Has this past month for the Dallas Mavericks been the worst month any team in NBA history has ever experienced? Between Luka Doncic being traded, Daniel Gafford suffering a sprained MCL, Anthony Davis getting injured in his first game with the team, and Kyrie Irving tearing his ACL, nobody has it worse than the Mavericks and general manager Nico Harrison right now.
It is just unfathomable to comprehend what has happened to the Mavs since they lost to the Boston Celtics in the 2024 NBA Finals.
This was one of the two teams left standing with the right to fight for a championship. Doncic, a 25-year-old superstar, would be the face of the franchise in Dallas for the next 15 years. After adding Klay Thompson alongside Doncic and Irving before the 2024-25 season, the Mavericks once again looked like they had what it took to be a legitimate title threat.
Minor setbacks like Doncic’s calf injury on Christmas Day and other players being in and out of the rotation limited things to begin the year, yet this team was still one nobody would want to deal with in the playoffs. As the defending Western Conference champions, Luka and Kyrie had earned the respect and the right to defend what was theirs come time for the postseason, regardless of their record.
Well, that right was stripped away by Harrison at the deadline in a move that has sent this franchise spiraling out of control and towards the bottom of the NBA. In just five months, the entire trajectory of the Mavs has changed, and the last 30 days for Mavericks fans have been brutal to say the least.
From protests over the Doncic trade to Davis getting hurt in his first game to the organization raising season ticket prices to Irving going down with his knee injury, everything that could have gone wrong has exceeded the level of total catastrophic failure.
No matter who you ask around the league, the Mavs lost this Luka trade.
Regardless of how they felt about him behind the scenes, and all the noise surrounding his commitment to bettering his body, Doncic was a five-time All-Star and five-time All-NBA performer through his first six seasons with the Mavs. He finished third in MVP voting last year and was the main reason why Dallas went to the NBA Finals for the first time since Dirk Nowitzki led them to a title in 2011.
Dirk, who spent all 21 years of his Hall of Fame career in Dallas, was one of the leading voices behind the scenes consistently supporting Doncic and assuring that he had the tools to be the next face of the franchise for the next two decades. Former principal owner Mark Cuban was another major supporter of Doncic.
None of this mattered to Harrison, who had decided that his team wasn’t going to solely revolve around Doncic. As a result, the most shocking, puzzling, and idiotic trade of all time was made, sending Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Davis, Max Christie, and a 2029 first-round pick that has massively depreciated in value.
Harrison made it clear he wanted to win a title right now and did not care about what the future looked like eight, nine, or 10 years from now. The only goal in mind by trading Doncic was to win a championship. In his defense, the idea of pairing Davis with Irving, Klay Thompson, PJ Washington, and the two bigs — Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford — made sense strictly when you look at that roster on paper.
Very few teams in the West would have had the size and skill to stop that three-headed monster in the Mavs’ frontcourt, and Irving had been playing some of the best basketball of his career on offense without Doncic being in control of the offense.
Look, Harrison obviously made the wrong decision at the wrong time, but his intentions of wanting to win a championship and going all out to try and do so have to be respected to some level. After all, winning is all that matters in a front office, especially for the 30 general managers who have arguably the toughest, most unforgiving job in all of professional sports.
Head coaches and general managers never have job security. One year, your team could be on the verge of winning a championship, and you earn yourself an extension as a result. The very next year, your team can miss the playoffs, and you lose your job. That is what many are calling for right now in Dallas regarding Harrison, as nobody can forgive the Mavericks GM for what he did.
However, those inside the organization side with Harrison’s decision to trade Doncic and virtually every move he has made since becoming the Mavericks’ general manager in 2021. He built a strong contending roster around Doncic through the years, and the Mavs made the Western Conference Finals twice through his first three seasons in control.
That was enough for Patrick Dumont, the Mavs’ newest governor, to give Harrison full say over the direction of the franchise. This is a decision that will haunt this franchise for years to come.
Nico Harrison’s power grew out of control
Can anyone blame Harrison for going all-in and trying to win a championship right now? That is the name of the game. Entering the 2024-25 season, the Mavs had increased their chances to win a title with Thompson’s arrival.
Whether or not you agree with trading Doncic and all of the “he said, she said” information that has leaked over the last several weeks, Harrison’s intentions have always been to win a championship. Unfortunately, injuries stood in the way of the Mavs’ ability to display their vision.
With this said, even if these injuries never occurred, Harrison was still held on a pedestal as if he had walked on water. Dumont and the high-ranking names within the organization praised Harrison after the team made the NBA Finals, league sources told ClutchPoints, leading to a control of power for the general manager.
Cuban would have never thought once about trading Doncic. That was his guy, and he never expected to see Luka play for another franchise. Unfortunately for the former Mavs owner, he held zero power in this decision despite his efforts to warn Dumont, Harrison, and others.
