And Miriam Adelson should replace Patrick Dumont

Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison and head coach Jason Kidd should be dismissed from their positions as soon as possible. The two are the chief decision makers within the team structure, and neither should remain in their positions following the end of the regular season. The decision to trade Luka Doncic has gutted the franchise both practically and spiritually; there can be no healing for Dallas fans and no ability to right the organizational ship with these two at the helm.

During the weeks following the seismic trade of Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis, mismanagement, incompetence, and disdain reared their heads repeatedly. Trust in the power structure deteriorated with nearly every passing day. Yes, bad luck has played a part in the collapse of the Mavericks; Kyrie Irving’s injury being the main culprit. Harrison also traded for not one, but two injured players at the deadline in Davis and Caleb Martin.

But there’s more to it than that. There’s an existential crisis surrounding this team and it’s self-imposed. Sponsors are fleeing the team, season ticket holders aren’t returning, and customers are demanding their money back for the fledgling MavsTV package. The revenue situation for the team took a massive hit and  up to nine figures in future earnings lost.

The future is grim as well. The Mavericks will play most of next season without Kyrie Irving as he recovers from his ACL tear. Anthony Davis will lead this limited but salary-strapped team into the 2025-26 season unless drastic changes are made in the off-season. Dallas projects to be over the salary cap but just under the first apron, depending on Irving’s contractual choices. And that doesn’t address the frightening Maverick draft pick situation.

Earlier in Harrison’s tenure, he made numerous moves using future draft capital to build a contender around Doncic.

• The 2027 first-round pick is owned by the Charlotte Hornets with top-two protection status.
• The 2028 first-round pick is controlled by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the form of a pick swap.
• The 2029 first-round pick is owned by the Brooklyn Nets.
• The 2030 first-round pick is controlled by the San Antonio Spurs in the form of a swap.
• Dallas has no second-round picks of their own in 2025, 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029, 2030, or 2031.

The cupboard is bare. Harrison could look to move this year’s 2025 pick and even the 2031 pick to save face following this disastrous season.

With Davis at the helm next season, Dallas projects to be a back-end playoff team at best, but that’s expecting a lot for a player who’s managed to play fewer games than Kristaps Porzingis over the last five seasons. The Mavericks should fire Harrison and Kidd, work with Kyrie Irving for whatever extension he wants while he recovers, trade Anthony Davis somewhere favorable, and truly start over. Without a fresh start, this team will slowly bleed to death, because they aren’t good enough to meaningfully compete in future seasons, and there’s no hope coming in the form of draft picks.

The two main players in this saga have no shame and it’s insulting. Kidd, giving pithy quotes like how the trade getting compared to the Babe Ruth trade is “pretty cool”, Harrison with his unwillingness to speak to media or show his face at home games while he socializes on the road, hobnobbing gleefully with other team executives at center court. Then there’s the constant drip of off record leaking which tried to make Dončić the problem. Enough.

It’s time for these two to go. Everyone knows it, save perhaps the Adelson family and current team governor Patrick Dumont. Heck, an entire arena chanted “Fire Nico” with audiences around the world hearing through the ESPN broadcast. Perhaps the financial implications or the worsening public relations catastrophe will force their hand. We fans have been sacrificed in this transaction. There won’t be any sense of closure with this historical Dallas Mavericks trade until Harrison, Kidd, and even Dumont are no longer associated with the team.