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The Dallas Mavericks’ 2024-2025 season is in the books, and it will be talked about for a long time, but not for good reasons. The trade orchestrated by Mavs general manager Nico Harrison that sent franchise superstar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for a package headlined by Anthony Davis was universally panned by the franchise’s fans, many of whom have publicly sworn off the franchise for good.
On Monday, Nico Harrison did his first public press conference since the trade just a few days after the team was eliminated in the Play-In Tournament by the Grizzlies on Friday. He faced plenty of scrutiny on Monday about the Luka Doncic trade, and showed just how out-of-touch he is.
The middle-of-the-night Groundhog Day trade shook the sports world to its core, and Mavericks fans were instantly furious. Since then, the vitriol has not died down whatsoever, and every Dallas home game the rest of the year was full of “Fire Nico” chants. Trading the face of the franchise, especially one like Luka Doncic that won NBA Rookie of the Year and then ran off five straight All-NBA First-Team selections his next five seasons and is only 26 years old. Plus, Doncic was a natural transition as a European star from the Dirk Nowitzki era, and the two even got to play a season together. Doncic meant a lot to the fans of the franchise!
Apparently Nico Harrison didn’t understand just how much Luka meant to the franchise. Take a look.
Mavs GM Nico Harrison says he did not realize how important Luka Dončić was to Dallas fans:
"I did know that Luka was important to the fan base. I didn't quite know it to what level."pic.twitter.com/7vlrK5OqiQ
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) April 21, 2025
Harrison is in his fourth season at the general manager in Dallas. How in the world did he not know how much Luka Doncic meant to the fan base? Did he not see the thousands of Doncic jerseys in the stands every home game? Did he not hear the ovations that Doncic would get? How can he be so out-of-touch with the fan base. For that to happen to an owner is one thing. But, the GM should never be that out-of-touch. Eventually, Nico Harrison is going to lose his job because of it.