The Mavericks fired Nico Harrison on Tuesday, nine months after he traded Luka Dončić to the Lakers, and six days after the New Orleans Pelicans beat Dallas, 101-99. On Wednesday, NBA insider Marc Stein wrote that "the momentum to fire Harrison really began to build up over the past week." He cited the loss to the Pelicans (subscription required) as one of the reasons.
New Orleans traveled to play Dallas for the second half of a back-to-back, without Zion Williamson, who hasn't played since Nov. 2 due to a hamstring strain. The Pelicans left American Airlines Center with the win, led by Saddiq Bey, who finished with 22 points, nine rebounds, and one assist.
Dallas was shorthanded, too, with its two stars, Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving, sidelined. That was part of the issue, though. Harrison thought AD would push the Mavericks closer to a title than Donćić, but the latter has played in only 14 regular-season games for Dallas since the trade happened. His availability has been a concern, making Harrison's reasoning for the trade even more baffling.
The fact that the Mavericks couldn't hold off the Pelicans on their home court said a lot about the current state of their organization. Homecourt advantage didn't mean anything in Dallas, not with fans chanting "Fire Nico."
Mavs fired Nico Harrison a few days after Pelicans beat them in Dallas
The Mavericks sit only one spot above the Pelicans in the conference standings, at No. 14. Rather than let things spiral even further out of control, Patrick Dumont, who approved the trade without realizing how bad it truly would be, stepped in to put an end to Harrison's time in Dallas. The move doesn't magically fix all of the Mavs' issues, but it was still necessary. More than necessary, actually.
Going from making a surprise run to the 2024 NBA Finals to trading your 25-year-old generational superstar less than a year later made no sense. That's why the deal will go down as one of the worst in NBA history. Everyone knew that as soon as they realized that ESPN's Shams Charania hadn't been hacked after all.
On one hand, it's somewhat satisfying for Pelicans fans to know that their favorite team contributed, even if only a little bit, to the Mavericks' chaos. On the other hand, those same fans recognize that their organization also needs to undergo a major change.