Nico Harrison will go down in infamy when discussing the Dallas Mavericks after the Luka Dončić trade. Dallas fired the general manager early into the 2025-26 NBA campaign.
However, Harrison made two key moves before his blunder. He traded for Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington- two vital players who helped the Mavericks reach the NBA Finals just two seasons ago. Before those trades, Dallas lost Jalen Brunson in free agency, but Harrison blames former owner Mark Cuban for the star’s departure in 2022.
Mark Cuban’s Mistakes Involving Jalen Brunson and Christian Wood
Brunson left the Mavericks and signed with the New York Knicks in 2022 on a four-year, $104 million contract. Three years later, the Knicks’ guard is a two-time All-Star and All-NBA player who led New York to an Eastern Conference Finals last season.
Nico Harrison reportedly blames Mark Cuban for the Mavericks losing important players like Christian Wood and Jalen Brunson, per @BannedMacMahon
“Harrison blamed Cuban for what he believed were the Mavs’ biggest personnel mistakes during his tenure, which came in summer 2022:… pic.twitter.com/LI96Fhacbq
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) November 19, 2025
Harrison described Brunson’s free agency exit as one of the two “biggest personnel mistakes during his tenure.” The other move came when Dallas acquired Christian Wood from the Houston Rockets. Reportedly, Head coach Jason Kidd did not want to coach Wood and “resented having him on the roster.”
The Mavericks offered Brunson a four-year, $55 million contract extension before the end of the 2021-2022 campaign. However, the Knicks’ star felt it was an underpay after thriving as a starter. “I was like, ‘No, I think I’ve outgrown that now,'” Brunson said. “Personally, that’s what I thought.” Looking back, Cuban and the Mavericks could have offered a lot more.
Wood started 67 games for the Rockets in the 2021-2022 campaign. However, that number plummeted to just 17 the following season with the Mavericks. His playing time also dropped from 30.8 to 25.9 minutes per game. It was clear that Kidd did see him as a key starter for Dallas’ future. He left the Mavericks in free agency after one season.
Nico Harrison Wanted Cuban Away From Basketball Decision-Making
Harrison was not the only one to blame Cuban for these mistakes. Assistant coaches and several other front office members “faulted Cuban for those moves.”
Cuban wanted to be involved in the roster decision-making, but Harrison thought his involvement only hurt the team. According to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, the former general manager told owner Patrick Dumont the basketball decisions would be a lot smoother without Cuban’s interference.
Despite his request, Dumont wanted Harrison to keep Cuban informed. However, Harrison did not follow this request. Dumont was not as hands-on an owner as Cuban, and after Harrison’s moves led the Mavericks to the finals in 2024, Dumont fully trusted Harrison. In fact, they rarely spoke, as the team had just made it to the finals and was preparing for another run the following season.
However, Harrison had other plans, which ultimately ended his career in Dallas.
