"Nico Harrison committed war crimes" - NBA fans clamor as Mavericks' injury woes spark game forfeiture speculation

The Dallas Mavericks are at risk of forfeiting games in the near future due to their growing injury list, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks. As concerns over roster depth and potential forfeitures mount, Mavs fans have taken to social media with heated reactions, with many criticizing general manager Nico Harrison, known for orchestrating the Luka Doncic trade.

The team may struggle to meet the league’s requirement of at least eight active players for their March 24 matchup against the Brooklyn Nets. This is because their two-way players, who have provided much-needed reinforcement, are running out of eligibility to play for the remainder of the season.

Kessler Edwards and Brandon Williams — the Mavericks’ two-way contract players — only have three and six games of NBA eligibility left, respectively. Meanwhile, Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, Dante Exum, Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II have all been ruled out as of Saturday, with Jaden Hardy listed as doubtful and Kai Jones and Caleb Martin questionable.

"Nico Harrison committed war crimes," one fan tweeted.

"This isn’t bad luck. this is bad management. They mismanaged the salary cap so that they can’t just sign someone to fill a roster spot. What the f**k. This is truly a front office train wreck," another fan tweeted.

"Wow things could not have went worse for the Mavericks after the Luka for AD trade, this is crazy," another fan added.

"Nico Harrison has to get fired what is this," another fan demanded.

Other fans made light of the situation by "volunteering" to fill out roster spots for the Mavericks:

"I'm available - can sign me for a couple months if you need players. I'll suit up!" one said.

"HMU illl come out for bucks lol ill do it for cheap," another commented.

While the Mavericks could sign a player using a hardship exception, they currently have no financial flexibility to do so. Under their current cap restrictions, Dallas won’t be able to sign another player until April 10.

The Mavericks are currently in 10th place in the Western Conference, but they are only a game and a half ahead of the Phoenix Suns. If their tailspin continues, they could drop out of the play-in picture altogether.

Dallas Mavericks newcomer makes feelings known on tanking speculations amid injuries plaguing team

Despite the team’s struggles, recent acquisition Max Christie made it clear that the Mavericks aren’t throwing in the towel just yet.

According to Mavericks beat reporter Joey Mistretta, Christie is adamant that the team will not resort to tanking, as they still have a shot at making the playoffs:

"“We're not here to try to tank and lose games," Christie told Mistretta. "We're still in the playoff picture, so we got guys here, when we get healthy we're gonna be a good team regardless of the standings and whatnot."

Though Christie remains optimistic, Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison and the front office will need to address the team’s player availability issues as soon as possible.