Mavericks fire GM Nico Harrison 9 months after Luka trade

The Dallas Mavericks fired general manager Nico Harrison, the team announced Tuesday.

Harrison was in his fifth season overseeing the Mavericks but had drawn the ire of the fan base since trading Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers last season. Although the team subsequently won the draft lottery and selected Cooper Flagg first overall, Dallas is 3-8 to start the new campaign, including a 2-5 record at home, and sits second-to-last in the Western Conference.

Mavericks owner Patrick Dumont will tab Michael Finley and assistant GM Matt Riccardi as interim replacements to lead the franchise's basketball operations, sources told ESPN's Shams Charania. Finley played eight-and-a-half seasons in Dallas after arriving via trade from the Phoenix Suns in 1996.

Dumont defended the decision to trade Doncic in the days following the deal, adding he understood the frustration from fans. However, he told a young Mavericks supporter during Monday's 116-114 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks that he felt "horrible for the trade," according to Christian Clark of The Athletic.

In an open letter to fans following Harrison's dismissal, Dumont called the decision "critical to moving our franchise forward in a positive direction."

"I understand the profound impact these difficult last several months have had," the Mavs owner said. "Please know that I'm fully committed to the success of the Mavericks."

Adding to the club's woes, a calf strain has kept Anthony Davis, the marquee return from the Lakers for Doncic, out of the last six contests. He also missed 18 straight games for the Mavericks last season after suffering a groin injury in his team debut.

Flagg is having a mixed start to his NBA career. Mavs coach Jason Kidd has asked the 6-foot-9 Duke product to play out of position as a rookie, occasionally entrusting Flagg to run the offense at point guard. However, the 18-year-old has displayed flashes of the talent that made him the consensus No. 1 pick this year. He scored a season-high 26 points in Monday's loss, including a difficult layup over Giannis Antetokounmpo with under 30 seconds left that temporarily gave Dallas the lead.

Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, Doncic is off to arguably the best start to any season in his career. The former Mavs franchise star is averaging 37.1 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 9.1 assists through seven games, leading the Lakers to an 8-3 record with co-star LeBron James yet to play this campaign.