The Dallas Mavericks are going through a rough patch right now. They have already lost more than 20 games. It has been a tough year for Mavs fans, no doubt about it. But hey, there might be a silver lining here.
Word on the street is that owner Patrick Dumont is working hard to bring back a familiar face. Not just any face, but basketball legend Dirk Nowitzki himself.
Will Dirk Nowitzki Join the Mavs Front Office?
Let’s rewind a bit to understand how we got here. Back in 2021, Nico Harrison came on board as the Mavericks’ general manager and president of basketball operations. He left a solid 19-year career at Nike to take on this role. He replaced Donnie Nelson.
Everything seemed fine at first, but then Feb. 2025 happened. Harrison pulled off a trade that shocked everyone. He sent Luka Dončić, Maxi Kleber, and Markieff Morris to the Los Angeles Lakers in a three-team deal.
You can imagine how fans reacted. They were absolutely furious. The American Airlines Center started echoing with “Fire Nico” chants. People felt like they’d been robbed, especially after the team made it to the Finals in 2024.
Losing Dončić during his prime years? That stung. Fans were already saying they wanted Nowitzki as GM instead. The criticism just kept building and building, and with a terrible start to this season, Dumont finally pulled the trigger. Harrison was fired on Nov. 11, 2025.
Now here’s where it gets interesting. NBA insider Tim MacMahon recently revealed that Dumont is actively trying to repair the relationship between the Mavericks organization and Nowitzki.
“The other interesting little development here is, you know, when the Rockets were in town recently, Mike, there was this seven-foot German dude who was in a luxury suite. A fellow by the name of Dirt Nitzki. And his presence and his willingness to be shown on the Jumbotron. You know his son, Max wearing a Cooper flag jersey. That was an indication of Durk kind of starting to accept an olive branch from Patrick Dumont because the relationship between Durk and the franchise had completely frayed.”
“You know I covered this last year. The Luca trade was the absolute last straw, but it had frayed before then, going back to when Nico Harrison fired Casey Smith, and Dirk was not going to be any part of this franchise as long as Nico Harrison was running basketball operations. Obviously, he’s not anymore. Patrick Dumont has reached out in an effort to begin repairing that relationship, which is what I’ve been told,” said MacMahon during a recent ESPN segment.
This isn’t coming out of nowhere, though. Back in 2021, when Mark Cuban was still running things, Nowitzki actually accepted a special advisor role with the team. His job was pretty straightforward. It was to help the front office make smart decisions about the team’s direction.
But here’s the thing. After a couple of years in that role, Nowitzki started feeling disconnected, as he did not really understand what his role was anymore or how he was supposed to help. So he did what made sense. He stepped back and distanced himself from the organization.
So does this mean Nowitzki is coming back to the Mavericks front office? Honestly, it’s tough to say for sure. But the fact that Dumont is actively working on mending fences? That’s definitely encouraging. There’s a real possibility we could see Nowitzki back in some capacity.
Nowitzki was drafted ninth overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in 1998. But he was immediately traded to Dallas, and then he spent all 21 years of his legendary career with the Mavericks, and over that incredible run, he averaged 20.7 points per game, grabbed 7.5 rebounds, and dished out 2.4 assists per game. He finished with 31,560 career points.
If a former player like Nowitzki were to rejoin the front office, it could be hugely beneficial, as his presence alone would rebuild trust with fans, and also his experience and understanding of a winning culture could help guide the team back in the right direction.
