Mavericks make necessary move to fire GM Nico Harrison, which clears the path to better future

The Mavericks missed the playoffs last season and started 3-8 this season, with one of the league’s worst offenses and Davis sitting out with a calf injury. Meanwhile, Doncic, who got himself into premium shape is averaging 34.9 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 8.9 assists for the surging Lakers.

Back to Washington, with the “Fire Nico” chants growing louder, he missed the second free throw and then the third intentionally that was collected by Milwaukee’s Bobby Portis for the Bucks victory.

Harrison was fired 12 hours later.

It ends a tumultuous tenure for the Mavericks, which faced the Celtics in the 2024 Finals, looked like an organization on the rise with Doncic, the rising Dereck Lively, Kyrie Irving, Daniel Gafford, and a solid supporting cast. But Harrison grew annoyed with Doncic and his lack of conditioning, and wanted to change the culture of the organization, which had been consumed by Doncic and his mercurial personality.

Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves have been the centerpieces of a Lakers team that has thrived without an injured LeBron James this season.Jessie Alcheh/Associated Press

Trading Doncic was a major mistake because Harrison underestimated how popular he was in Dallas. A franchise that waited 13 years for Dirk Nowitzki to win his first championship and lauded his dedication to Dallas, would have done the same for Doncic.

New governor Patrick Dumont, who purchased a majority of the club from Mark Cuban, signed off on the Doncic deal, realizing a $300 plus million max extension was approaching, a contract he did not want to offer a player with conditioning issues. Instead of a more stern approach to Doncic and perhaps an ultimatum, Harrison convinced Dumont and coach Jason Kidd a trade would be best.

Dumont essentially blamed Harrison for the organizational upheaval in a letter to season ticket-holders, his only statement about the Harrison firing.

“On May 30, 2024, the Mavericks won the Western Conference championship. We came up short in the NBA Finals, but we all agreed our future was bright. As fans of this franchise, you have every right to demand a commitment to success from us.

“No one associated with the Mavericks organization is happy with the start of what we all believed would be a promising season. You have high expectations for the Mavericks, and I share them with you. When the results don’t meet expectations, it’s my responsibility to act. I’ve made the decision to part ways with General Manager Nico Harrison.”

Harrison staked his reputation on the Doncic trade benefitting the Mavericks. But he depended on Davis to stay healthy, which didn’t happen, and Irving tore his ACL, perhaps a byproduct of being overworked after the trade.

While Flagg is a future cornerstone, Kidd is playing him at point guard, and it has been a difficult transition. Meanwhile, Harrison signed the flaky D’Angelo Russell to soak up point guard minutes and he lost the trust of Kidd in the first week. Lively and Gafford can’t stay healthy. Klay Thompson, who left the Warriors because they suggested the 35-year-old come off the bench, is averaging a career-low 8.5 points and shooting 29 percent from the 3-point line.

Harrison also traded Quentin Grimes to the 76ers for Caleb Martin, who has played just 24 total games with Dallas and is out of Kidd’s rotation. Grimes is a key contributor for the 76ers.

“Though the majority of the 2025-26 season remains to be played, and I know our players are deeply committed to a winning culture, this decision was critical to moving our franchise forward in a positive direction,” Dumont said. “I understand the profound impact these difficult last several months have had. Please know that I’m fully committed to the success of the Mavericks.

“Please join me in continuing to cheer on our players and supporting all of those who work to make this organization the best it can be.”

The final statement is telling, as it suggests the “Fire Nico” chants were impacting the players, some of whom said they’d rather play on the road because they didn’t get the Harrison brushback there.

It’s a move that had to happen for both sides. Harrison was never going to flourish in Dallas and be accepted because he uprooted a franchise player who did not want to leave. The Mavericks also had to get younger, build a strong core around Flagg and make up for the complete chaos caused by that trade.

Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue is hoping his team can improve despite some key injuries this season.Etienne Laurent/Associated Press

INCONSISTENT CLIPPERS

One step forward, two steps back

The Clippers acquired Bradley Beal and John Collins and moved Norman Powell to the Heat because the club didn’t think Powell could play considerable minutes with Kawhi Leonard. But Powell flourished last season as a starter, which made him want more minutes.

