Luka Doncic might’ve officially left Dallas on February 2, but let’s be honest—the writing was on the wall way before Nico Harrison became Dallas’ public enemy no. 1. If you rewind about a year and a half, that’s when the cracks really started to show. It wasn’t just a locker room issue or a few bad games. According to more than a dozen team and league sources, the entire vibe around the franchise began slipping long before that Finals run. Back when things were smooth, none of the internal drama really stuck.
Doncic had one major advantage: Mark Cuban. Cuban had gone all-in on Luka during the 2018 draft, pulling off a bold trade to bring the 19-year-old Slovenian phenom to Dallas. And for years, he stood by him—temper and all—because, well, when a guy’s that good, you take the whole package.
The 5x All-Star was lined up for a five-year, $345 million extension this summer, and he even said he wanted it. But after Cuban sold most of the team to the Adelson family in late 2023 for a whopping $3.5 billion, he wasn’t calling the shots anymore. Enter Nico Harrison. The GM had loaded up the roster with names like Kyrie Irving, Dereck Lively II, PJ Washington, and Daniel Gafford. It paid off—they reached the Finals. But behind the scenes? Harrison wasn’t sold on Doncic long-term.
Mark Cuban really tried to step in when things got rocky between Doncic and Nico Harrison. According to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, the former Mavericks governor actually offered to play mediator. That’s how bad the tension got.
But here’s the kicker—Harrison wasn’t having it. Even though Cuban had been the team’s most influential voice for years, sources told MacMahon that Harrison had already made sure he had full control. Ever since Patrick Dumont stepped in as the new team governor, Harrison worked to box Cuban out of all basketball decisions. And it worked.
Now fast forward to today, and things inside the Mavericks front office are getting even messier.
But let’s rewind a bit—because before Harrison went on record, The Athletic’s Tim Cato had already peeled back the curtain. According to Cato, “The frustration [between Dumont and Harrison] came from a perception that Harrison didn’t do enough to consult with Dumont during the process of trading Doncic.”
Yep, you read that right. The new team governor wasn’t just annoyed—he felt straight-up sidelined in the biggest decision of the season. And you better believe that rubbed him the wrong way.
Now enter Nico Harrison, doubling down like it was just another Tuesday.
