Fired Mavs GM Blames Mark Cuban For Disastrous Decisions
Mavs got their fall guy, but was he the one to blame?
Dallas Mavericks fans finally got their wish when Nico Harrison was fired as general manager. Harrison became the public face of everything that went wrong in Dallas.
Months after trading franchise gem Luka Doncic, Nico absorbed death threats, relentless "Fire Nico" chants and universal blame for decimating the franchise, just one season removed from an NBA Finals appearance.
DALLAS - Mark Cuban and General Manager Nico Harrison address the media during the Dallas Mavericks Jason Kidd Press Conference on July 15, 2021 at the American Airlines Center. (Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)
Meanwhile, former majority owner Mark Cuban watched from the sidelines.
In an ESPN report, Harrison broke his silence. He placed heavy blame for the franchise’s biggest mistakes — including trading away star guard Jalen Brunson — squarely on Cuban, insisting the real damage began long before the Doncic trade.
READ: Mavericks Coach Pushes Back At Fans Who Chanted ‘Fire Nico Harrison’
Harrison wasn't the only person blaming Cuban inside the Mavs building. As Tim MacMahon reported:
"Harrison blamed Cuban for what he believed were the Mavs’ biggest personnel mistakes during his tenure, which came in summer 2022: allowing Jalen Brunson to get away in free agency and trading for Christian Wood, a player Kidd didn't want to coach and resented having on the roster. Several members of the coaching staff and front office also faulted Cuban for those moves."
DALLAS - Dallas Mavericks fans hold up a sign referring to Mavs general manager Nico Harrison during a game against the Sacramento Kings at American Airlines Center on February 10, 2025. (Photo by Tim Heitman/Getty Images)
The 2024 Finals run was credited to Harrison alone, but the goodwill vanished fast.
Mavs fans turned on Harrison, the roster unraveled, and the team’s brief resurgence collapsed.
Harrison took every bullet while Cuban, who had been kept out of the loop, faced no chants, no threats and no blame.
Ultimately, Nico's most daring move was convincing Dumont to trade Doncic for Anthony Davis, which became the franchise’s breaking point. Davis soon got injured, never looked fully healthy, and now, months later, the Mavericks are reportedly exploring ways to move him again.
Nico Harrison. (Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images)
Harrison’s parting message through sources is clear: he became the fall guy for a pattern of mistakes that started with Cuban and for a power structure Cuban himself helped create.
Now Harrison is gone, Cuban quietly consults again, and the franchise rebuilds around Cooper Flagg.
The fans got their scapegoat. The 'shark' who allegedly built the mess swims away clean.
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