The Dallas Mavericks fired general manager Nico Harrison this Tuesday (11). The decision was made nine months after the negotiation of point guard Luka Doncic with the Los Angeles Lakers, which shocked the NBA, the North American basketball league.
Team owner Patrick Dumont announced the firing of Harrison, who was also Dallas’ president of basketball operations. The Mavericks started the season with difficulties, accumulating eight defeats and just three wins.
“This decision reflects our ongoing commitment to building an organization that strives for a championship, that delivers results for our players, for our partners and, most importantly, for our fans,” said Dumont.
In an open letter to fans, the owner acknowledged “the profound impact these difficult past months have had.”
The team named Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi as interim general managers to oversee basketball operations. There will be a search for a permanent replacement.
Riccardi is the team’s assistant general manager. Finley, who was an NBA player for 15 years, joined the Mavericks’ front office in 2017 and has served in several roles.
Harrison, a former Nike executive, was hired on June 28, 2021, and the Mavericks reached the Western Conference Finals in his first season. In the 2023/24 season, the team went to the NBA decision and lost to the Boston Celtics.
Just seven months after that final, Harrison sent Doncic, a five-time All-League selection, to Los Angeles.
Harrison’s firing came a day after Dumont was seen talking to a fan wearing a Lakers jersey with the number 77 and Doncic’s name. The Mavericks lost at home to the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday (10), 116-114.
Cries of “Fire Nico!” exploded during the fourth quarter of the game, in which Dallas squandered a 13-point lead.
Harrison, 52, defended the choice to release Doncic by pointing out that there were concerns about his fitness. In the exchange, pivot Anthony Davis arrived.
Davis, 32, has suffered from physical problems. And young Cooper Flagg, 18, first overall pick in the most recent draft (the rookie recruiting system, is still adapting to life in the NBA. Dallas, therefore, is in second-to-last place in the Western Conference.
