Gilbert Arenas claims Nico Harrison was scapegoat in Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis trade chaos

After trading Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis, Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison took full ownership of the controversial move. He explained to press members at the time of the trade that he believed acquiring Davis would put the team in win-now mode.

Despite Harrison's steadfast belief in an Anthony Davis-Kyrie Irving duo, Gilbert Arenas believes that Harrison is simply a middleman in the equation. During the latest episode of "Gil's Arena," he pointed out that Harrison still has a job as evidence of the GM being the fall guy in the equation.

Harrison had said in early February that Mavericks owner Patrick Dumont laughed at him when he first pitched the idea of trading Luka. But, Arenas believes those above Harrison orchestrated the trade.

"The fact that Nico still has his job lets you know that it didn't had nothing to do with Nico ... You can't really throw dirt on his name. Obviously," Arenas said on his podcast. "He's just the middleman here."

Arenas added that everyone from the Adelsons and the Dumonts down to Jason Kidd knew about the deal, and Harrison was simply the man taking the heat.

Could Nico Harrison get fired, or will Dallas continue to stand behind its GM?

After parting ways with Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis, Mavs GM Nico Harrison made it abundantly clear that he knows he's on the hot seat.

While speaking with members of the press alongside Jason Kidd following the Doncic trade, Harrison joked that he wants to put the team in a position to win now, not in ten years, because, the way he sees things, by then, the team may have already buried him and Kidd—or rather, as he stated, perhaps the two will bury themselves.

At the time of the deal, team owner Patrick Dumont stood behind Harrison, saying that the team feels it is in a position to compete with the best in the NBA.

Despite that, the backlash from Mavs Nation can't be understated. In addition to many season ticket holders canceling their ticket packages, frustration was on full display when Doncic returned to the American Airlines Center this week, with "Fire Nico" chants ringing throughout the building during the game.

While all indications are that the team will stand behind Harrison this summer until we have a chance to see how the Kyrie Irving-Anthony Davis duo performs together next season, if the team struggles to live up to Harrison's vision, it could only be a matter of time before he and Jason Kidd are let go.