Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison admits he underestimated how much Luka Doncic meant to the franchise's fanbase.

Doncic was surprisingly traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in February, with the Mavs receiving Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round draft pick in return.

The decision to move on from Doncic prompted a venomous response from the Dallas fanbase, with chants of "Fire Nico" becoming increasingly common at Mavs games.

Hundreds of fans also staged a protest outside American Airlines Center ahead of the team's first home game after the trade, a 116-105 win over the Houston Rockets. 

Hit by several injuries, including to new arrival Davis and star guard Kyrie Irving, Dallas suffered a major slump after Doncic's departure but recovered to make the play-in tournament. 

They beat the Sacramento Kings 120-106, but their season ended when they went down by the same scoreline versus the Memphis Grizzlies.

Speaking at his season-ending news conference, Harrison said: "I did know that Luka was important to the fanbase. I didn't quite know to what level.

"I've actually never spoken ill of Luka, and I'm just ready to move on with this team that we have."

#MFFL pic.twitter.com/RYEiQ2KL1H

— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) April 19, 2025

Dallas started 2024-25 among the championship favourites, and Harrison – who previously said the Doncic trade was made to prioritise the team's defense – does not believe they are too far away.

The Mavs were close to missing the NBA's minimum player guidelines at one stage of the season, such was the extent of their injury crisis, and Harrison's priority is now to get their star players fit again.

"Really, we just need to get healthy. I think the team we're bringing back is of a championship calibre," Harrison said.

"We fully expect to have Kyrie back with us next year when he gets healed from his injury. We believe we'll be competing for a championship.

"We feel that's a championship-calibre team and we would have been winning at a high level, and that would have quieted some of the outrage.

"Unfortunately, we weren't able to do that, so it just continued to go on and on."

While Dallas' season is done, Doncic is still aiming to bring a championship to Los Angeles, with the Lakers 1-0 down in their first-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves.