The Luka Dončić trade may go down as one of the worst transactions in sports history. Dončić was a once-in-a-generation athlete barely into his prime, and Dallas Mavericks general manager at the time, Nico Harrison, pulled a move in the middle of the night to part ways with him.
It sent shockwaves across the NBA and completely flipped the fortunes of both teams. Now, as Dončić is leading the Los Angeles Lakers to the No. 3 seed, Harrison has already been removed from his position. But the vitriol against him hasn’t died quite yet, with Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban continuing to roast him on social media.
Nico Harrison Still Feels the Wrath of the Luka Dončić Trade
Early in the year, new owner Patrick Dumont had heard enough, as “Fire Nico” chants continued to ring out at the American Airlines Center.
As a result, Harrison was fired, but the stench of his disastrous move continues to linger. An Instagram user shared a clip of the former general manager sitting at the airport terminal waiting for his flight.
The user captioned the clip, “Trading Luka made you go from private jets to public airlines.” However, the user wasn’t the only one to poke fun at Harrison’s expense; Cuban, who had long been enamored with Dončić, also reposted the video from his official account.
Reposted by Cuban 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/N5EM4wJ7Ib
— MFFL (@Mavs_FFL) March 28, 2026
Entering the league as a superstar prospect from Slovenia, Dončić showcased his immense potential almost immediately. An All-NBA First Team selection in just his second year, he became a perennial MVP candidate while leading Dallas to the playoffs virtually every year.
Then, he put together arguably his best campaign, leading the league in scoring and taking the Mavericks to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2011 and third overall. Yet, on a random night in early February 2025, Harrison pulled the trigger on a ridiculous deal.
With virtually no other team getting the chance to put up an offer, the five-time All-NBA selection became a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. At the time, the disgraced general manager cited “defense wins championships” as his rationale for bringing in Anthony Davis in his place.
He also tried to paint Dončić as an injury risk, which quickly became laughable, as Davis played 29 total games with the franchise before being traded to the Washington Wizards. The team fell out of the playoff race and lucked its way into drafting Cooper Flagg.
But even in 2025-26, they couldn’t sustain any momentum and will likely finish as a bottom-three team in the Western Conference.
Even though Harrison isn’t the man in charge anymore for Dallas, his move has left a huge hole for the organization to overcome in the coming years. But given how Dončić is performing, it is hard to see how they can replicate that success anytime soon.