Dumont put full trust in Harrison. He had seen the moves made last season to add Washington and Gafford before the trade deadline — two moves that ultimately helped make the Mavericks a championship-worthy team. Even though Doncic is a great player that the organization respected on the court, his mindset was not what Dumont and Harrison were looking for to build their vision.
The only goal while negotiating this trade with the Lakers was to win a championship right now. What Dumont and Harrison forgot during their power trip ahead of this year’s trade deadline is that this team was just in the NBA Finals. Sure, Doncic would’ve cost the team a lot of money, but he’s obviously worth it.
Now, instead of competing for championships with Luka as the face of the team, the Mavericks will end up being a lottery team this season that misses the playoffs altogether. To make matters worse, Doncic is on a rival Western Conference competitor and may wind up seizing the 2-seed in the conference with LeBron James in quest of a championship this season.
Harrison was so caught up in wanting to win and get Davis, a player he had viewed higher than any other around the league due to his two-way abilities, that his judgment was clouded. With Dumont’s blessing and full control to make decisions for the team, Harrison’s will to win destroyed his reputation and respect around the NBA.
“You know that symbol of the snake eating itself, the Ouroboros? Think of that as this situation with Harrison, Dumont, and Doncic,” one Western Conference executive,who was granted full anonymity, told ClutchPoints when asked about his opinion on the state of the franchise. “Nico wanted AD, which is fine, but at some point, you have to draw the line in the sand in terms of cost. Rob Pelinka and the Lakers were probably laughing every time they got off the phone with Dallas because there’s just no way anyone would give up Luka!
“The snake eating itself without even realizing it was Harrison in this situation. It won’t be long until the snake swallows itself.”
Mavericks fans likely share similar feelings to that of many league personnel regarding Harrison and his future in Dallas. While Harrison and Dumont can’t be blamed for the injuries this franchise is dealing with, everything started with the Doncic trade.
As the season continues and the Mavs head into their final 19 games of the regular season, their chances of winning are gone. Irving will be sidelined with his ACL injury until sometime in 2026, and Davis’ future remains a major unknown.
Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis injuries severely limit potential
Injuries always impact the way every NBA season plays out. Many championship teams receive help along the way due to other teams being without a certain player (or players). That is just the nature of the NBA and sports as a whole, and there is no way to prevent freak injuries from happening.
What the Mavs are currently dealing with in terms of injuries can be attributed to Harrison’s decision to trade Doncic. While keeping Luka wouldn’t have prevented Irving from tearing his ACL, every action set each path that presented itself to the Mavericks in motion.
The clearest detail is Davis being injured and likely to be shut down for the season, due to the organization’s desire to get him back on the court as soon as possible.
In the wake of trading Doncic, Harrison, Dumont, and the organization received heavy scrutiny from fans and the NBA world as a whole. While there were reports that Harrison had received death threats as a result of making this trade, Mavs reporter Grant Afseth claimed the Dallas Police Department’s Public Information Officer cited no “known threats” at the time.
Even so, extra security was brought in for Harrison and Mavericks personnel. The team even went as far as to remove fans who were chanting “Fire Nico” during games. Overall, things were not pretty the day after the Doncic trade was announced.
This is the reason why the Mavericks wanted and needed Davis to get on the court. The only problem is that Davis, like Doncic, was dealing with an injury of his own.
While he was with the Lakers, Davis suffered an abdominal injury on Jan. 28 against the Philadelphia 76ers. Little details were revealed about this injury, and the trade was made with Dallas knowing that the 10-time All-Star was currently sidelined.
Whether Davis was fully healed from this injury and whether he was the one pushing to make his Mavericks debut are unknown at this time. The fact is that Davis returned to the court after missing just 10 days, which seemed a little too coincidental given the timing of Mavericks’ fans blowing up over this trade.
In his first game with the Mavs, Davis was fantastic. He was up to 26 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists, and three blocks during his debut when the small ounce of life this franchise had regained was snatched from their chest.
As Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green threw a bounce pass in the lane to a cutting Alperen Sengun, Davis, who was patrolling the middle of the floor on defense, quickly shuffled his feet and stepped to his right. Sengun drove down the lane and threw down a left-handed dunk with ease because Davis was on the floor behind him, clutching at his midsection in obvious discomfort from some sort of non-contact injury.
Upon standing up on his own, Davis continued to grimace in pain, grabbing at his abdominal/groin area, and leading many to believe he wasn’t healthy yet from his previous injury with the Lakers. The only detail released by the team was that Davis had an adductor strain with no timetable for his return.
At this point, now that Irving went down with a torn ACL, Davis’ return to the court may not come until the 2025-26 season. Without Irving, Lively, and Gafford, Dallas’ chances of actually finding success, even with the two-way big man healthy, are slim. That is why there are very real, ongoing conversations about shutting Davis down for the remainder of the year.
