Former Dallas Mavericks General Manager Nico Harrison will forever be remembered as the man who traded Luka Dončić—and rightfully so. The Slovenian sensation is a generational talent just entering his prime, and he’s one of those rare game-changers who can give any team a real shot at winning.
But should that one trade define Harrison’s entire tenure at the Mavs? Does it make him a horrible GM, as some overzealous Mavs fans might claim?
The answer to the first question is probably yes, in part because he could’ve gotten more from trading a generational superstar just entering his prime. The answer to the second question is no. Despite the emotion surrounding the Dončić trade, Harrison’s body of work as GM is actually quite all right—save for that Luka swap.
What Nico Harrison Did in Dallas: A Timeline
The Mavs hired Nico Harrison as GM on 28 June 2021. From that point on until his firing on Tuesday, he made the following moves:
2021–22 NBA Season
- 10 August 2021 – Re-signs Dončić to a supermax (five years, $207 million).
- 10 February 2022 – Trades Kristaps Porziņģis (owed $101 million for three years) plus a 2022 second-round pick to the Washington Wizards for Spencer Dinwiddie and Dāvis Bertāns.
2022–23 NBA Season
6 February 2023 – Trades Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, and multiple picks (2029 first- and second-round picks, 2027 second-round pick) to the Brooklyn Nets for Kyrie Irving and Markieff Morris.
2023–24 NBA Season
- 6 July 2023 – Trades Cason Wallace and Dāvis Bertāns to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Dereck Lively II.
- 8 February 2024 – Trades Richaun Holmes plus a 2024 first-round pick to the Washington Wizards for Daniel Gafford.
- 8 February 2024 – Trades Grant Williams, Seth Curry, and a 2027 first-round pick to the Charlotte Hornets for P.J. Washington.
2024–25 NBA Season
- July 2024 – Signs Naji Marshall to a three-year, $27 million contract. Trades Tim Hardaway Jr. plus three second-round picks to the Detroit Pistons for Quentin Grimes. Trades Josh Green plus a 2031 second-round pick to facilitate a sign-and-trade for Klay Thompson (three years for $50 million).
- 2 February 2025 – Trades Luka Dončić, Maxi Kleber, Markieff Morris, and a 2025 second-round pick to the Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a 2029 first-round pick.
- 4 February 2025 – Trades Quentin Grimes plus a 2025 second-round pick to the Philadelphia 76ers for Caleb Martin and a 2030 second-round pick.
- 25 June 2025 – Drafts Cooper Flagg with the no. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
How Nico Harrison Fared
One could argue that Nico Harrison actually did quite well in his first three seasons as Dallas’ GM. He locked in Dončić for five years, got rid of the oft-injured Porziņģis and his massive contract, and then brought in Kyrie Irving to be the Slovenian’s superstar running mate.
Harrison then got his dynamic duo plenty of help with the acquisitions of Lively, Gafford, and Washington, all of whom helped Irving and Dončić make it to the 2024 NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics. The former Nike executive even improved that roster without letting key pieces go by bringing in Marshall, Grimes, and Thompson to reinforce that core of Dončić, Irving, Lively, Gafford, and Washington.
But Dallas struggled early last season, and Harrison inexplicably traded Dončić in February. Things unravelled since then, with injuries hitting the Mavs’ key players. Irving, in particular, tore his ACL in March, while Davis continues to be unreliable because of a plethora of injuries. All of Gafford, Lively, and Washington have also missed time.
In all, Harrison’s tenure saw the Mavs make it to the 2022 Western Conference Finals and the 2024 NBA Finals, miss the playoffs entirely in 2023, and lose in the play-in to the Grizzlies in the last postseason. This season, the Mavs are again struggling, limping off to a 3–8 record as of press time (only the New Orleans Pelicans are worse in the West at 2–8). In contrast, Dončić and the Lakers are thriving even without LeBron James, racing out to an 8–3 record with the Slovenian making magic in La-La Land.
A Final Word on Nico Harrison
This poor start, ostensibly, was the final straw that sealed Nico Harrison’s fate as Mavs GM. He will rightfully be remembered as the man who traded Luka Dončić—and rightfully so.
However, to brand Nico Harrison as a horrible GM purely on that trade seems a bit reductive, disingenuous even. Yes, he traded a generational talent and got fleeced for it, but he also constructed a roster that was a piece or good break away from potentially winning it all in 2024. Even the team he’ll now leave is actually quite talented and arguably the deepest Dallas has had in years—if it could ever get healthy.
So, yes, we can mock Nico Harrison all we want for trading the Slovenian sensation doing great guns in LA. But we should also remember that once upon a time, this same deposed GM did pretty well, too.
