Dallas Mavericks GM Nico Harrison has come under fire from all corners for trading away Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. Harrison has stood by his decision, though, and according to NBA insider Marc Stein, he did not want to give Doncic the five-year, $345 million supermax extension that he could have signed this offseason.
“It was largely Harrison, who has increasingly believed since the Mavericks’ one-sided loss to the Celtics in the NBA Finals, that Doncic: Would not improve his commitment to conditioning, his off-court dietary discipline. Would not improve as a leader or culture-setter. Would not improve his well-chronicled comportment issues with referees. Would not be able to stay healthy as he got older.
“And thus could not, after the Mavericks and Doncic grappled with these issues since Harrison arrived in June 2021, be given the five-year supermax deal worth nearly $350 million that he was expecting in July.”
That is undoubtedly a huge financial commitment, but you do not think twice about making it when the player in question is Doncic. Is he perfect? No. Does he take as good care of his body as you’d want? No. Does he act towards officials in a manner that you like? No. Do you still give him that deal? Yes.
A player as great as Doncic does not come around often and you try to hold on to a talent like him as long as possible. Would it be risky to make that financial commitment? Absolutely, but you take that risk when it comes to a player like Doncic, who is averaging 28.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 7.8 assists, 2.0 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game in 2024-25.
Also, for all of Doncic’s flaws, he still led the Mavericks to the 2024 NBA Finals. The five-time All-Star deserves some of the blame for them losing in five games to the Boston Celtics, but he wasn’t, by any means, the biggest reason they were blown away.
Kyrie Irving struggled against the Celtics, as did the supporting cast around the two stars. Even if Doncic had been at his absolute best, he alone was not going to be able to take down that Celtics team.
Concerns regarding Doncic’s long-term health seem overblown at this point too. The fewest games the Slovenian has played in a single season prior to this one was 61 in 2019-20. The Mavericks only played 75 games in that campaign due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so he missed just 14 games.
Doncic also played 70 regular games last season and then averaged 40.9 minutes per game in the playoffs. This isn’t a Joel Embiid situation where the body just keeps breaking down all the time and forces him to be on the sidelines.
You can’t help but think the Mavericks are going to greatly regret this decision when Doncic is still dominating years down the road. What they might also regret is this character assassination. It’s been one too many shots fired and Harrison isn’t the only one doing so.
Mavericks Governor Patrick Dumont also took a shot at Doncic and he is just digging a hole for himself. The Mavericks need to stop trying to justify this trade as there is no justification for it.
They have gifted a generational talent to the Lakers, who don’t have to give him that massive deal either. Doncic is only eligible to get a five-year, $229 million deal now and the Lakers would be more than happy to give him that extension.
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