Things haven’t gone well for the Dallas Mavericks this season. After the front office traded away Luka Doncic, the entire fanbase turned on the organization. Following that, the player they received from the blockbuster deal, Anthony Davis, injured himself in his debut game for the team. Davis wasn’t the only injured player, as the team also dealt with injuries to Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford, two important players.
On Monday, the Mavs suffered another blow in their 122-98 loss against the Sacramento Kings. In the first quarter, All-Star guard Kyrie Irving suffered a devastating left knee injury after a contact play on center Jonas Valanciunas. He fell to the ground and had to be helped by his teammates to move around the court.
After the game, the 2016 champion was diagnosed to have suffered a torn ACL, ruling him out of the entire 2024-25 campaign.
NBA News: Dallas Mavericks general manager addressed Irving’s injury
As the unfortunate events continue to pile for the Mavericks, general manager Nico Harrison took the chance to address the fanbase. On Tuesday, ESPN’s Shams Charania posted Harrison’s statement on X (formerly Twitter).
“There aren’t words to fully describe who Kyrie Irving is to this team or what he means to us as an organization,” Harrison stated.
“His work ethic and absolute dedication to his craft, it’s cut from the cloth of greats. I know it, I lived it, and I see the same ferocity and passion in him that I saw in Kobe.”
Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison on Kyrie Irving: "His work ethic and absolute dedication to his craft, it’s cut from the cloth of greats. I know it, I lived it, and I see the same ferocity and passion in him that I saw in Kobe."
Full statement: pic.twitter.com/2msUzeyJtb
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 5, 2025
“All my thoughts and that of our staff are with Kyrie and his family, and we are confident that he will come back from this stronger than ever just like he always has.”
NBA analyst wants the Dallas Mavericks executive to be removed from his position
No Dallas Mavericks fan is happy with how things are since Harrison traded Doncic away. Additionally, Irving’s injury has affected their chances of possibly being in the postseason. On Tuesday, Kevin O’Connor addressed the current situation of the franchise following Irving’s injury.
According to him, the new ownership group should consider firing Harrison to win back the fans.
“My main thought here is this, Patrick Dumont, the Mavericks owner, needs to fire Nico Harrison today. This injury is an opportunity for him to gain the respect and trust of Mavericks fans by admitting the grave mistake,” O’Connor said.
The Mavericks should fire Nico Harrison today. pic.twitter.com/oPBZC5zsG7
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) March 4, 2025
With everything that has happened in Dallas, it looks like Harrison will still have his job moving forward.
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Follow me on X at @BarbecueBro, and follow us at @HardwoodHeroics and @GridironHeroics. You can also reach out to Reign Amurao via email at [email protected]. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest sports news, click here!
Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
