ESPN unleashes Luka Doncic trade bombshell after Nico Harrison's firing

On Tuesday morning, the Dallas Mavericks fired Nico Harrison, and a small detail within the intel surrounding this sudden move by the Mavericks has fans up in arms. ESPN's Shams Charania reported that there was "full alignment" within the Mavericks organization when it comes to trading Doncic.

This includes ownership, Harrison's staff, and head coach Jason Kidd.

This isn't to say that Kidd knew that Doncic was going to be traded to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis, but Charania made it seem like Kidd at least knew that they were thinking about trading Doncic. This is something that Mavericks fans have speculated about for months, as Doncic didn't greet Kidd in either of the two games that Dallas played Los Angeles following the trade, and Mavs fans definitely aren't going to like this report if these rumblings from ESPN are true.

Jason Kidd reportedly aligned with Nico Harrison on trading Luka Doncic

After Doncic was traded, many Mavericks fans blamed Kidd for being part of the reason that the move happened despite his insistence that he had no idea, and fans may be split about where they stand with him moving forward.

After the trade, there was a report that indicated that Kidd wasn't happy with Harrison's decision to trade Doncic to the Lakers, but now, who knows what's true at this point? The trade went down over nine months ago, but it must be noted that Charania, one of the most plugged-in people in basketball, reported that the Mavericks' top dogs were all on the same page when it comes to getting rid of Doncic in some capacity. This is quietly a significant update compared to what's been reported to this point.

This rumor is a major gut punch to Mavericks fans, especially the ones who defended Kidd from all of the speculation following the trade, as the current head coach may have played a part in Doncic packing his bags and heading to Tinseltown. Kidd isn't the one who pitched the idea of trading him to the Lakers by any means, but signs are pointing to him at least knowing that Doncic was on the chopping block.

On top of Charania stating that Kidd knew about the possibility of Doncic being moved, he also made it clear that others in the front office knew about this as well. Mavericks fans' current disdain for Michael Finley being the interim co-general manager, along with Matt Riccard, just gained even more fuel, as this report means that Finley at least knew Doncic could be on the way out.

The skepticism from Mavericks fans toward Finley started following the 2024 Western Conference Finals when he took Doncic's celebratory beer out of his hand, and while Dallas is looking to bring in a permanent GM, the fact that Finley is one of the people in charge of basketball operations right now at least has some fans concerned.

With Nico Harrison gone, Dallas Mavericks fans now have the chance to look forward to the Cooper Flagg era and a new beginning with Mavs basketball. This report from ESPN does cloud the timeline of whether Jason Kidd knew about the possibility of trading Luka Doncic at "the eleventh hour" or the days leading up to it, and this is another can of worms when it comes to the most insane sports saga in history.