Discussions about a stunning Luka Doncic–Anthony Davis trade between Dallas Mavericks GM Nico Harrison and his Los Angeles Lakers counterpart Rob Pelinka started over a cup of coffee, and we now have a picture from that meeting. WFAA has released an image of the two at Ascension Coffee in Hotel Crescent Court in Uptown Dallas.
CAUGHT ON CAMERA 📸 | Here's the coffee shop meetup moment when Mavs GM Nico Harrison and Lakers GM Rob Pelinka started Luka Doncic trade talks, shifting the landscape of the NBA.
STORY: https://t.co/Hp3urdZrDF pic.twitter.com/mXivcq8Nsr
— WFAA (@wfaa) February 7, 2025
According to ESPN, Harrison had invited Pelinka to the outlet on Jan. 7 and it’s been confirmed that was the day this image was taken. A Dallas man named Asad Munir is the one who took it at 12:06 PM and he had no idea about the significance of it.
Munir is a Lakers fan and recognized Pelinka but he had no idea that the individual with him was Mavericks GM Harrison. That’s not all too surprising, as Harrison wasn’t exactly a well-known figure like Pelinka at the time. He has become a household name now, though, just for all the wrong reasons.
Just under a month after this meeting, the Mavericks sent Doncic, Maxi Kleber, and Markieff Morris to the Lakers for Davis, Max Christie, and a 2029 first-round pick on Feb. 2. It was arguably the most shocking trade in NBA history and the man responsible for it is getting a lot of hate in Dallas.
ESPN’s Tim MacMahon reported that Harrison had been subjected to death threats following the Doncic trade.
“This is a heartbroken fanbase and there have been some very unfortunate developments regarding that anger, that angst. Nico Harrison has been subjected to death threats, there have been racial epithets included in some of those. Security is going to be beefed up. There will be protests outside the arena, at least those are planned.
“Nico Harrison will not be in his normal seat in the stands, there’s just no reason to subject him to that kind of security risk. So that has been an unfortunate part of this whole storyline. Obviously the fans’ anger, they have every right to feel like they had a generational superstar ripped from them, but clearly lines have been crossed.”
This is disappointing, but not the least bit surprising. Mavericks fans were stung when it was announced that Doncic had been traded and their anger grew exponentially once more details started to come out.
The Mavericks were the initiators here, with Harrison offering Doncic to the Lakers in secrecy. Pelinka was the only one he discussed a deal with as he never even contacted a representative from another team. That, in turn, meant there was no bidding war for the five-time All-Star.
To make matters worse, it was also confirmed that 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, had not requested a trade. The 25-year-old had not given any indication that he wasn’t going to sign an extension with the Mavericks either, so the team had just decided to ship him out of town of their own volition.
You never willingly trade a generational talent and this will likely go down as one of the worst trades in NBA history. Harrison believes he made a great decision, though, and stated time will tell if he was right. For his sake, you’d hope the Mavericks win a title in the next couple of years or he’ll never be able to show his face in Dallas.
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