The owner is trying to fix Dirk Nowitzki’s relationship that Niko Harrison destroyed

The Dallas Mavericks are allegedly are working to repair their damaged relationship with franchise icon Dirk Nowitzkia rift that deepened during former general manager Nick Harrison’s tenure and peaked after the Luka Doncic trade, according to ESPN’s Tim McMahon.

During an appearance on the Howdy Partners podcast, MacMahon noted that Nowitzki’s recent performance in Dallas’ win against the Houston Rockets was a significant step forward.

“His presence and his willingness to show up on the jumbotron, his son Max in a Cooper Flag jersey, that was an indication that Dirk was kind of starting to accept the olive branch from Patrick Dumont, because the relationship between Dirk and the franchise was completely frayed,” McMahon said.

Tension between Nowitzki and the Mavericks had been building for several years, but intensified after Harrison took control of basketball operations. One of the earliest sticking points was Harrison’s decision to fire Casey Smith, the team’s longtime director of health and performance, a move Nowitzki strongly opposed. The situation worsened further when Dallas traded Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in February 2025.

“The Luke trade was the absolute last straw, but it was spilled before that, going back to when Nico Harrison fired Casey Smith, and Dirk wasn’t going to be a part of this franchise as long as Nico Harrison was running the basketball operations. Obviously, he’s not anymore. Patrick Dumont has reached out to start repairing that relationship, and I think Dirk is an open part of the franchise moving forward, potentially,” McMahon added.

The Mavericks fired Harrison in Novembernine months after the Doncic trade, after a bad start to the 2025/2026 season. With Harrison no longer at the helm, Dumont has made repairing his relationship with Nowitzki a priority.

“There haven’t been any specific discussions about that. But I know there’s interest on the Mavericks side to have Dirk involved,” McMahon continued. “They obviously recognize how important he is to the fans. They appreciate everything about Dirk.”

Nowitzki spent his entire 21-season NBA career in Dallas, establishing himself as the franchise’s greatest player. He led the Mavericks to their first NBA championship in 2011. His career accomplishments include 14 All-Star selections, 12 All-NBA honors, one MVP award and being named a member of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team.

Nowitzki averaged 20.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.8 blocks in 1,522 regular season games. After retiring in 2019, he returned to the organization two years later as a special adviser, but reportedly felt unclear about his responsibilities and gradually withdrew as Harrison’s influence grew.

McMahon made it clear that Nowitzki is not a candidate for president of basketball operations or a top executive role.

“He’s not a candidate for president of basketball operations, to be perfectly clear. But I think there’s a possibility that Dirk could be fit in some way or be part of the front office,” he said.

With a statue of Nowitzki already standing outside the American Airlines Center, the Mavericks now seem focused on restoring his presence within the organization, exploring ways for him to contribute to decision-making in some capacity as the team moves into a new era built around first-round pick Cooper Flagg.