The Dallas Mavericks are in the middle of one of the most consequential weeks in franchise history. Nico Harrison has officially been let go as General Manager to many fans' delight.
This decision came months after mounting backlash stemming from the blockbuster decision to tradeLuka Doncic to the L.A. Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a first-round pick.
The deal never sat well with the fan base, and as the team stumbled to a 3-8 start this season, "Fire Nico" chants became a regular sound at home games.
Ownership ultimately decided that the franchise's direction under Harrison no longer aligned with the competitive standard they were trying to uphold, and his dismissal was framed as a necessary reset.
Meanwhile, as Davis has struggled to stay on the floor for the Mavericks, Luka has been largely terrific for the Lakers and now is in the shape of his life this season.
Luka Doncic Stats With Los Angeles Lakers
Categories
Luka Doncic
Games Played
36
Points per game
29.7
Assists per game
7.8
Rebounds per game
8.3
Steals per game
1.6
Blocks per game
0.4
Field goal percentage
44.8%
Three-point percentage
36.1%
It's remarkable how things went wrong for the Mavericks so quickly. But this Luka trade wasn't a spur of the moment decision by Nico Harrison and ownership.
In fact, an anonymous Dallas Mavericks' executive recently leaked to ESPN's Jorge Sedano the moment the front office began to lose faith in their franchise superstar.
An NBA Executive Revealed the Moment the Dallas Mavericks Lost Faith in Luka Doncic
The Mavericks' frustration with their five-time All-Star up until this shocking trade was, for the most part, internal and never conveyed to the public.
Nonetheless, this trepidation had allegedly been simmering for years, driven by concerns about Luka's conditioning and his ball-dominant style. But those issues didn't stop the front office from putting a suitable supporting cast around their point guard, and the Mavericks made it to their first NBA Finals since 2011.
The season ended in a five-game series against the Boston Celtics, but it looked like Dallas was set to be a contender for years to come around a player who just had an MVP-caliber season.
Yet, Jorge Sedano's report on the "Sedano & Kap" morning show broke down when a Luka trade became realistic to the front office. And it all revolved around how the Slovenian superstar reacted to his NBA Finals' loss.
"This person, said to me, 'You know, I was around Kobe when he lost to the Celtics. And I remember that when they were playing the song when the Celtics won the championship, whatever song they were playing, in the arena, Kobe would literally use that song in his workouts every day. Every day thereafter until he won the championship...He's like, 'So we were hoping that that would be the impetus to take Luka to the next level. And then he came back in the same shape, arguably in worse shape than he did the prior season, and that's kind of when we knew, like, hey, maybe this isn't going to work. And that's when the conversations began.'"
Luka Doncic has already proven the Mavericks' front office wrong
Luka Doncic would have been eligible for a five-year, $345 million supermax contract extension in 2025 with the Mavericks had he not been traded to the Lakers.
It's true that Dallas needed to be absolutely sure about their then-25-year-old before investing that kind of money in him, but the fundamental problem with the franchise's evaluation of their best player was they underestimated his will.
One of Luka's greatest strengths has been his ruthless, competitive nature on the court, and that approach was predictably going to compel him to figure things out off of it.
It is understandably frustrating that Doncic came into the 2024-25 season out of shape, but a year later, he's now in the best condition of his career and on pace for a career season.
With the amount of upside that the perennial MVP candidate had at the time, it was certainly worth the risk for the Mavericks to invest in him long-term.
And even if they weren't going to do that, trading for an aging Anthony Davis, who had never been the best player on a team that had made the Finals, was likely never going to work out.
Unfortunately for Dallas fans, the front office and ownership saw Luka's 2024 offseason as a sign that he was not the guy to build around going forward.
Mavs' owner Patrick Dumont, who has already made several questionable decisions since taking over in 2023, echoed that sentiment in his first public comments since this trade took place.
"If you look at the greats in the league, the people you and I grew up with -- [Michael] Jordan, [Larry] Bird, Kobe [Bryant], Shaq [O'Neal] -- they worked really hard, every day, with a singular focus to win. And if you don't have that, it doesn't work. And if you don't have that, you shouldn't be part of the Dallas Mavericks."
It's a bit odd to see the owner of the Dallas Mavericks' not mention franchise GOAT Dirk Nowitzki in this description.
Overall, there's a lot that this franchise can learn from the past nine months, and the next steps will be critical toward how quickly Dallas can become a contender once again.