Mavericks Coach Pushes Back At Fans Who Chanted ‘Fire Nico Harrison’

Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd criticized fans who chanted "Fire Nico!" before general manager Nico Harrison's firing this week.

Kidd called the jabs at Harrison also disrespectful to his team.

READ: Colossal Screw Up In Dallas Inevitably Ends With Mavericks' Firing Of GM Nico Harrison

"We can only hope that we don’t have to go through that again because it was a little disrespectful because the guys are playing hard," Kidd said before Wednesday's game against Phoenix.

The chants aimed at Nico Harrison were becoming a trend among frustrated fans throughout the season.

The chants took off when Luka Doncic moved to Los Angeles, which many dubbed the worst trade in NBA history.

CLEVELAND - Head Coach Jason Kidd of the Dallas Mavericks and Nico Harrison talk to the media before the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on February 2, 2025 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. (Photo by David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images)

Morale was lost until the Mavericks mysteriously landed the No. 1 pick of the 2025.

Even with top pick Cooper Flagg, Dallas started its 2025 season on a miserable run, which turned up the heat on Harrison.

Kidd, a Hall of Famer who knows NBA crowds, said the Fire Nico chants were more than simple heckling. 

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"With that chant during when we’re shooting free throws, it’s very disrespectful," Kidd continued. "But understanding they got their point across, the fans, but we have to move forward."

"Again, we have a lot of guys that are in street clothes. We got over, I think, 100 million dollars sitting on the sideline," Kidd said, alluding to key injuries. "I would hope that we start to get a little credit for that because these guys, they can hear those things and they feel really disrespected."

The Mavericks dismissed Nico Harrison after four turbulent seasons. 

Jason Kidd (L) and Nico Harrison look on during BIG3 - Week Four at the American Airlines Center on July 31, 2021 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images for BIG3)

Harrison, hired in 2021 to stabilize the organization after Rick Carlisle’s departure, oversaw the team’s deepest playoff run in more than a decade last spring, led by Doncic and Kyrie Irving.

But slowly, he tore that squad apart, first letting Jalen Brunson walk in 2022. Harrison’s handling of Brunson’s contract and the fallout with Doncic's camp in 2024 became defining moments of his Mavs tenure.

Kidd’s comments reflected a plea for unity at a time when the Mavericks are dealing with instability both on the court and in the front office. 

"It’s hard to keep guys here in this league when they start to think that the home team is not home and becomes a visiting place, and so hopefully that changes tonight."

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