Mavericks to fire general manager Nico Harrison, sources

The Dallas Mavericks are expected to fire general manager Nico Harrison on Tuesday, according to AM850 sources.

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The general manager of the Dallas Mavericks Nico Harrisonwill be fired Tuesday morning during a meeting scheduled for 10:00 a.m. (CST) with the team governor, Patrick Dumont, as reported sources to AM850.

Harrison has been under the scrutiny of Mavericks fans since he surprisingly traded to Luka Doncic to Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 2, months after the then-25-year-old, a five-time All-NBA first-team selection, led the franchise to the NBA Finals.

That transfer, in which Dallas received in exchange Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round draft picksparked fan protests outside the American Airlines Center the night of the deal and before the team’s next home game. That unease never dissipated, as chants of “Fire Nico!” have been frequently heard since then. in the team’s home games, including Monday night’s loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Dumont was present on the court during Tuesday’s game, the first he has attended since the lopsided loss in the first game of the season against the San Antonio Spurs. The Mavs blew a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter and fell to a 3-8 record, second-to-last in the Western Conference.

Dumont, whose family acquired the majority of the franchise’s shares through Mark Cuban In December 2023, he approved the trade after Harrison convinced him that signing Doncic to a supermax contract extension would be a bad investment due to the then-star player’s persistent physical problems, who were injured. Dumont later privately admitted his regret over the deal.

Dallas had a record of 182-157 during Harrison’s four-plus years at the helm of the team, highlighting his appearances in the 2022 Western Conference Finals and the 2024 NBA Finals. The Mavericks went 135-88 in regular-season games in which Doncic participated during that period and 47-69 in the rest.

Immediately after the trade, Harrison stated that the deal improved the Mavericks’ chances of winning a championship, stating that the franchise would have three to four years to compete for the title.

“Defense wins championships,” Harrison said, a phrase he repeated several times in press conferences at the end of last season to justify the trade.

Ten-time All-Star Davis, who was out with an abdominal injury at the time of the trade, has only played in 14 regular-season games, plus a pair of preliminary-round appearances, with the Mavericks.

Faced with criticism of Harrison, Davis quickly returned to play on February 8 against the Houston Rockets, the first home game after the transfer. He dominated the first half, but suffered an adductor strain — an aggravation of his abdominal injury — in the third quarter that kept him sidelined for the next six weeks.

Davis has missed the last six games due to a left calf strain, five of which the Mavericks lost. Sources indicated that Davis wanted to return over the weekend, but Dumont supported the opinion of the Mavericks’ medical staff, who insisted that Davis should be cautious.

The star point guard of the Dallas Mavericks, Kyrie Irving, suffered a anterior cruciate ligament rupture in early March that ended its season, and there is no scheduled date for its return.

The injury-plagued Mavericks were out of playoff contention after the trade, being eliminated by the Memphis Grizzlies in the last game of the Western Conference preliminary round. An incredible stroke of luck in the NBA draft lottery, obtaining with a 1.8% probability the first overall selection and the right to choose Cooper Flagg, It gave them some hope for the future of the franchise.

However, Dallas’ poor start to the season and the fans’ constant frustration ultimately sealed Harrison’s fate.