Tuesday morning, a dark cloud cleared over the heads of Maverick fans across the globe when it was announced that Nico Harrison would be fired following the team’s 3-8 start to the season. The man who selfishly took a championship-contending team and traded its star player, Luka Doncic, in the dead of the night in an act of cowardice will no longer be in control of this organization’s future.
The joy felt in that moment was one of the few that I have had regarding the Mavericks over the last nine
months. Like many of you, watching Dallas basketball was my getaway from life. I had never felt more proud and happy to be part of something than I was when the Mavericks defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2024, securing their spot in the Finals. Our community of MFFLs felt like a family. We had watched this team build something beautiful, and we got to be a part of that! Though they ultimately fell short to the Celtics in five games, the future had never felt brighter.
After spending the following summer acquiring assets that would seemingly put a Doncic-led team over the finish line, Nico Harrison threw it all in the toilet in one move that has decimated the organization. Harrison essentially took the keys to the castle and handed them over to his long-time buddy, Rob Pelinka, GM of the Lakers. And what did he receive in return? A player with a CVS receipt list of an injury history who has only worn a Mavericks uniform 14 times.
This trade affected my mental health more than I’d like to admit, and I imagine I am not alone in that sentiment. A lot of people around me in my everyday life probably think I’m crazy because this is all I have talked about in the last nine months. Watching Doncic play evokes a joy second to none, often making it difficult not to mimic the childlike joy he plays with. Sure, I can go turn on a Lakers game at any point, but it will never feel the same watching him play in any other uniform. He was our guy, and now we have to go watch him sport yellow and gold for the foreseeable future, while Dallas remains in purgatory with their future.
After Harrison was fired, it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. It felt like it was finally time that I could take back the joy that he stole from me and many of you in watching this team. It brought a lot of the community back together that had been broken following the organization’s dismantling. It had been difficult to enjoy watching this team this season. Being a part of Cooper Flagg’s early NBA journey has been incredible to witness, but I felt an overwhelming sense of dread watching the team, knowing they had no future with Harrison leading the charge.
Going into Wednesday’s game against Phoenix, I didn’t care about the results. I just wanted to enjoy the process, and it finally felt like I was able to for the first time this season. There were many bright sides to that game despite the loss. Flagg had a fun defensive game, Max Christie still can’t miss from behind the arc, and Moussa Cisse was active on both sides of the floor and continues to show why he deserves a guaranteed contract. It is going to be a long process for Dallas to return to any level of true success, but there are things to be hopeful about now that Harrison, who saw himself as the team, is no longer in charge.
Looking at the bright side of things will be how I personally move on from this; it won’t erase the memories or the pain felt. I don’t know what will happen moving forward, but I am looking forward to the journey with this community and long for the days that we share that same joy that we all once did in the summer of 2024.
