Nico Harrison Leaves The Mavericks in Flames

Listen to that. It’s the city of Dallas, Texas, 1.3 million strong, in full rejoice. Nico Harrison, the man behind one of the most controversial trades ever, was fired last Wednesday morning from his role as GM.

Not released, not asked to resign, fired.

Harrison told the world post-Doncic trade that “Time will tell if I’m right.” Needless to say, time has told. He’s out of a job, and the Mavericks will try and figure out where to go from here.

He Did So Much Good… And None Of It Matters

The Nico Harrison tenure in Dallas wasn’t always seen as the nightmare it will be remembered as. In fact, it was seen as a fantastic tenure just 21 months ago.

The stepping stone came the spring before, when Dallas got Kyrie Irving from the Nets in a trade. Irving and superstar Luka Doncic took a bit to mesh, but once they did, they became deadly.

However, Harrison and the Mavs weren’t done there. In February 2024, both Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington were sent over to DFW in separate trade packages. This move bolstered the defensive side of the ball and added some energy and spark to Dallas.

When they got into the playoffs, that energy and spark, plus the skill acquired from the Irving addition, drove the Mavs through a gauntlet and all the way to the NBA Finals.

The almighty Celtics got them in five, but Mavs fans were optimistic about the future. They finally had a real title-winning window with a generational talent who was the star of the city for the first time in well over a decade.

In the offseason, Harrison got to work again. Klay Thompson, Quentin Grimes and Naji Marshall were all picked up to fill in for lost bodies. It didn’t mesh immediately, just like last time, but most had a feeling it would sort itself out again.

It never got the chance.

Harrison pushed the big red button on any goodwill he had on the morning of Feb. 2. Everything as aforementioned, partly building the team that went to the WCF in 2022, none of that will be his legacy. Instead, he’ll be seen as a crook, a con-man and the man who sucked the soul from the city of Dallas.

He’s got no one to blame but himself for where he ended up.

Two Sides To Every Story

Dirk Nowitzki made an appearance on NBA on Prime on Friday evening. Naturally, as the staple of the Dallas Mavericks, he was asked about Harrison’s firing.