a roster construction standpoint, the Mavericks face a shortage of controllable first-round draft capital between 2027 and 2030, a direct consequence of trades made to assemble a contender around Dončić. That constraint limits the new front office’s ability to rebalance through the draft and increases reliance on trades and free agency, both of which can be more expensive and uncertain.
Financially and reputationally, the organization will need to manage sponsor relationships and ticket-holder sentiment that soured after the trade. The presence of the No. 1 pick and rookie Cooper Flagg offers a visible asset and a narrative pivot, but Flagg alone cannot substitute for the loss of a proven franchise leader. The next GM will be judged on roster flexibility, injury risk management, and communications with fans and partners.
Comparison & Data
| Period | Offensive Notes |
|---|---|
| Under Dončić (past 6 seasons) | Top-10 offense 4 of 6 years |
| Start of 2025–26 season | 29th in NBA scoring; 3–8 record, 14th in West |
The table synthesizes two contrasting snapshots: prior sustained offensive performance during Dončić’s tenure and the abrupt drop in scoring and record at the start of 2025–26. That decline is a primary driver of the ownership change at the GM level.
Reactions & Quotes
Ownership framed the move as corrective and fan-focused.
“This decision reflects our continued commitment to building a championship-caliber organization,”
Patrick Dumont, Mavericks governor (team statement)
Harrison defended his trade at the time with a remark that acknowledged risks in strong, self-aware terms.
“If you pair him with Kyrie and the rest of the guys, he fits with our time frame to win now and in the future,”
Nico Harrison, Feb. 2025 (brief comment)
“He feels horrible for the trade,”
Nicholas Dickason, fan quoted to The Athletic regarding a conversation with Patrick Dumont
Unconfirmed
- Reports that Dumont privately expressed remorse to multiple season-ticket holders are based on a single fan account and have not been independently verified by the Mavericks organization.
- Attribution of internal disagreements between Harrison and coach Jason Kidd over D’Angelo Russell’s role has been reported in discrete accounts but lacks an official, detailed record from the team.
- Any negotiations or candidates already under consideration in the front-office search have not been publicly confirmed.
Bottom Line
Nico Harrison’s dismissal closes a short, controversial chapter in Dallas that began when the franchise traded away its cornerstone player nine months earlier. The decision reflects cumulative pressures: a poor start to the season, high-profile injuries, the loss of draft flexibility and sustained fan unrest. Ownership’s swift installation of interim leadership signals urgency but also highlights the scale of the reset required.
For the Mavericks to return to contender status, the next general manager must restore roster stability, rebuild trust with fans and partners, and create a sustainable blueprint that balances current competitiveness with long-term asset management. The No. 1 draft pick offers a strategic bright spot, but it will take more than a single draft selection to replace the organizational value lost when Dončić departed.
Sources
- The New York Times — news report on the firing (primary source for this article)
- The Athletic — sports journalism outlet (fan account and ancillary reporting)
- Dallas Mavericks — official team site (organization statements and roster information)