Nine months after the Mavericks stunningly decided to trade Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas fired Nico Harrison. ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania reported on Tuesday morning that Mavericks owner Patrick Dumont would fire Harrison in a meeting at 10 a.m. CT.
The news didn't come as a shock, as there has been plenty of chatter the past few days about Dallas moving on from the GM. ESPN's Tim MacMahon reported over the weekend that it wasn't a matter of if the Mavericks would let go of Harrison, but when. Dumont and Dallas decided to do it the morning after the team fell to Milwaukee, 116-114, at American Airlines Center. The Mavericks are 3-8.
Who would've thought that trading a generational talent like Dončić, less than a year after he helped lead Dallas to the NBA Finals, would result in Harrison losing his job?
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 court-side interaction with a fan on Monday night. https://t.co/PDzeix8ZmM
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 11, 2025
Mavs fire Nico Harrison nine months after he traded Luka Dončić to Lakers
When Charania tweeted last January that Dallas and Los Angeles agreed to a Dončić trade, everyone thought that someone had hacked Charania's X (Twitter) account. There was no way that the Mavericks would trade Dončić for Anthony Davis, right? Luckily, for the Lakers, Charania didn't get hacked.
Dallas traded Dončić, Maxi Kleber, and Markieff Morris to Los Angeles in exchange for Davis, Max Christie, and the Lakers' 2029 first-round pick. Utah was looped into the trade, receiving Jalen Hood-Schifino and two 2025 second-round picks.
Everyone knew as soon as Charania reported it that it'd go down as the worst trade in history. It's one thing to trade Dončić, but another to not make it known to other teams that he was available. Dallas could've gotten significantly more than it did, but again, LA is glad that didn't happen.
Dončić was blindsided by the trade just like everyone else, thinking that he'd spend the entirety of his career with the Mavericks. What came out after the trade, from Harrison saying, "defense wins championships" to Dallas' frustration about Dončić's conditioning and lack of commitment, made the deal even more of a betrayal to Dončić.
Dumont signed off on the trade, trusting Harrison's judgement, which was a mistake. Dumont understands that now, but it's too little too late.
The Lakers are well-positioned for the future with Dončić, who signed a three-year extension over the offseason. Meanwhile, the Mavericks don't even look like a contender with Davis, who has played in a combined 14 games for Dallas across two seasons since the trade.
You never want to root for someone to lose their job, but in this case, Nico Harrison had it coming. You can't expect to make a trade like that and stick around.