The Dallas Mavericks are off to a disastrous start, going just 3-7 to start the season. That has led to increased pressure on Dallas Mavericks GM Nico Harrison.
Harrison drew heavy criticism after trading superstar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in an out-of-nowhere move that made sense to absolutely no one but him. Luckily for him, he was bailed out after the Mavericks landed the first overall pick in this year’s draft and selected Cooper Flagg first overall.
Even so, Flagg has been slow out of the gate, and that could put Harrison’s job in jeopardy. Coach Jason Kidd has been experimenting with having Flagg play point guard, which has led to the Mavericks having a historically awful offense.
While some expected them to be a potential playoff team once fully healthy, if they continue to play at this level, then they could be back in the lottery. In fact, over the last 25 years, only 20 teams have ever started 3-7 and gone on to make the playoffs.
Unfortunately for them, they don’t own their draft pick outright, meaning that they could be unintentionally tanking for nothing.
The Dallas Mavericks must finally move on from Nico Harrison
According to Mavericks insider Tim McMahon, Harrison’s job security is very much in question, with him failing to inspire confidence from team higher-ups. Landing Flagg no doubt helped save his job, at least for a few months.
“At this point, I believe it is a matter of when, not if, Nico Harrison will be fired. There is a very, very strong likelihood that it will be midseason.” – ESPN’s Tim MacMahon on the embattled Mavs GM on The Hoop Collective #MFFL
(🎥: @ESPNNBA) pic.twitter.com/q5xhAACJKW
— Kevin Gray Jr. (@KevinGraySports) November 10, 2025
But with Dallas off to an awful start and many of his decisions aging like milk—not just the Doncic trade—he has left Mavericks ownership little choice but to fire him. It’s true that he was the GM when Dallas made the NBA Finals in 2024, but his decision-making has been more of a negative than a positive.
Never mind the Doncic trade for a moment. Back in the summer of 2023, he pulled off a three-team trade with the Boston Celtics and San Antonio Spurs. He sent Reggie Bullock and a 2030 unprotected pick swap to the Spurs in exchange for multiple second-rounders that he then sent to the Celtics for Grant Williams.
Williams proved to be a bad fit and was traded to the Charlotte Hornets along with the first-round pick for PJ Washington just months after he was acquired. Essentially, Harrison traded two first-round picks for Washington but only got one first back for Doncic—that is a case in point of why Harrison needs to go.
Overall, the Mavs have few assets to build around Flagg going forward, and they shouldn’t trust Harrison to turn things around. As a result, Dallas should part ways with Harrison before things go from awful to worse.
