Less than a year after the blockbuster Luka Dončić trade, the Mavericks have fired general manager Nico Harrison.
As Harrison's four-season-plus tenure as Mavericks GM comes to an end, we took a look back at his biggest moves and moments from 2025, starting with the league-shattering deal that started it all.
Here is Harrison's firing timeline dating back to that fateful night in February:
Night of Feb. 1: Mavericks trade Luka Dončić
The Mavericks sent Dončić, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris to the Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick.
The three-team trade also saw the Jazz receive Lakers guard Jalen Hood-Schifino, a 2025 Los Angeles Clippers second-round pick (from the Lakers) and a 2025 second-round pick from the Mavericks.
Feb. 2: Harrison shares details of the secret trade
Harrison revealed in a Mavs press conference that he helped facilitate the Dončić trade with Lakers GM Rob Pelinka and kept nearly everyone in the dark, including Mavs head coach Jason Kidd and former Mavs majority owner Mark Cuban.
Cuban, who sold his majority stake in 2023, previously said how he wasn't involved in the trade, and he confirmed to Front Office Sports that he didn't know the trade was happening, but he did receive a call “just before it was announced.”
Kidd reportedly "resented" Harrison and the Mavericks' front office for the move.
Cuban said he received a call right before the trade was announced and confirmed he wasn't involved in it in any way. Cuban has maintained he was against the trade from the start.
Feb. 2: Report about Dončić's conditioning comes out
ESPN's Tim MacMahon reported the day after the Dončić trade that the Mavericks had concerns about his work ethic and "conditioning issues," as well as concerns over his commitment to another supermax contract extension.
Dončić later rebuffed the idea that he wasn't committed to the Mavs. He also addressed his alleged conditioning issues many times, most recently in July: "I mean honestly I tried to not read much. I think I was still a pretty good basketball player back then, no matter what people say."
Harrison himself downplayed the reports of Dončić's conditioning: "He's probably dropped the most points when maybe he's not in the best conditioning, so he can do that. That's not an issue."
April 9: Dončić returns to Dallas for the first time since trade
Dončić returned to American Airlines Center as a member of the Lakers and played his former team for the first time. He was honored by the Mavericks with a sweet pregame tribute video and visibly became emotional while watching it.
The Lakers star dropped 45 points and sank seven three-pointers in the 112-97 win.
April 15: Harrison holds private closed-door press conference
Harrison met with select members of the Dallas media to discuss the fallout of the Dončić trade. No cameras or audio devices were allowed in the room.
Harrison reportedly kept repeating, "Defense wins championships," his long-held justification for why he decided to deal Dončić. He also continued to double down on the trade.
"My responsibility to the fanbase is to put a championship-caliber team on the floor," Harrison said. "We’re going to be judged by wins and losses."
April 18: Dončić reveals his heartbreaking reaction to trade
Very few people knew exactly how Dončić felt about his blockbuster trade until he sat down in an interview with ESPN's Malika Andrews. In one of the Lakers star's most candid moments, Dončić revealed that he threw and broke his phone after finding out he was leaving Dallas.
“Sadness, mostly,” Doncic said when asked what he was feeling the night of the trade. “I was still in shock, like crazy shock. I felt like my heart was broken, honestly.”
April 21: Harrison holds his end-of-season press conference
Harrison held a traditional end-of-season presser addressing the media on camera for the first time since the Dončić trade.
The Mavs GM was asked why he shouldn't be fired from his job, to which Harrison replied:
"I think I've done a really good job here. And I don't think I can be judged by the injuries this year. You have to judge the totality, from beginning to end. And so I think I have a really good working relationship with [owner] Patrick [Dumont]. I think you had in [CEO] Rick [Welts], the leadership that we have is really elite. And you'll see next year when our team comes back, we're going to be competing for a championship."
The Mavs are currently 3-8 to start the 2025 season.
June 25: Mavericks draft Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 Pick
The Mavericks opened a new, hopeful chapter by selecting Duke superstar Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA draft. They won the draft lottery in May despite having only a 1.8% chance of getting the top overall pick.
November 11: Harrison is fired as GM
Expect plenty of fallout from Harrison's sacking to follow.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Nico Harrison Firing Timeline: Every Big Moment Leading Up to Mavericks GM’s Exit.