Again, Harrison’s championship vision has blown up in his face without Davis and Irving. Although Irving’s injury was a freak incident that can’t be attributed solely back to Harrison, the veteran guard had increased his minutes and workload since the Doncic-Davis trade. Whether or not this caused wear and tear that led to the ACL injury is an ongoing debate head coach Jason Kidd has shut down due to Irving’s high-level conditioning.
The Mavericks are in trouble not just to end this season, but looking ahead to the 2025-26 season. Aside from being close to the apron line for next season already, the Mavs don’t have a clear path to drastically improving their roster in free agency or via the trade market.
Kevin Durant, whom the Phoenix Suns will hold serious trade discussions about this summer, seems like the obvious choice for Dallas to put together a trade package for to pair him with Irving and Davis. The problem here is that Dallas doesn’t own any draft picks of value, other than a projected lottery pick this season, and they would be forced to part ways with Thompson, Washington, and Gafford.
Plus, would KD even have any interest in going to Dallas given the current circumstances? While Durant doesn’t have a no-trade clause, he’ll likely have at least some say in where he winds up, assuming he gets dealt.
While many have downplayed the Mavericks’ chances of trading for Durant due to these factors, Harrison did just trade Doncic. After seeing this, anything is possible, including the possibility of flipping Davis while his value is still high.
Davis turns 32 years old on March 11 and was seen multiple times in the NBA MVP rankings throughout this season while he was in Los Angeles. Several teams around the league could see their championship odds skyrocket by adding Davis, creating a possibility for Harrison and the Mavs to try and retool amid Irving’s injury this offseason.
But that would go against everything Harrison stood for at this year’s trade deadline by trading Doncic. The sole purpose for doing so was to get Davis and contend for a championship right now. Essentially, trading Davis after playing in only three quarters with Dallas would be an admission of guilt by Harrison and Dumont.
If you thought Mavs fans were furious after trading Doncic, imagine the eruption caused by a possible Davis trade if the team were to take an even larger step backwards than they already have.
All of the Mavs’ problems are linked back to Harrison and his vision for the team. When you take a big swing like Dallas did by trading Doncic for Davis, it doesn’t always go your way.
That is the reality Harrison and the Mavs are facing, which is why many fans and NBA personnel alike are pondering the question of whether this franchise will contemplate making a serious change in leadership during what will be a very awkward and disappointing offseason.
Are Mavericks considering a change?
When Harrison pulled off trades to acquire Washington and Gafford ahead of the trade deadline in 2024, many people were calling him one of the best executives in the NBA. These two moves directly led the Mavericks to their first NBA Finals appearance since 2011, and they had built the foundation of being one of the better teams in the West.
Regardless of their early-season struggles and Doncic’s calf injury, the Mavericks were still viewed as a force to be reckoned with heading into the back half of the 2024-25 season.
Once again, Harrison’s aggressiveness took over at the trade deadline, leading to the unthinkable to happen.
In the span of one year, Harrison went from being a beloved leader in Dallas to possibly the most hated man in the city. Even if Davis and Irving didn’t go down with injuries and the Mavs went on to win a championship, a large portion of the fan base would still hold resentment toward him for trading Doncic to Los Angeles.
What was believed to be a three- or four-year championship window for the Mavericks has been slammed shut. Since Irving is injured and entering the final year of his contract via a player option, who knows what this team will look like in the coming years?
No matter how you look at this situation with Harrison and his comments saying he will take accountability for any mistakes made, there is no right path moving forward for Dumont and the organization. The Mavericks don’t have control over their future draft picks, Doncic isn’t coming back, and the damage has been done.
A decision to remove Harrison and go in a different direction would certainly open the door for Mavs fans to regain trust in the new ownership and leadership that took over for Cuban. While this wouldn’t fully repair the rift, it would at least offer some sense of hope to the fans in a new era without Doncic.
Then again, if Harrison is fired, that wouldn’t solve any of the problems existing.
There are no indications suggesting Harrison’s job is in jeopardy at this time, sources said. Dumont has continued to defend him, and the Mavs are committed to seeing this vision through.
Harrison’s goal in Dallas was to win right now. By trading Doncic for Davis to attempt to do so, the Mavs have sacrificed their entire long-term future.
What makes matters worse for Harrison is that his short-term plan is gone and will need massive adjustments due to Irving’s ACL injury. All of the significant changes made by the Mavericks in less than a year have altered the trajectory of this franchise forever.
This is no longer a team that will be led by Doncic for the foreseeable future. Instead, it’s one that will be tormented by the decisions of their past. Harrison knew he was taking a massive risk at the trade deadline this season, and the consequences of such a decision have started the clock in Dallas.
What the Mavericks general manager does this offseason will have a drastic impact on his future and that of the Western Conference as a whole.
The post Why Nico Harrison isn’t solely to blame for Mavericks’ immediate demise appeared first on ClutchPoints.
