Nico Harrison Dismisses Two Mavericks Members After Disappointing End to Season

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Robert Marvi | Last updated May 7, 2025 9:52 PM ET

Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison has been crucified by the team's fans for trading away generational superstar Luka Doncic. Even worse, the Mavs seemed to only head downward after the trade.

They received superstar big man Anthony Davis in that deal, which led some to peg them as a dark horse team. But Davis missed most of the rest of the season with an adductor injury, while big men Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively also suffered injuries. Of course, All-Star guard Kyrie Irving tore his ACL in early March, ending his season.

As a result, Dallas missed the playoffs. Now, Harrison has reportedly fired athletic performance director Keith Belton and head athletic trainer Dionne Calhoun.

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With Doncic gone, Dallas will have to work very hard to become a title contender again.

It reached the NBA Finals last season and looked to have a core that could contend for years to come. But Davis is 32 years of age and injury-prone, and Irving is 33 years of age.

In addition, keeping Lively, Gafford and power forward P.J. Washington past next season will not be easy. Gafford and Washington will be free agents next summer, and Lively has team options for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 seasons, and none of them will be inexpensive.

Once the Doncic trade was made on Feb. 1, the Mavericks went 13-20 through the rest of the regular season. Fans are still heartbroken and irate about the deal, and now the team's immediate future looks quite murky.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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