What Nico Harrison did nine months ago did, in fact, stand as an irreparable mistake. The day many Mavericks fans were longing for finally came. The franchise announced its former general manager’s departure, ending a tumultuous stint that saw the team go from being in the NBA Finals to having their fans turn against them. However, Harrison was a renowned name before landing a job with the Mavericks.

Previously, he worked with Nike as the Vice President of North America basketball operations. As is the case when anybody works for such a long time, not all decisions can be hits. The same is the case with the former Mavericks GM. Today, we look back at some of those errors that Harrison himself may want to forget.

Not securing Stephen Curry’s future with Nike

The iconic swoosh is home to several top NBA athletes. Frankly, Nike is probably the most prominent sports brand out there. However, they could have been something so big, it would be unfathomable. To start his career, a young Stephen Curry was a Nike athlete. This was before all the MVPs and him being the greatest shooter. Nonetheless, his hype was still built.

Nike remained in the prime seat to retain him. Nico Harrison was tasked with leading a presentation for the same. But that’s where it all went wrong. During the presentation, one of the slides had Kevin Durant’s name, exposing the use of a pre-made presentation not catered to Curry. Furthermore, several of the officials pronounced Curry’s name wrong, Harrison not being one of them.

But with the responsibility of leading the pitch, it was an absolute disaster. The company that did its due diligence was Under Armour. They secured a contract with Curry, which has now grown into a brand of its own. A few years ago, Curry reportedly signed a billion-dollar lifetime deal with the brand. Their partnership has turned out to be incredibly lucrative, with 12 signature shoes and hundreds of millions in sales.

Yet, Nico Harrison did mostly well with Nike. It’s his stint with the Dallas Mavericks that really put a dent in his legacy.

Jrue Holiday and Nikola Jokic in the same tier?

In 2021, when the Mavs hired Nico Harrison, it was to bring structure to their front office. But among executives, there were doubts whether his role to evaluate talent with Nike would translate to the NBA. The proof of that quickly came to the forefront. Amidst his firing, All DLLS revealed something major.

Notably, during a front office meeting, Harrison placed both Jrue Holiday and Nikola Jokic in the same trade target tier. With his mantra that defense wins championships, it’s understandable why Holiday would rank so high. But when there’s a three-time MVP on the same list, it starts to become ludicrous.

There’s not much to explain. Holiday, a two-time champion, has delivered the goods with two different teams. But the Joker is a franchise-altering talent who could literally change a team’s fortunes around. None of these moves ever materialized, but it is still a startling revelation.

Nico Harrison dragged Mark Cuban away from the Mavericks

No matter how many owners change, Cuban and the Mavericks just belong together. So when he sold a majority stake, the multi-billionaire wanted to remain close. Notably, the agreement between him and the Adelson family was for him to continue running basketball operations.

But that didn’t last. If it did, Cuban has publicly said Luka Doncic would never be traded. And he also revealed that in some ways, his own mistakes got him to this place. Yet, Harrison did play a role.

While speaking at the All In Summit, Cuban said, “There were some things that happened internally where the person who traded Luka [Doncic] didn’t want me there,”. What role Nico Harrison played in swaying Patrick Dumont, or whether he did, hasn’t been confirmed by anybody else. But there have been some questionable decisions since he assumed complete control.

Firing Casey Smith, a 20-year employee of the Mavericks

Casey Smith worked as the director of health and performance with the Mavericks. He rose to that role after spending decades with the team. Smith has a really close relationship with Dirk Nowitzki. Additionally, he would also join the team’s contingent to regularly visit Luka Doncic in Slovenia during the offseason.

Still, in restricting the front office, Nico Harrison fired him. And it all happened on a Zoom call when Casey Smith was looking after his terminally ill mother. “The reason for the dismissal centered on Smith being ‘too negative,’ according to sources briefed on the discussion who interpreted the vague reasoning to mean Smith wasn’t enough of a yes-man,” ESPN’s Tim MacMahon reported.

Its ripple effects began the ultimate breakdown of the franchise. Notably, Doncic lost a close confidante. Nowitzki was hurt by the decision, and separated himself from the Mavericks organization. It all went downhill from there. But there was more to come.

Letting Jalen Brunson join the Knicks

Nico Harrison wasn’t the only person responsible for Jalen Brunson leaving the Mavericks. But as the general manager, his voice mattered. So when the now prolific Knicks guard said he wanted to be in Dallas and was willing to sign a $55 million extension, all hell broke loose. At that time, Mark Cuban was still the majority owner.

In his eyes, several factors played a role in their losing the All-Star guard. But Brunson revealed that the Mavs front office delayed the decision. It was only at the end of the season that they came back with the same deal. By that time, Jalen Brunson had become a top guard, leading the Mavericks in the postseason while Doncic was injured.

“I was like, ‘No, I think I’ve outgrown that now,'” Brunon said about his response on the All The Smoke podcast. Still, the Mavs managed to replace him with Kyrie Irving, so it didn’t make that huge of a difference in terms of team construction. The same can’t be said about Harrison’s recent business.

The unforgivable sin: trading Luka Doncic

February 2, 2025, was the day Nico Harrison might have thought he sealed a championship future for the Mavericks. But it began the countdown to the end of his tenure. Luka Doncic had just led the Mavericks to the NBA Finals. Yes, injuries did often hamper him, but because of the excruciating workload he assumed.

Yet, Nico Harrison didn’t understand what he meant to the community. He struck a deal with the Lakers, bringing in an injury-prone Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and just one first-round pick for a star yet to hit his prime. Many scrutinized the deal for the lack of assets the Mavs retained in exchange for their talisman.

Furthermore, many didn’t understand AD as a target when conditioning issues were cited as the reasons for parting ways with Doncic. Nine months later, the Lakers are 8-3, with the Slovenian averaging 37 points and in the best shape of his life. That’s all he needed, a little fire under his belly to be intentional.

But it came in a way no one imagined. Still, the Mavericks’ general manager could have kept the team steady before making another mistake.

Nico Harrison failed to see the value in Quentin Grimes

Trading Luka Doncic already puts the Mavs in peril. But the following move put the team deeper into their mess. Notably, Quentin Grimes was shipped to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Caleb Martin. He had played a vital role on the Heat. But Grimes went to Philly, with an injury-riddled team, and seized the opportunity.

The 25-year-old averaged 21.9 points in the 28 games since his trade. This season, he is putting up close to 18. But here’s a crazier stat that shows how negative the exchange has been. According to Andy Bailey, Grimes has scored 784 points and hit 107 threes since his move. At the same time, Martin is yet to reach 100 points.

The Mavericks and Nico Harrison made the same mistake twice. They traded away a young guard who could have played a vital role after Doncic’s loss. The culmination of all of these moves left Patrick Dumont with no choice. Worst of all, the Mavericks fanbase could start healing, but it’s unclear how they can fully recover.