Beal was supposed to fit in with Leonard, but the Clippers were dealt a major injury blow when they declared the oft-injured Beal out for the season with a fractured hip. Beal played in six games for the Clippers after being bought out by the Suns and signing with Los Angeles. Since posting back-to-back 82-game seasons in 2017-18 and 2018-19, Beal has played no more than 60 games in a season since. Still, without an NBA Finals appearance, Beal has earned roughly $342 million in his career and he has a player option next season at $5.6 million, meaning he’s likely to be back on the Clippers next season. Powell is flourishing with the Heat, leaving the Clippers major losers in their offseason trade. The Clippers entered the weekend 3-8 after being trounced by the Nuggets. They visit TD Garden on Sunday afternoon.

Leonard is not expected to play on the team’s upcoming road trip because of knee and ankle issues. The Clippers believed they were ready for a deep playoff run as Leonard entered the summer completely healthy, but he has only played in six of the team’s first 11 games.

Now Clippers coach Tyronn Lue has to pivot his game plan and offensive philosophy with two of his three primary scorers out.

“Well, it’s just different because when Kawhi starts the season, you kind of have your playbook and how you want to play, when he’s healthy,” Lue said. “And so, starting training camp and the things that we were able to put in early on in the season was just really based around Kawhi, Brad, and James [Harden], and so a little different than it’s been in the past because he hasn’t really started the season.”

The Clippers are already eight games behind the Thunder in the Western Conference and three games behind the ninth-place Warriors. Considering the surprising starts by the Suns and Trail Blazers, there appears to be 14 teams vying for 10 playoff spots, with the Pelicans and Jazz likely in tank mode.

There remains hope in Los Angeles, despite the injuries and the Leonard situation with the possible salary cap circumvention hovering over this cursed franchise.

“Oh for sure. I mean, last year we played the first I don’t know how many games without Kawhi and these games that we’re losing, they were all winnable,” center Ivica Zubac said. “We could have won all of those. We just keep doing the same mistakes, every single game, and it’s not like it’s going to magically change if we get Kawhi and Brad back.”

Zubac said the Clippers have to improve, regardless of personnel.

“We’ve got to know the plays, we can’t mess all that up,” he said. “It’s hard to score, put up points, when we don’t know the plays. We’re messing up [after timeouts], and our spacing is not right. And, you know, we can’t even get out in transition because we’re not getting defensive stops. We’re giving up second shots, like it’s hard to get in transition, we can’t even run.”

The Clippers made a series of moves in the offseason to make a deep playoff run. But they’re an aging team and the plan was not to give players such as Brook Lopez and Chris Paul heavy minutes during the regular season. Nicolas Batum is now 36 and his workload has been reduced. They’re going to have to be more precise and get contributions from the likes of Collins, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Derrick Jones Jr.

Considering how competitive the Western Conference is, the Clippers are hardly equipped to keep up with younger and more athletic teams.

“Just our attention to detail [has] got to be a little bit better. … Playing hard is one thing, I think everybody plays hard, you know, or tries to play hard,” Harden said. “But I think the difference between really good teams and teams that aren’t really good, it’s just the detail and the execution. And it hasn’t been our strong suit, so we just got to find ways to continue getting better at that.”

Harden admitted the constant injuries and changes have impacted the team’s focus.

“I think it’s just a part of like, you haven’t had any consistency, for real” he said. “That’s a part of it, too. Like, we’ve had so many different lineups, so many guys in [and] out of rotations. I think once we find some consistency, I think that it will help us out a little bit.” Like guys are all over the place. Some guys haven’t played, ever, and some guys are just put in the rotation.”

