Dallas Mavericks fans have blamed general manager Nico Harrison for the stunning trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers last season, but apparently their frustrations should be directed at someone else.
Mavericks owner Patrick Dumont sat courtside during the team’s 116-114 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. At one point, Dumont was seen having a conversation with a young fan who was wearing a Doncic No. 77 Lakers jersey.
Dumont and the fan chatted for several minutes. The fan later revealed that Dumont told him that the Mavericks owner feels badly about the Doncic trade. Dumont also took accountability for the move and said he is trying to win back the Dallas fan base.
Just spoke with the fan that sat next to Patrick Dumont tonight…
He said that Dumont told him:
– He felt bad for the Luka trade
– What he did wasn’t in the best interest of the franchise
– He made a mistake and he’s trying to rectify it
– Wants to win back the fanbase pic.twitter.com/9mOqAzvyqg
— MFFL NATION (@NationMffl) November 11, 2025
The Mavericks fired Harrison on Tuesday. Shortly after that happened, ESPN’s Shams Charania confirmed the report about Dumont taking the blame for the Doncic trade.
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
Harrison had been showered in “fire Nico!” chants virtually nonstop since Doncic was traded last February. The Mavericks even had to take some unusual measures to shield their GM from angry fans.
Not long after Doncic was traded, Dumont suggested the All-Star was shipped out of town because of work ethic concerns. Fans felt that some of the comments Dumont made proved he does not know basketball.
The messaging that surrounded the Doncic trade was just as bad as the trade itself. In hindsight, it sounds like that was the result of ownership making a controversial decision and Harrison having to answer for it.