There isn’t a bigger villain in the eyes of Dallas Mavericks fans today than the team’s general manager, Nico Harrison.
His approval ratings must have taken a sharp plunge ever since he successfully engineered the shocking trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for a package that mainly featured Anthony Davis.
It still feels surreal that the Mavericks actually sent the Slovenian superstar, who just led them to the NBA Finals a season ago and finished third in the voting for the Most Valuable Player in the same campaign, but also stunning is the fact that Harrison continues to be employed by the Mavericks.
He even saw one of his fellow NBA GMs get fired on Thursday following the Mavericks’ 120-106 win over the Sacramento Kings on the road in a play-in tournament matchup.
Shams Charania of ESPN reported after that contest that the Kings and general manager Monte McNair had “reached a mutual agreement” to part ways. That’s probably just a little more diplomatic way to say that Sacramento didn’t like how things turned for the franchise after making the playoffs two years ago, so they just sacked McNair.
McNair lasted five seasons on the job, but he was at the helm when Sacramento finally made it back to the playoffs in 2023 for the first time since 2006. The gradual deterioration of the Kings since that incredible 2022-23 campaign ultimately cost McNair his job with Sacramento.
Meanwhile, relentless calls from the fans and media personalities for the Mavericks to hand Harrison his walking papers clearly have not resulted in such.
Meanwhile, relentless calls from the fans and media personalities for the Mavericks to hand Harrison his walking papers clearly have not resulted in such. And somehow, Harrison managed to put himself in more bad light recently by only having a closed-door meeting with select reporters — his first time doing so since the Doncic trade.
Other GMs — like McNair — have been fired for lighter front office fumbles than what Harrison did before the trade deadline in February.
It is also worth noting that Harrison got the nod from the ownership to pull the trigger on the Doncic move, so firing him would be like the higher-ups admitting the obvious that moving the former NBA scoring champion was a big mistake.
In any case, Harrison and the Dallas organization have alienated an entire fanbase and seemingly, even Dirk Nowitzki.
Whether Dallas advances to the 2025 NBA Playoffs or not, there’s probably nothing the Mavs could do to appease their fanbase other than miraculously winning the NBA title — or firing Harrison.
