Mavs Rumors Reveal Team's Timeline to Hire Nico Harrison's Replacement 1 Year After Luka Trade

The Dallas Mavericks reportedly have a target date for securing their next general manager after firing Nico Harrison earlier this season.

NBA insider Marc Stein reported that league sources said the Mavs' "clear goal" is to "have their new lead decision-maker in the front office hired before the June draft." At 19-30, Dallas is on track to be picking in the lottery for the second straight year after landing star rookie Cooper Flagg with the 2025 No. 1 pick.

Harrison, who was responsible for trading star guard Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers last year, was fired in November after a 3-8 start to the 2025-26 season. Stein went on to explain that Mavs owner Patrick Dumont isn't revealing much about who he's eyeing to fill the vacated role.

"Yet little, still, is known about the sort of candidate that interests Dumont beyond the pre-requisite that the new hire has much more experience than Harrison, who had never worked for an NBA team before [Mark] Cuban hired him away from a two-decade stint as a top Nike executive to replace Donnie Nelson in June 2021," Stein stated. "I'm told that the search process for Harrison's replacement remains in its early stages and isn't expected to ramp up in earnest until the spring."

The Mavs are trying to build around Flagg as they usher in a new era, so they need a front office leader with a clear vision to get the team back into title contention. There will be a lot of work to do to clean up the mess Harrison left behind, but Dallas is still one of the top landing spots in the league.