The Dallas Mavericks caused a great deal of pain to their fanbase back in February when they stunningly traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. Mavericks fans might never get over the trade, and a clip went viral on social media of one of them bringing it up during her graduation speech.
“It wasn’t all fond memories,” the fan said. “After Christmas came the worst day of the entire year, February 1st. Right around midnight, word spread that the Dallas Mavericks had inexplicably traded our beloved Luka Doncic.
“I cried, everyone cried, and some of us may have randomly cried a couple of days later when we were on a college tour,” she continued. “Everyone blamed Nico Harrison, who is somehow still employed.”
The trade made it to graduation speeches
tiktok/ alandmd pic.twitter.com/Zp5FTeYWQG
— Luka Updates (@LukaUpdates) August 23, 2025
Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison has been public enemy number 1 in Dallas ever since Doncic was traded. Harrison reportedly did not want to give the Slovenian a supermax deal, partly due to concerns about his long-term health, and felt a parting of ways was the best course of action.
So, the Mavericks traded Doncic to the Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a 2029 first-round pick. It wasn’t a great haul, and there was a good reason for that.
Harrison only discussed the Doncic trade with Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka, which ensured there would be no bidding war. All of this just made matters all the worse.
Harrison has continued to defend the decision to trade Doncic, but did admit that he didn’t realize how much the guard meant to the fanbase. Considering how the five-time All-Star had resurrected the franchise, it was a puzzling statement to make.
In Doncic’s first six seasons with the Mavericks, he made the All-NBA First Team five times, a remarkable feat. He led them to the Western Conference Finals in 2022 and then the NBA Finals in 2024.
Trading Doncic away was going to cause a massive uproar. Large-scale protests broke out outside the American Airlines Center about a week after the move. Later on, a Mavericks fan even went over to City Hall to protest about Doncic being shipped out of town.
Doncic himself was shaken by the Mavericks’ decision. The 26-year-old hadn’t expressed a desire to leave and had not seen this trade coming. It took him a fair bit of time, but Doncic has now finally moved on. The fans haven’t, though, but their pain was eased a bit when the team won the 2025 Draft Lottery.
The Mavericks selected Cooper Flagg with the first pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, and the fanbase now has renewed hope. As high as Flagg’s potential is, though, he is unlikely to turn out to be as good as Dallas’ former favorite son.
Doncic averaged 28.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, 7.7 assists, 1.8 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game for the Mavericks and Lakers in 2024-25. This was considered a bit of a down year for him, which tells you about the standard he is held to. There is good reason to believe this past season will prove to be an aberration, too.
Doncic has undergone a physical transformation this offseason, having reportedly lost 31 pounds. Concerns regarding his long-term health because of his conditioning and whatnot are being dispelled, and we might see the very best of him during the 2025-26 season.
