Nico Harrison Sat Red-Faced As Reporter Asked Why Mavericks Haven't Fired Him After Luka Doncic Trade

Harrison might have let out a nervous smile, but he knows the situation is getting graver by the day. While he'll likely hold onto his job until next season, so the Mavericks can give his philosophy a chance to succeed, it's looking very grim for the GM right now. 

This trade has faced almost unanimous criticism, and Harrison's inability to articulate valid reasons for the trade has made this situation worse.

Arguably, the worst quote from this ordeal was Nico openly admitting he thought Mavericks fans wouldn't be as outraged as they have been about the deal.

“I did know Luka was important to the fan base. I didn’t quite know to what level.”

This is such an out-of-touch take that he was better off not admitting it. Mavericks fans were already aggressively rallying against him as a community before he said this, but this comment will add fuel to the fire. 

The tides might already be changing in Dallas, with a report suggesting that Harrison has already lost tons of favor with Mavericks Governor Patrick Dumont. It doesn't seem like a coincidence that Harrison namedropped Dumont while mentioning why he doesn't think he should be fired.

"However, those team sources consistently express belief that Dumont no longer sees Harrison as a figure with irreproachable basketball expertise. Most notably, team and league sources say, Dumont has had frustration with Harrison not warning him — or, perhaps even more damningly, being unaware—of the fandom's outrage following the trade. Those same sources say it had some influence over Dumont's decision to make Harrison appear for last week's closed media event, which Harrison did not want to participate in." 

Harrison is on thin ice and knows it. It might lead to him making an audacious win-now deal in the summer to save his job. Kevin Durant has been linked to Dallas already, and it might be the only move Harrison can focus on going forward to ensure the Mavericks have a shot at a title before a dark future with no draft picks sets in.