The Mavericks Path Forward
On Nico Harrison's firing, his tenure with the Mavericks, how they navigate the next eight months, and why trades for their Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving could take time.
According to Marc Stein and Shams Charania, the Mavericks have fired general manager Nico Harrison. This inevitable outcome arrives 9 months after the franchise-inflicting trade of Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a 2029 first-round pick. It was a decision universally loathed in real time, and one of the worst-case scenarios following it bore out.
Many saw this day coming. What wasn’t certain was the way they’d go about it. Organizationally, there was no public acknowledgement of even the possibility that they had faltered.
Not only did the Mavericks announce in a press release that they relieved Harrison of his duties, but Governor Patrick Dumont wrote an open letter to fans, finally acknowledging “the profound impact these difficult last several months have had.”
They could’ve easily spun it as a “parting of ways” and continued to pretend as if mistakes weren’t made. It wasn’t a perfect response, but it was a necessary first step needed to bring back fans they alienated. While Dumont will focus on repairing the organization off the court, newly elevated executives Michael Finley and Matt Ricardi have the monumental task of navigating the roster out of the mess Harrison left.
