Nico Harrison tenure as Mavericks GM misguided from the start

Nico Harrison is finally out in Dallas, and it’s hard to find anyone surprised.

The Mavericks officially dismissed Harrison on Tuesday morning after months of internal tension and fan unrest, ending a tenure that felt misguided from the start.

Harrison came to the NBA from Nike, a respected brand executive who helped manage player relationships, but not a proven basketball architect. That gap showed quickly — and painfully.

His biggest move, of course, was the one that will define him. Last February, Harrison sent Luka Doncic to the Lakers in a stunning trade that even some inside the Mavericks organization opposed.

Doncic has since been electric in Los Angeles, lifting the Lakers to one of the league’s best records despite LeBron James still recovering from injury.

Meanwhile, the Mavericks — the team that once built around a generational star — are 3–8 and sinking.

Anthony Davis, the supposed centerpiece of the deal, has missed more games than he’s played. Kyrie Irving remains sidelined with a torn ACL. D’Angelo Russell has underwhelmed after being signed as a stopgap. The No. 1 pick, Cooper Flagg, has been a bright spot, scoring a career-high 26 points on Monday, but even his early promise can’t mask the fact that the Mavericks look broken.

Owner Patrick Dumont, who once said “In Nico we trust,” reportedly told fans this week that he “feels horrible” about the Doncic trade. That trust, as ESPN’s Tim MacMahon put it, “disintegrated.”

Now, Dallas turns the page. Longtime front office members Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi will serve as interim co-general managers, tasked with repairing what’s left of a roster that’s spent more time in triage than in contention.

For Harrison, the fall was swift but predictable. A former marketing executive thrust into one of the NBA’s most complex front office jobs, he was never the right fit for a franchise that needed basketball acumen, not brand management.

The Mavericks bet on style over substance — and they’ve been paying for it ever since.