Nine months after Nico Harrison made the stunning transaction that sent player Luka Dončić to the Lakers, the Mavericks eventually pulled off the bandage when owner Patrick Dumont took the decision to fire the contentious general manager.
Dallas is off to a 3-9 start this season as “Fire Nico” cries continue to reverberate throughout American Airlines Center, despite the team’s incredible success in the NBA draft lottery to get the No. 1 pick and guard Cooper Flagg following the bombshell transaction. Dirk Nowitzki, an icon of the franchise, acknowledged that it was difficult to witness his old team’s start as they continue to struggle without a primary ballhandler as player Kyrie Irving recovers from an ACL tear.
When asked what he felt of the decision to fire Harrison, Nowitzki, who is currently an analyst for Prime Video’s new NBA coverage, didn’t hold back.
On Friday, he stated on Amazon Prime Video:
“There was too many distractions, too much going on to keep going this way. This move should have probably happened in the summer, honestly,”
“I didn’t want this negative energy and this black cloud over the Cooper Flagg era, but here we are now.
“I just knew this fan base is a passionate and loyal fan base, I was lucky enough to experience it for 21 years. I knew they wouldn’t just get over it as people say or forget about it. This trade just made no sense, it made no sense to them and really there was no explanation for it either.”
“It’s time to move on now.”
Dirk Nowitzki on the Mavs firing GM Nico Harrison. pic.twitter.com/8J9MvksVdm
— NBA on Prime (@NBAonPrime) November 14, 2025
The Mavs veteran expressed his belief that the Dončić deal deprived Dallas supporters of witnessing the superstar guard grow and ultimately lead the team to a championship, as the guard had led them to the NBA Finals the season prior to his departure. Nowitzki led Dallas to a championship in 2011 and was chosen MVP of the NBA Finals, so his opinions were eagerly awaited.
