When the Luka Doncic trade news broke and everyone assumed ESPN’s Shams Charania’s had been hacked (even Shams himself initially thought his phone was hacked when he got the scoop), everyone across the NBA media landscape started trying to organize some semblance of an understanding of what had just happened.
It led to a lot of speculative takes because nobody had any of the details. Personally, I had to go on air 20 minutes after the news broke, around 1 a.m. ET, and the only reasoning I could imagine at that time was Doncic must’ve told the Mavericks to do this.
But Marc Stein quickly reported that wasn’t the case. Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison confirmed it was his decision and his decision alone to move Doncic and two others for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and the Lakers’ 2029 first-round pick.
Doncic didn’t even know it was going down. Lakers GM Rob Pelinka and Harrison reportedly started discussing this in early January and waited until the deal was all but done to bring a couple others into the know.
Among the contextual details that have been trickling out since Saturday night, each of which have helped paint an extremely shocking picture (Luka is out of shape and doesn’t play defense?), it is perhaps the secrecy with which Harrison and Pelinka managed to operate that is most amazing, especially in a league that is partly, if not largely, built on gossip.
Even Danny Ainge — the GM of the Jazz, the third team needed to complete the trade — was reportedly kept in the dark on the gravity of the deal.
Even the Utah Jazz, the third team that facilitated the transaction by collecting two second-round picks for absorbing Jalen Hood-Schifino, didn’t know Doncic and Davis were a part of the deal until about an hour before it was completed, league sources said.
Even Jazz president Danny Ainge, who hails from the Lakers’ hated rival, the Boston Celtics, had about only 30 minutes notice, sources said, that Los Angeles was about to acquire Doncic to be the new face of its franchise. But by then it was too late to do much about it. NBA history was about to be altered.
Also not in the loop, as reported by The Athletic on Monday, was Doncic’s agent, Bill Duffy. Without the ability to talk to Duffy, and by extension Doncic, the Lakers couldn’t know whether Doncic, whose contract is up in 2026, would commit to signing a long-term extension with Los Angeles. Without that knowledge, they wouldn’t risk giving up a second first-round pick, which everyone has been questioning how they got away with withholding.
Frankly, even without being able to assure an Doncic extension, the Lakers still should’ve been forced to give up that second first-rounder and honestly a lot more than that. This is Luka Doncic. To even get him inside your locker room for a chance to pitch him on staying long term is worth more than the Mavericks got. Harrison was so eager to get this thing done, and so dead set on Davis being the guy he wanted, he seemingly didn’t care what else came in the package.
The part about the possibility of this trade not getting leaked before it was actually set to happen is sort of understandable. Well, from the Lakers’ side, it’s totally understandable. If no one else knows, no one else can bid against you.
But from the Mavericks’ side, this seems like some pretty rookie negotiating. OK, it’s understandable you don’t want Doncic getting wind in case the deal doesn’t happen and now you’ve got an unhappy superstar, but this is a once-in-a-lifetime trade chip. If you’re this committed to cashing it in, not doing everything in your power to maximize the return is ludicrous.
Mavs fans for life? After Luka Doncic trade, not necessarily: ‘It’s just such a massive betrayal’
James Herbert
This whole thing is ludicrous, really. I tried to understand Dallas’ motivation initially. I really did. But once it was reported that Doncic didn’t demand out and that Harrison really just believes a 32-year-old injury-prone Davis is more valuable that a 25-year-old generational talent who has already made more All-NBA first teams than Stephen Curry while taking the Mavericks to two Western Conference finals and one NBA Finals inside his first seven seasons, it became impossible to see Harrison’s logic.
It’s strange, because I actually still do believe the Mavericks are better positioned to win a title this year with Davis. On paper, they look like a stacked two-way team with all kinds of lineup versatility. But Doncic leading your franchise for potentially the next decade-plus is worth way more than a short-term championship chase, which probably won’t come to fruition anyway.
Even if it does, I honestly believe Mavs fans would rather not win a title with Doncic than win one with the guy who replaced him. I remember feeling that way about John Elway when I was a kid. He was my guy, even if the Broncos were consistently breaking my heart in the Super Bowl. If someone would’ve come to me and said you can have Joe Montana and a championship if you trade Elway to the Niners, I would’ve told that individual, with all due respect, to get the hell out of my face.
This is devastating stuff in Dallas. I feel for those fans.
