Mark Cuban has spent months orchestrating a power struggle to oust Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison and regain influence with new Governor Patrick Dumont, according to more than a dozen team sources. Harrison was fired on Nov. 11 after the controversial Luka Doncic trade fell through, ending a simmering battle between the former majority owner and his hand-picked GM.
“Mark has been trying to stage a coup for months,” a team source told ESPN. The battle culminated after Harrison traded Doncic to the Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and draft picks, a deal that was widely criticized around the league.
Harrison deliberately excluded Cuban from basketball decisions after Dumont acquired majority ownership for $3.5 billion in December 2023. The General Manager told Dumont he no longer wanted to deal with Cuban’s interference, sources said. When Cuban sold his majority stake in the Mavericks, he planned to still run basketball operations “forever.”
“Nico basically said, ‘Dude, I don’t want to hang out with Mark anymore. He’s too much,'” a team source said.
Harrison used the 2024 Dallas Finals to convince Dumont that he deserved full autonomy. He built what sources described as a “moat” around basketball operations, minimized Cuban’s access and rarely consulted the former owner on personnel moves.
Cuban accelerated efforts to fire Harrison after Dallas acquired the No. 1 pick in June 2025, multiple team sources said. He warned Dumont this summer that there were too few creators and shooters on the roster, and Harrison’s concerns were dismissed.
The Mavericks are second to last in offense this season. Cuban is now a member of Dumont’s basketball committee, along with coach Jason Kidd and assistant GMs Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi.
“He is an advisor, not a decision maker,” said another source. “But he’s at the table.”
Dallas is exploring trading Davis before the deadline as the 4-11 Mavericks focus on building around rookie Cooper Flagg.
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