The Dallas Mavericks are still catching heat for their decision to swap Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis at this year’s trade deadline. Only now are we starting to find out why they traded Luka and it has to do with GM Nico Harrison not wanting him as the center of the team.
“Whispers via league sources suggesting that Dallas’ decision-makers, most notably general manager Nico Harrison, no longer wanted Planet Mavericks to orbit around [Luka] Doncic and had grown determined to trade him by this summer at the latest,” reported NBA insider Marc Stein.
As a 25-year-old superstar and 5x All-NBA player, Luka Doncic was pretty much everything for the Mavericks. He was the core of their entire identity and the foundation around which the entire team was constructed.
While most teams would be happy to have Luka Doncic at the helm, the Mavericks were dissatisfied with his work ethic and conditioning (among other things). As he got more and more comfortable in the NBA, Doncic began to show more of his flaws as a leader and defender.
While Nico never officially put Luka on the trade block, he no longer considered him untradeable and it allowed the Lakers to make the move of the decade.
Behind the scenes, Nico Harrison and Lakers GM Rob Pelinka negotiated for weeks leading up to the trade and nobody had a clue. Through various private meetings, they eventually worked out a deal that allowed the Mavericks to trade their 25-year-old star in exchange for defensive juggernaut Anthony Davis.
According to Harrison, Davis is a better fit for their team and their culture. He believes that defense wins championships and that Doncic was unfit to lead the franchise to their next era of prosperity. After a brutal Finals loss in 2024, where Luka was exposed on the world stage, the Mavericks had finally seen enough to move off No. 77 and he wasn’t going to waste any time.
Fortunately, he landed with the Lakers where he can live and thrive for the next decade. Had the Mavericks waited until the summer, however, a completely different team might have stepped up with an offer and acquired Doncic. At the very least, we know that several teams would have made compelling offers as many GMs would have given everything to acquire the offensive juggernaut.
Whether it was this trade deadline with the Lakers or in the upcoming offseason, Luka’s days in Dallas were numbered and somehow he never found out. Doncic was buying a house in the city and he was preparing to sign a supermax extension in the summer.
To be treated like this after being traded is the ultimate insult and Luka is out for revenge. Tonight, he’ll have his first taste of blood at home against a Mavericks team missing Anthony Davis and there will be nothing held back.
For Doncic to truly stick it to the Mavericks, he’ll have to go and lead the Lakers to their 18th championship. It’s much easier said than done, but Luka has been to the Finals before, and if he elevates his game to another level it could be enough to go all the way.
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