Mavs Owner Laughs After Fan Thanks Him For Firing Nico Harrison After ‘Criminal’ Luka Doncic Trade

Recent criticisms of Luka Doncic have brought back Nico Harrison and the Dallas Mavericks' decision to trade him last season.

Mavs Owner Laughs After Fan Thanks Him For Firing Nico Harrison After ‘Criminal’ Luka Doncic Trade

Luka Doncic, Nico Harrison, and Patrick Dumont (Image via FirstSportz)

In Short
  • Luka Doncic was traded from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers, leading to the firing of GM Nico Harrison.
  • Mavericks owner Patrick Dumont received thanks from a fan for Harrison's dismissal, indicating a shift in fan sentiment.
  • Analysts criticized the trade, arguing that Harrison undervalued Doncic's market potential, impacting his future in the NBA.

Luka Doncic is long gone, and the Dallas Mavericks have also parted with Nico Harrison, who made the deal to send their franchise cornerstone to the Los Angeles Lakers. His vision was that without the Slovenian hogging the ball and putting in little effort on defense, the Mavs would become NBA champions for the second time in their history.

But that vision fell short as injuries and roster chemistry issues stopped them from ever being in touch with a play-in spot. Now, the franchise is rumored to be tanking as they look to dip into next year’s promising draft.

Since such rumors spread, attendance at the American Airlines Center has dwindled. Even then, some ardent fans try to make it to the arena to watch their favorite team play.

Dumont, thank you for firing Nico.

A fan told Mavs governor Patrick Dumont

This was the message a young Mavericks fan had for Patrick Dumont, whose mother-in-law, Miriam Adelson, paid Mark Cuban $3.5 billion to purchase a majority stake in the franchise.

You’re Welcome.

Patrick Dumont replied

The CEO and Chairman of Las Vegas Sands Corp was laughing when he replied to the fan, naturally going with the flow of what they think about his decision to fire Nico Harrison earlier this season.

Not only was Patrick Dumont receptive to the fans’ opinion, but it was also a major departure from the time when franchise supporters booed him after the Luka Doncic trade happened.

Stephen A. Smith takes offense to Draymond Green’s opinion about Nico Harrison’s criticism

Even though Patrick Dumont has seemingly earned back respect from Dallas Mavericks fans for firing Nico Harrison, some believe that the former GM was unjustly criticized for his past opinion of Luka Doncic.

Nico Harrison with Patrick Dumont earlier in the season
Nico Harrison with Patrick Dumont earlier in the season (Image via Barstool Sports/X)

Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green was the most vocal, who claimed that many in the media were hypocritical for criticizing the Lakers’ superstar, even though Nico Harrison had used that same logic when justifying his decision to trade Doncic.

I think that in this particular instance, Draymond Green is being incredibly unfair… You got Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a pick to show for Luka Doncic? That was the crime!…. We talk about this one deal. Which was egregious and forever stained him. So much so, it is highly unlikely he will ever get a job as a basketball. executive in the NBA again.

Stephen A. Smith said on First Take

The ESPN analyst reiterated that he and many others love Nico Harrison. However, his decision to trade Luka Doncic away almost for nothing was what left everyone baffled.

Smith pointed out that had the former Nike executive placed the Slovenian on the open trade market, he would have gotten a lot more picks and assets. That is why Harrison took the fall for his decision, and that Green got it all wrong with his media criticism.

Luka Doncic celebrated 27th birthday with Novak Djokovic

Luka Doncic and his Los Angeles Lakers celebrated their second straight win after almost ending last month on a losing run. Thankfully, the win against the Sacramento Kings came on time, as otherwise, it could have ruined his birthday celebrations.

The five-time All-NBA first-teamer was turning 27 and had tennis legend Novak Djokovic in the stands at Crypto.com Arena. It turns out, the Serbian was there for a different reason. A video clip surfaced showing the 24-time Grand Slam champion in a restaurant with his fellow Balkan basketball star, signing along in their native language.

Doncic then blew out candles on a massive twin-layer cake. They continued to sing their native songs as dancers clad in their traditional attire paced themselves throughout the restaurant.

This was probably the Lakers star’s way of celebrating with those close to home, as earlier, his teammates sang happy birthday to him and made him cut a cake.

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