Dallas Mavericks to Fire GM Nico Harrison Nine Months Afterโฃ Luka Donฤiฤ Trade
DALLAS – The Dallas Mavericks are planning โto fire General โฃManager Nico Harrison,โ sources confirmed Monday, a move coming less than โฃnineโ months after the โขblockbuster trade thatโฃ brought Luka Donฤiฤ to theโค team. The decision signals aโ significant shift in leadership for theโ franchise as it strugglesโ to build a championship contender aroundโข its superstar guard.
Harrison, who was hired inโข 2021, oversaw the acquisition of Donฤiฤ from the Atlanta Hawks in June 2022. However, โคthe team has experienced a marked decline in performance and currently faces a challenging futureโค due to draft limitations and a perceived โคlack โof on-court improvement.
The Mavericks’ struggles extend beyondโ theโค court.The team’s โability toโข improve through the draft will be severely limited after the 2026 offseason, as they do not have full control over their first-round pick until 2031.
During Harrison’s tenure,โฃ Jason Kidd was the only coach he retained, granting the fifth-year Mavericks coach two contract extensions.Theโ team is now expected to consider assistant general manager Matt Riccardi as a candidate to fill the vacant GM position.
At a news conference in April following the โข2023-24 season, Harrison defended his performance, stating, “One,โ I think I’ve done โฃa really good job here, and I don’t think Iโฃ can be judged by the injuries this year. You have to judge the totality from beginning to end. I thinkโค I have a really good working relationship with Patrick. I think โyou add in Rick [Welts], the leadership that we haveโ is really elite. You’llโฃ see next year when our team comes back we’re going to be competing for a championship.”
However, seven months later, the Mavericks are not positioned to contend for a title and are currently โprojected to be in contention for a โขsecond consecutive appearance in the NBA draft lottery.
Find moreโ Mavericks coverage from The Dallas Morning Newsโ here.
