A year after the Luka Doncic trade detonated the relationship between the Mavericks and their fan base, Dallas finally looks like a franchise trying to put the wreckage behind it. The firing of Nico Harrison closed the book on a stretch that had turned every home game into a referendum on the front office, and it came just in time to spare the organization from carrying that anger much longer.
The end was always coming. Harrison’s decision to send Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 1, 2025 still stands as the most shocking move in sports history, and the fallout was immediate.
Booing, jeering, and the “Fire Nico” chant followed the team everywhere, with American Airlines Center becoming the loudest stage for the backlash. That chant hit its peak on Nov. 10 last year, when Dallas blew a late lead against the Milwaukee Bucks at home, fell to 3-8, and pushed team governor Patrick Dumont to call Harrison into what became his final meeting with the organization the next morning.
Even the No. 1 pick in the next draft couldn’t save him. Drafting Cooper Flagg gave the Mavericks a generational prospect, but it only delayed the inevitable. One year later, the move everyone expected finally happened.
Harrison had spent that time defending his “vision” of a title team built around defense, while also taking aim at Doncic in a way that only made the whole thing uglier. The gamble looked worse as the pieces around him unraveled.
Kyrie Irving tore his ACL a month after the trade. Anthony Davis, the centerpiece of the deal, spent more time unavailable than on the floor and was later traded at the deadline after Harrison was gone.
Since then, Dallas has moved fast to reset. Dumont bought out his casino magnate mother-in-law and took full operational control, with plans for a new arena part of the next chapter.
He then brought in Masai Ujiri to run basketball operations and serve as alternate governor, and Ujiri wasted little time clearing the deck. Jason Kidd was dismissed, several Harrison-era staffers were moved out, and Mike Schmitz was hired as general manager.
The coaching search ended with Dusty May, fresh off a national championship with Michigan. The very next day, Dallas used the No. 9 overall pick on Morez Johnson Jr., another ex-Wolverine.
On the floor, Flagg has given the fan base something to believe in. He is tracking toward All-NBA status before turning 20, and his play has done plenty to soften the sting of watching Doncic put together another MVP-caliber season elsewhere. Irving is back from injury, handling back-to-backs, and still providing the kind of scoring and leadership Dallas needs, with more than 20 points per game.
There are still real issues. The Mavericks do not control a first-round pick until the start of the next decade.
Dereck Lively II is dealing with the effects of a string of lower-body injuries. Irving is 34, and his timeline does not line up neatly with the young core around him.
But after everything that happened a year ago, fans would have taken this version of the Mavericks in a heartbeat.
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Cooper Flagg has been one of the players reflecting that shift, both in the way he is producing and in the way he describes the group around him. The rookie has pointed to a more positive atmosphere inside the locker room, a notable contrast from the heavier tone that came with last season's struggles, and it is one more sign that the Mavericks believe the reset is starting to take hold. [Read more 🡒]
Cooper Flagg Is Already Forcing The Mavericks To Rethink Everything
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The latest reminder came in a big scoring night against Indiana, when Flagg poured in 43 points and helped push Dallas to another win. The performance only added to the sense that his ceiling is rising fast, with talk already centering on his All-Star potential and his importance to the Mavericks long-term plans. For a team trying to sort out its direction, Flagg is making the future look a lot more immediate. [Read more 🡒]