Mavericks expected to fire embattled GM Nico Harrison

The Dallas Mavericks are expected to move on from embattled president of basketball operations and general manager Nico Harrison, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line, who reports that Harrison’s dismissal is viewed as “imminent.”

ESPN’s Shams Charania and Tim MacMahon confirm Stein’s reporting, stating that Harrison is expected to be let go at a 10:00 am Central time meeting on Tuesday.

MacMahon said on Monday that he believed it was a matter of “when, not if” Harrison will be fired, indicating that governor Patrick Dumont‘s trust in the Mavs’ top basketball executive has “disintegrated.” Christian Clark of The Athletic echoed that reporting this morning, writing that Harrison’s exit was considered inevitable.

A former Nike executive, Harrison helped construct a Mavericks roster that advanced to the NBA Finals in 2024, making key deals for P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford during that season. However, he has made a handful of missteps since then, most notably sending Luka Doncic to the Lakers last February in a shocking trade that sparked a revolt among Dallas fans.

While the Doncic blockbuster has overshadowed the rest of the Mavs’ recent moves, Harrison has made other questionable roster decisions within the past year, including another 2025 deadline deal that sent Quentin Grimes to Philadelphia for Caleb Martin. That trade moved the Mavs so close to their hard cap that they were unable to add any reinforcements — even on 10-day contracts — when injuries decimated their roster during the second half.

After missing the playoffs in the spring, the Mavericks were thrown a lifeline with a long-shot draft lottery win — they claimed the No. 1 overall pick despite having just a 1.8% chance and used that selection to draft top prospect Cooper Flagg. However, while Flagg figures to be the long-term franchise player in Dallas, his arrival hasn’t helped turn things around in the short term.

The Mavs are off to a 3-8 start this season, with a 2-6 record at home, where fans have frequently regaled the team with “Fire Nico” chants. As MacMahon writes for ESPN, that chant bubbled up several times during Monday’s loss to the Bucks, which was the first game Dumont had attended since the regular season opener.

While Dumont ultimately signed off on the Doncic trade last season, a fan who had a courtside conversation with the Mavericks’ majority owner at Monday’s game told Clark that Dumont said he “feels horrible” about the deal.

Injuries have played a part in the Mavs’ struggles since February’s trade deadline. Anthony Davis, the centerpiece of the return in the Doncic deal, appeared in just nine games for Dallas last season and has missed six of 11 contests so far this season due to a calf strain. Point guard Kyrie Irving, who became more important than ever without Doncic on the roster, sustained an ACL tear in early March and has been out since then.

Still, the Mavs knew entering the offseason that they wouldn’t have Irving available for a significant chunk of the season, and Harrison’s most significant move to address that hole — signing free agent D’Angelo Russell — hasn’t worked out so far. Russell has started just three of 11 games this fall and hasn’t played up to his usual standards, making just 37.3% of his field goal attempts, including 27.8% of his three-point tries.

With Harrison on the way out, there has been a “push” from some members of the organization to try to bring back veteran executive Dennis Lindsey, according to Stein. A former Harrison advisor in Dallas, Lindsey was hired by the Pistons in 2024 as their senior VP of basketball operations.

Chris Mannix of SI.com, meanwhile, suggests there has been some chatter in the NBA about Jason Kidd moving from head coach to a front-office role.

For now, though, the Mavs figure to install an interim replacement for Harrison, per Stein and Mannix. Assistant general managers Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi are among the top candidates to take on increased roles, Mannix adds.

It remains to be seen what sort of vision a new head of basketball operations will have for the Mavs going forward — rebuilding around Flagg is a possibility, but not necessarily an inevitability. For what it’s worth, Stein reports that Davis’ agent Rich Paul has established a strong relationship with Dumont and that the two parties communicate regularly.