Report: Matt Riccardi Could Replace Nico Harrison If Mavericks Fire Harrison

According to NBA reporter Grant Afseth, Matt Riccardi could replace Nico Harrison if the Dallas Mavericks fire Harrison.

Harrison, who traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, has three years left on his contract. 

“If the Mavericks decide to move on from Harrison, a logical replacement option already exists within the organization’s basketball operations structure: assistant general manager Matt Riccardi,” Afseth wrote. “Riccardi has been a consistent presence within the Mavericks’ front office, frequently involved in day-to-day logistics, and regularly seen on the court pregame, interacting with players and executives. He has developed a strong rapport with players, most notably Kyrie Irving, with whom he has worked in Brooklyn and Dallas.”

Harrison has received death threats since trading Doncic to the Lakers. 

However, the Dallas exec doesn’t seem fazed by them. 

“Personally, I’m optimistic,” Harrison said. “You know, when you look at the team and you know, a couple times we’ve had three games in a row, we had eight players, and only seven and a half could actually play. Some of them were restricted minutes, but they didn’t stop playing. And so I’m super optimistic about that, and I believe in the trade I made, I believe that that’s going to bring us a championship caliber team going forward, and so I’m optimistic and excited about the future, and I do believe that once we win, the fans will come back. My family is solid. I don’t really want to talk about them, but my wife and I, we have super grounded kids, and they’re not oblivious to everything, but they’re well adjusted.”

The Mavericks will play the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday. The winner will face the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of the 2025 playoffs, while the loser will see their season end. 

Doncic and the Lakers are the third seed in the West. Doncic, one of the top players in the NBA, scored 45 points in Dallas during his return game.