Dirk Nowitzki Feels Dallas Mavericks Fans Were ‘Robbed’ By Nico Harrison’s Luka Dončić Trade, Reacts To GM’s Firing

The Dallas Mavericks moved swiftly this week to dismiss general manager and president of basketball operations Nico Harrison, ending a four-year tenure that included a trip to the Western Conference Finals in 2022 and the NBA Finals in 2024. Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi will serve as co-interim general managers while the organization launches a search for a permanent replacement.

Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont said the change reflects the franchise’s need to reset its direction.

“This decision reflects our continued commitment to building a championship-caliber organization, one that delivers for our players, our partners, and most importantly, our fans,” Dumont said.

The move comes at a moment of ongoing turbulence following the offseason trade of Luka Dončić and a 3–9 start to the season. But the most pointed reaction came from the Mavericks’ greatest icon, Dirk Nowitzki, who spoke at length on Amazon about why he believed the team had reached a breaking point.

Dirk Nowitzki Felt Nico Harrison Firing Should Have Happened Sooner

Nowitzki began by saying the organization could not continue carrying the distractions that had built around the team.

“Well, I think there’s just too many distractions, too much going on to keep going this way,” Nowitzki said. “This move should have probably happened this summer honestly. I didn’t want this negative energy and this black cloud over the Cooper Flagg era, but here we are now.”

He went on to describe why he felt fans responded so strongly to the Dončić trade and the unraveling that followed.

“I just knew … I figured this fan base is a passionate and loyal fan base,” he said. “I was lucky enough to experience it for 21 years. And I knew they weren’t (going to) just get over it, as people say, or forget about it. They’re extremely passionate.”

Nowitzki then detailed why the deal made “no sense” to supporters after the team had rebuilt its roster around Dončić.

“And this trade just made no sense,” he said. “It made no sense to (the fans). And, really, there was no explanation for it, either. You go to the (NBA) Finals the year before. You gave up all these assets to build, really, the team around Luka with some 6-9 wings that all can switch and guard. You had two lob threats with (Daniel) Gafford and (Dereck) Lively and the team was built around him. You added Klay (when) the shooting was a little bit of an issue in the Finals against Boston. So you did all this. … Going into (the) Christmas Day game, they were 14-3 out of the last 17 games, so they’re just starting to hit their stride and then Luka gets hurt. And unfortunately that’s the last game he’s ever played in a Mavs uniform.”

Dirk Nowitzki Believes Dallas Mavericks Fans ‘Feel Robbed’

The abrupt ending, Nowitzki said, left fans feeling deprived of a rightful conclusion.

“It was very sad,” he said. “It was very sad how that ended and it felt like … the fans feel like they got robbed of actually seeing the end, seeing this through, seeing Luka develop into a hopefully a champion one day and it feels like they never got to see the end to this. So this was very heartbreaking.”

The Mavericks have interest in reintegrating Nowitzki in an advisory role—formal or informal—to ensure his voice is again part of the organization’s decision-making structure.

He emphasized that the priority now is moving forward.

“But now it’s time to move on,” he said. “It’s time to move on now. Focus on this team, on this franchise. This definitely set the franchise back. But now it’s about building it back up. And obviously this team is struggling a bit. It needs the support, all they can get. So hopefully we can have a good year here from now on and cheer the team up.”

The organization hopes to reintegrate Nowitzki in an advisory role—formal or informal—to restore his voice within basketball operations.

Mavericks Shift Forward as Attention Turns to Interim Leadership

Finley and Riccardi, both highly regarded internally, now oversee basketball operations as the franchise attempts to stabilize its future around No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg and the core pieces that remain.

The team continues searching for steady footing on the court as well, entering Friday’s matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers looking to move past a difficult early stretch marked by injuries and late-game execution issues.

Dereck Lively II is expected to return from a right knee sprain on a minute restriction, while P.J. Washington, Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving and Danté Exum remain out.

But inside the organization, this week’s defining shift is clear: the Mavericks have officially closed the chapter on the Harrison era, and Nowitzki’s comments underscore the emotional and structural weight behind that decision.

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