It appears that the disastrous Nico Harrison era in Dallas is officially coming to an end. According to multiple top insiders, including Marc Stein and Shams Charania, the Dallas Mavericks are set to part ways with their embattled general manager after a turbulent four-year tenure defined by questionable decisions, fractured relationships, and one of the most infamous trades in NBA history.
Marc Stein broke the news early Tuesday morning, tweeting:
“Nico Harrison’s exit from the Mavericks as GM after four-plus seasons is regarded as imminent and could happen as soon as today.”
Within minutes, Shams Charania confirmed it in a report co-authored with ESPN’s Tim MacMahon:
“BREAKING: The Dallas Mavericks and owner Patrick Dumont are expected to fire general manager Nico Harrison at a 10 a.m. Central Time meeting on Tuesday, sources tell me and Tim MacMahon. The Mavericks are firing Harrison nine months after the jarring and stunning Luka Doncic trade – a move for which Dumont took accountability and accepted as a mistake in a courtside interaction with a fan on Monday night.”
The report comes less than 24 hours after cameras caught Dumont in an awkward courtside exchange with a fan who confronted him about the Luka Doncic trade, a moment that symbolized the collapse of public faith in Harrison’s front office. That deal, which sent Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and one first-round pick, remains one of the most widely criticized trades in modern NBA history.
The timing of Harrison’s firing could not be worse for the Mavericks, who are 3–8 and 14th in the Western Conference, their worst start in over a decade. The team has cratered offensively, ranking near the bottom of the league in scoring and three-point efficiency, while their locker room morale has plummeted.
On ESPN’s Hoop Collective, Tim MacMahon hinted that Harrison’s ousting was inevitable while talking about trading Anthony Davis:
“Nico would never ever do that. But they are in year two of, in his own definition, a three-to-four-year contending window. So year two, light this thing on fire, right? And bro, you lucked into getting Cooper Flagg. At some point, I would say pronto, the focus of the franchise has got to be pivoting around Cooper Flagg.”
“Because let me just remind you, in successfully building a Finals team around five-time First Team All-NBA, before-entering-his-prime face of the franchise, Luka Doncic, you gave up control of your draft, your first-round draft picks — 27, 28, 29, and 30. You got this year’s, and then you don’t have one again.”
MacMahon emphasized that Dallas’ future hinges on rebuilding around the 18-year-old No. 1 overall pick, calling him the ‘only untouchable’ on the roster. With that in mind, the Mavericks’ next move seems clear: trading Anthony Davis.
The 32-year-old superstar, who was supposed to be the centerpiece of the team’s post-Doncic rebuild, has struggled with injuries and inconsistency. Davis has missed six of Dallas’ first eleven games due to a lingering calf strain, and his fit alongside rookie Cooper Flagg has been awkward at best. Multiple league executives believe the Mavericks will look to move Davis as soon as possible to regain lost draft assets.
Dallas currently does not control its 2027, 2028, 2029, or 2030 first-round picks, having traded them in a series of ‘win-now’ deals during the Luka era. Their only remaining near-term pick is in 2026, which means any chance of a meaningful rebuild depends on flipping Davis and veterans like Klay Thompson and Daniel Gafford for future draft capital.
For Harrison, it’s a stunning fall from grace. Once hailed as a forward-thinking executive with player-friendly relationships from his Nike days, his tenure will be remembered for dismantling a Finals roster and alienating franchise legends and fans.
With Harrison’s departure imminent and an Anthony Davis trade likely next, the Mavericks are staring at a full-scale rebuild centered on Cooper Flagg, the teenage prodigy tasked with resurrecting a franchise that, less than two years ago, was one series win away from an NBA championship.
The Nico Harrison experiment is over. What comes next for Dallas could define the next decade of Mavericks basketball.