Nikola Jokic is averaging 28.8 points, 13.1 rebounds and 10.9 assists through 11 games this season.David Zalubowski/Associated Press

SUPERSTAR SERBIAN

Three-time MVP Jokic continues to amaze

Nikola Jokic, the league’s three-time MVP, is off to another stellar start for the Nuggets, dropping 55 points on Nov. 12 against the Clippers, along with 12 rebounds and six assists in just 33 minutes. It’s as if Jokic has a cheat code and while voter fatigue may have been one of the reasons why he lost out to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for MVP last season, he is a frontrunner through the first month.

Perhaps fans take Jokic for granted, while his coach is just trying to maximize his brilliance by getting victories.

“Just trying to win the game as best we can,” Nuggets coach David Adelman said. “Yeah, we’ve had some games later, right, where he’s done some historical things and we just haven’t finished at the end, but this game was memorable because of him in the first half, which is why we were in the game.”

Jokic’s performance against the Clippers came a night after he dropped 35 points, to go along with 15 rebounds and seven assists, in a win at Sacramento. He may not have the typical chiseled body, but his conditioning and dedication to the game can’t be debated. He’s an all-time great.

“I think just the fact that he prepares every day for situations like this,” Adelman said. “If he has two days off, he’s going to use that time to properly maintenance his body, then get on the court and get things done quickly and efficiently to get off his feet, which allows you to be the efficient player that he is, you know, nightly, and like, I’ve always talked about practice and player development and all those kind of things. Everything he does is the same. The way you play today is how he works out and no one’s watching. So that’s what leads to this.”

If you’re looking for showboating, braggadocio, or social media posts, Jokic is not your guy. He constantly downplays his accomplishments, which perhaps is one of the reasons why he remains underrated despite his dominance.

“I mean, it was just a good night, you know, the players, the guys, especially the fourth quarter, they’re giving me the ball and it was going in,” he said. “I think I missed like two, three layups. And after that, it felt good. I just try to play the game. It felt good. It felt good to be out there.”

Russell Westbrook has been among the few bright spots for a Kings team that is struggling to start the season.David Zalubowski/Associated Press

There is increasing heat on the Kings, who have begun the season 3-8 and is in the lower third of the NBA in scoring despite the presence of Zach LaVine, Domantas Sabonis, and DeMar DeRozan. Coach Doug Christie, in his first full season after taking over for Mike Brown, declared that the team will respond to “haters” in a pregame session before a loss to the Nuggets. The Kings are 23rd in scoring because they are 29th in the NBA in 3-point attempts. They didn’t acquire any premium shooters in the offseason and their defense has been abysmal, 28th in the league in points allowed at 124.5. Opposing teams are making 51 percent of their shots against the Kings and defense was supposed to be Christie’s strong suit. With a lack of 3-point shooting and a bad defense, the Kings are losing shootouts. The only bright spot has been the play of Russell Westbrook, who signed late in training camp and is averaging 14.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.8 assists along with 40 percent 3-point shooting. Westbrook, the NBA record holder in triple-doubles, notched his 204th in a Nov. 5 win against the Warriors. Christie’s job is safe for now, but he wasn’t hired by general manager Scott Perry. But the organization is committed to giving Christie a full season to work with what is an aging roster … The Pistons needed just two games from Wendell Moore for G-League Maine to offer the former Duke standout to a two-way contract. Moore spent the 2024-25 season in the Pistons organization after being acquired from the Mavericks. Moore is a former first-round pick who showed some promise in Celtics training camp, but Boston was committed to its three two-way contract players and offered Moore a chance to play for Maine … Meanwhile, the Pacers have been a busy team, first releasing former No. 2 overall pick James Wiseman to sign two-time slam dunk champ Max McClung but they then released McClung to sign veteran Monte Morris. The Pacers have been besieged with injuries, losing Tyrese Haliburton to an Achilles tear and Obi Toppin to foot surgery. Given its 1-11 record coming off an appearance in the Finals, Indiana may be the first team to begin preparing for that fruitful 2026 draft by beginning to play younger players and rest veterans. Haliburton is expected to miss the season and Toppin will be out several months.

Gary Washburn is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at gary.washburn@globe.com. Follow him @GwashburnGlobe.