The Dallas Mavericks fired GM Nico Harrison on Tuesday, nine months after he traded Luka Doncic away and became public enemy No. 1 of the fanbase. The player he acquired in the deal, Anthony Davis, can’t be happy that Patrick Dumont just admitted that the blockbuster was a loss for the franchise.
CBS Sports’ Sam Quinn believes the Mavs would be better off sitting Davis until the inevitable trade, considering the risk of having him out there poses. Davis has one of the league’s most extensive injury histories.
“Honestly if you’re the Mavericks you might need to sit Anthony Davis out until a trade happens. You can’t risk him getting hurt again, that trade is too important,” Quinn wrote.
Dumont admitted at the very least that the 2025-26 season’s first few weeks have been regrettable.
“No one associated with the Mavericks organization is happy with the start of what we all believed would be a promising season. You have high expectations for the Mavericks, and I share them with you. When the results don’t meet expectations, it’s my responsibility to act. I’ve made the decision to part ways with General Manager Nico Harrison,” Dumont said in an open letter following Harrison’s firing.
At the end of the day, Dumont signed off on acquiring Davis and ditching dishing out a supermax deal to Doncic. He was the one who put the franchise in the position it’s in, not even two years removed from a Finals appearance.
Luckily, they have Cooper Flagg and several tradeable veterans beyond Davis that they can trade in a retooling effort around the 2025 NBA draft’s No. 1 pick. Several teams have had worse histories since the Mavs last won a title in 2011.
This franchise will survive the Luka setback. The real question is, how long will it take for Dallas to return to perennially making noise in the Western Conference?
The answer probably hinges on who Harrison’s replacement gets for Davis, Daniel Gafford, P.J. Washington, Naji Marshall, and the like.