The trade that sent superstar guard Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers will long be remembered as the most shocking deal in NBA history. While the Lakers and their fans celebrated, fans of the Mavericks were rightfully angry and directed all of that vitriol towards general manager Nico Harrison, who was the catalyst for the deal.
In the months following there were many stories about why the Mavericks wanted to move on from Doncic and, as is the case with any trade of that magnitude, ownership was on board with Harrison making the move. And when the Mavericks defied the odds to win the NBA Draft Lottery and land prized prospect Cooper Flagg, it seemed as if Dallas had the pieces to be a potential contender in the near future.
But with the Mavs off to a 3-8 start, and fans still angry, they made the decision to fire Harrison just nine months after dealing Luka to the Lakers, with owner Patrick Dumont releasing a letter to fans admitting his mistake, via NBA insider Marc Stein:
Patrick Dumont’s open letter to Mavericks fans after the ouster of Nico Harrison: pic.twitter.com/WESxulFRPr
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) November 11, 2025
This is a move that is sure to satisfy many Mavericks fans and ownership is clearly looking to rebuild the trust between the fans and the organization. The Doncic trade continues to look worse as he is putting up historical numbers with the Lakers, who have gotten off to an excellent start while Dallas is near the bottom of the West.
The fact that Harrison won’t be able to see out his post-Luka plans does seem a bit unfair as Mavericks ownership had to believe in the vision as well, otherwise they wouldn’t have signed off on the trade to begin with. And the torn ACL suffered by Kyrie Irving could not have been accounted for and is obviously a huge wrench in their plans.
Nonetheless, the Mavericks have moved on from Harrison, but unfortunately for them they can’t take back the trade that was the catalyst for all of this and the Lakers are ecstatic to have Doncic in purple and gold.
Lakers’ Luka Doncic putting more focus on defensive end
One of the reasons the Mavericks reportedly didn’t believe in Luka Doncic as the centerpiece of their franchise was that they felt he was not in the best conditioning and didn’t care about defense. But Doncic has been pushing back on that narrative and has been focused on giving excellent energy and effort on the defensive end consistently with the Lakers this season.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!
