Luka Dončić shows Mavericks why decision to trade him could age horribly
Of course, he heard the chants.
The Dallas Mavericks general manager, whose choice to trade Luka Dončić might go down as one of the biggest blunders in the history of the NBA, and who sat there in that dapper blue suit for all the Crypto.com Arena fans to see in the reunion game on Tuesday night, couldn’t avoid the sarcastic gratitude that was heaped upon him.
“Thank you … Nico!” the Luka Nation bellowed several times during the Los Angeles Lakers’ 107-99 win.
So, I asked in jest afterward: Did he say, “You’re welcome?”
“No,” Harrison said with a smile before heading for the exits.
Give Harrison credit for this much: The 52-year-old former Nike executive is, as you surely have heard by now, a man of great conviction. Once his vision is crystallized — no matter how uncomfortable it might be — he sees nothing else but the decisions that must be made to bring it to life. And in the case of Dončić, whose poor habits both on and off the court were at the crux of this controversial call, that meant parting ways with a player who most believe is on track to become one of the all-time greats for an older, injury-riddled big man in Anthony Davis, who was the centerpiece of their return.
Make no mistake, the people who witnessed Dončić’s last days in Dallas do not paint a flattering portrait of the 25-year-old’s professionalism. They call him lazy. They talk about the weight issues that were such a frequent frustration within their walls. They mention the social habits that The Athletic has reported on — such as a taste for beer and hookah — which have been a point of concern for NBA types since he was a 19-year-old star for Real Madrid who was entering the draft. They predict his basketball demise, highlighting a health history that, as some see it, will likely lead to catastrophe in the next five years or so.
Harrison’s personal journey adds an even deeper layer to the discussion; he rose to prominence as the trusted shoe representative for the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant and, thus, clearly decided that Doncic didn’t fit the “Mamba Mentality” bill. Conversely, the combination of Harrison’s close relationship with Davis from their days together at Nike, as well as his strong belief that title contenders need to be special defensively, clearly played a pivotal part in the decision-making process. As Tim Cato of DLLS reported after the deal went down, and as league sources confirmed to The Athletic, Harrison is known to have the kind of short-term view of his GM role that might help explain his impatience with Dončić’s development. He, and they, have no time to waste if he’s only going to do this job for a few more years.
Yet to those who didn’t live through the Dončić experience — the front office executives, coaches and scouts who would love nothing more than to get their hands on a player of his ilk — all these justifications for the trade simply don’t compute. This is the NBA, where ego management has always been part of the equation and choir boys are hard to come by.
Talent isn’t the end-all-be-all, but Dončić’s type — the transcendent kind — is so rare that it should be given every opportunity to be maximized. That’s how it was for the likes of Allen Iverson, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Bill Walton and Larry Bird — all elite players who had their warts. That list is undeniably long, with very few able to meet the sort of standard set by Bryant or his idol, Michael Jordan (who had off-court issues of his own).
As one league source put it while discussing these sorts of players, “You manage.”
The Lakers, meanwhile, believe that Dončić’s best is yet to come. That confidence, as I wrote recently, is inspired partly by the memories of legendary Lakers coach Phil Jackson and his philosophy that players don’t truly mature until their late 20s. And their front office, of course, is headed by someone who is as in tune with Bryant’s legacy as anyone — his longtime agent, Rob Pelinka.
To put it bluntly, the vast majority of people I’ve spoken to within the league about this deal continue to believe that Dallas made a grave mistake. Especially considering how the 32-year-old Davis’ adductor strain, suffered just 31 minutes into his Mavericks tenure in a game against Houston on Feb. 8, only confirmed all those doubts about his reliability.
The irony of the Luka reunion game, though, is that it perfectly captured the spirit of this debate. Dončić had his first triple-double of his Lakers career, finishing with 19 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists while having several moments of entertaining synergy with LeBron James along the way. But he wasn’t quite dominant enough in those 35 minutes to remove all doubt from the skeptics.
That’s the puzzling part of this situation, as Dončić routinely does things that should be lauded only to be met with the kind of scrutiny — and nitpicking, really — that few others face. But to hear his former co-star, Kyrie Irving, share his perspective afterward was to be reminded that his resume is as impressive as they come. And that, as so many see it, is the part that is too quickly forgotten by the Mavericks.
“It was easy to complement him while he’s having an MVP season — an MVP-caliber season,” Irving said while reflecting on their NBA Finals run together last season, when Doncic finished third in MVP voting. “He carried us a lot (when) I was injured or hurt, and … carried the burden and responsibility. So I think for me, there was respect there before we played together. But then playing with him, he’s just an innocent kid. (And) at the same time, he’s just ultra talented, (and the) whole world’s in front of him. You want to protect people like that too, because I feel like sometimes people come at him crazy, which is unnecessary.”
Here’s to hoping that Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont, and his mother-in-law/majority owner Miriam Adelson, heed that advice. While Harrison was clearly a driving force behind this choice, the overlooked reality here is that this deal never goes down unless ownership approves it.
This group that took over from longtime owner Mark Cuban in December 2023, and who are widely seen as neophytes in this high-stakes space, balked at the prospect of giving Dončić a five-year, $345 million deal this summer and later explained the choice by citing “culture” concerns as a major factor. That’s all well and good, but this latest game was as good a sign as any that those worries might not age well.
With Davis in street clothes and so many other Mavericks ailing, the Lakers won for the 15th time in 19 games (and third in five games with Dončić playing). They’re now tied with Houston for fourth in the West, while the Mavs fell to ninth. And if Dončić is going to play like this — critics be damned — it’s bound to get even better in Luka Land.
The Lakers have the Mavericks to thank for that much.
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(Photo of Luka Dončić, Spencer Dinwiddie and Kyrie Irving: Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)
