Nico Harrison Reportedly Fired by Mavs, What Is Team's Future Draft Picks, Salary Cap?
Nico Harrison is out of a job less than a year after he dramatically reshaped the present and future for the Dallas Mavericks.
ESPN's Shams Charania and Tim MacMahon reported Tuesday the Mavs are expected to fire their general manager.
Whoever succeeds Harrison will have to dig out of a serious hole. Stars Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving are signed through 2026-27 at a minimum and both could pick up their player options for 2027-28. Together, they'd combine to make $105.2 million that year.
And by prioritizing Davis rather than draft capital from the Luka Dončić, Harrison leaves little on that front as well. The Mavericks don't have a second-round pick until 2030, and the 2026 is the only time they control their own first-rounder without any protections or swap rights before 2031.
Now that Harrison is no longer part of the equation, the next question is how quickly Dallas embraces a total rebuild.
Even at the time, the Dončić trade looked shortsighted. Flipping him for Davis improved the Mavericks on defense but didn't dramatically raise their championship ceiling. And for all of the concerns about Luka's and longevity, Harrison brought in a player with a more substantial injury record.
Dallas' short-term outlook is bleak. Irving is recovering from a torn ACL that will keep him out for most or all of 2025-26, while Davis is dealing with a calf strain. This is supposed to be when the franchise is in championship contention mode, yet it has the second-worst record (3-8) in the Western Conference.
The obvious, albeit painful, decision is to let the next general manager initiate a fire sale and make No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg the focal point.
Davis is a 10-time All-Star and five-time All-NBA honoree who's continuing to perform at a high level. He averaged 24.7 points, 11.6 rebounds and 2.2 blocks between his time with Dallas and the Los Angeles Lakers last year. Surely he could yield a first-round pick plus other assets in a trade.
The markets for Irving and Klay Thompson will be tighter. Irving's ACL tear only exacerbated the general concerns about his durability. Thompson, meanwhile, is shooting just 26.7 percent from three-point range and got shifted to the bench.
Even if Dallas can't secure a big return for the pair, getting their salaries off the books would be a win on its own.
As tough as a rebuild inevitably is for any team, the Mavs are at least a little ahead of the curve by virtue of landing Flagg.
