Dallas Mavericks fans who have been chanting “Fire Nico!” got their wish on Tuesday when the franchise fired Nico Harrison as general manager and president of basketball operations months after he shipped Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.

According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi will lead basketball operations on an interim basis.

Harrison accepted responsibility for the trade and defended it by claiming there were concerns over Doncic’s weight issues and commitment to conditioning after the 26-year-old phenom was shipped away. Longtime owner Mark Cuban, who no longer has controlling interest in the team after selling the majority of the family to Miriam Adelson and Patrick Dumont, said he didn’t know the trade was happening until after it was already finalized.

Harrison only spoke to reporters once in the immediate aftermath of the trade and has sparingly done media since then. During a press conference alongside head coach Jason Kidd, he admitted that he wouldn’t be Mavs GM for much longer if the trade didn’t work out for the team.

“The future to me is [three, four] years from now,” Harrison said, per Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports. “The future 10 years from now — they’ll probably bury me and [Kidd] by then. Or we’ll bury ourselves.”

Harrison’s statement proved prophetic, as Dallas suffered a massive downturn after the trade with unfortunate injuries to key players before finishing the season with a 39-43 record and getting eliminated in the final play-in tournament game.

Anthony Davis, who headlined the trade package from the Lakers, missed six weeks after suffering an adductor strain in his Mavs debut. Star point guard Kyrie Irving suffered a season-ending torn ACL in early March, leaving Davis without a strong running mate when he returned near the end of last season.

The Mavs lucked out when they surprisingly won the NBA draft lottery and used the No. 1 pick to select star forward Cooper Flagg. Unfortunately, the good vibes were short-lived, as Dallas has started the 2025-26 season with a 3-8 record while Flagg endures rookie struggles. Davis suffered a calf injury early in the year that put him on the sidelines next to Irving, who remains out while recovering from his torn ACL.

With so many questions about an aging roster, firing Harrison is a major indictment of the Mavs’ new ownership group. While the decision will appease the most vocal members of the fan base, Dallas will now need to find a new leader to take over a franchise with an uncertain future.