Kendrick Perkins Defends Nico Harrison After Firing, Mavericks Were Never Healthy!

Mavericks fans couldn't wait for Nico Harrison to get kicked to the curb after he traded Luka Doncic to the Lakers ... but NBA champ Kendrick Perkins still believes both sides won the infamous deal -- telling TMZ Sports we'll find out if/when Dallas gets healthy!!

Harrison was handed his pink slip on Tuesday ... an inevitable move nine months after the franchise player was shipped to L.A. in exchange for Anthony Davis.

At the time, Perk said he loved the transaction for both sides ... but Mavs backers weren't buying it -- and wanted Harrison gone ASAP.

Now that they got their wish, we checked in on Perk's previous take while at LAX on Wednesday ... and he's not ready to admit defeat just yet.

"In fairness to Nico, he lost his job -- he didn't get a chance to see that team on the floor fully healthy. We still haven't seen Kyrie Irving and AD touch the floor together in a Dallas Maverick uniform, which is unfortunate, but when you trade an international superstar, your room for error is very, very small. And that's what ended up happening."

Pair the Luka trade with the 3-8 start ... and ownership was ready to pull the plug.

So when we asked if Harrison got the short end of the stick, Perkins made a hilarious comparison -- watch the clip for that, 'cause words can't do it justice.