Nico Harrison firing clearly kicks Mavericks' most polarizing guard to the curb

Dallas Mavericks fans' relationship with D'Angelo Russell is already one that has had a rocky start, just 15 games into the regular season. There's no doubt that Russell has had his moments since joining the Mavericks in the opening hours of free agency over the offseason, but at the same time that fans witness Russell's brilliance, they watch him handle the ball for 21 of the 24 seconds of the shot clock and do absolutely nothing with it.

Since being drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers with the second overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, Russell has been one of the most polarizing players in the NBA due to the nature of his playstyle. Russell has become known as an inefficient shot chucker whose inconsistencies have held him back from truly being the difference in winning and losing.

Through one month, Mavericks fans have already felt the absolute peaks of Russell and the extreme lows of his inconsistent playstyle. There's no doubt that Russell was a Nico Harrison guy after a video was shown on Russell's YouTube channel of his conversation with Harrison just before signing with the Mavericks, and now that Harrison has been fired, Russell's status with the Mavericks has never been more cloudy.

D'Angelo Russell's position and role in Dallas could be in jeopardy

The Mavericks are one of the few teams this early in the NBA season that are already considering a direction change after their historically bad 4-11 start to the season. Since the firing of Harrison, fans have been begging the team to look more towards the future and stockpile either young assets or draft capital while they still have veterans who can contribute to a winning team, and while that may sound like a good idea, the reality is that it is hard to pick a direction in today's NBA.

Not to mention, the Mavericks still have yet to pick out a general manager to ruin their team, but in the meantime, they have made Matt Riccardi and Michael Finley two of the head decision makers, while this direction of change is underway. What this could mean for Russell is that his time with the Mavericks could be coming to a short end by the time that the February 5 trade deadline rolls around.

It's unclear what kind of market a player of Russell's expertise could house, and if the Mavericks could even get any value out of the 10-year veteran, considering he is averaging career lows across the board, but with Harrison out of the picture, Russell's status on the Mavericks could be all but over.

To make matters even worse for Russell, since the firing of Harrison, his leash in Jason Kidd's rotation has been extremely short when he is not playing up to par. There have been a few games where Russell is hitting just about every shot he takes, and while they may be rare, the Mavericks are still in desperate need of an offensive creator, but for the time being, his inconsistencies make him a prime target to receive less playing time.

The Mavericks also have younger players such as Brandon Williams, who Russell has theoretically taken playing time away from, and while that may not sound like a big deal, Williams could very well be a building block for Dallas' future with Flagg at the forefront. Russell's time with the Mavericks was already a ticking time bomb, and now that Harrison is out as the head decision maker, Russell's time in the NBA could be as well.