The city of Dallas woke up to betrayal from the Mavericks’ General Manager Nico Harrison on February 2nd.
The team’s—arguably the city’s—face, Luka Doncic, had been ripped away from them. A three-team trade between the Mavericks, Lakers, and Jazz, which brought Doncic to the Lakers’ phenom roster, stunned the nation, including Doncic himself, who found out when the fans did.
“I didn’t really believe it at first, and it was a big shock. It was hard moments for me. [Dallas] was home,” was Doncic’s response to the trade in his first press conference as a Laker.
Aside from the disappointment of the sports side of the deal, Doncic had a life set up in Dallas. The Slovenian native began his NBA career with the Mavericks in 2018 and quickly rose to stardom, winning Rookie of the Year in 2019. Over the past seven years in Dallas, Doncic proposed to his girlfriend Anamaria Goltes in July 2023, announced his daughter’s birth in December 2023, and days before the trade, purchased a house for 15 million dollars.
Doncic was invested in Dallas and willing to commit to the city. Like everyone else who follows professional sports, he was almost certain that the Mavericks would offer the young superstar a multi-hundred million dollar contract extension.
Because of this trade, Harrison may go down in history as one of, if not the worst general managers in NBA history. With all the backlash, the organization absurdly banned fans from wearing Luka’s number 77 jersey inside the Mavericks’ arena. Harrison issued an email claiming the new policy is so the organization “can heal together, focus on the present, and build toward the future as a united Mavs family.”
The youthful, 25-year-old Doncic has been replaced with 31-year-old Anthony Davis. It might be a great move to add a veteran to a roster to mentor the younger, upcoming stars, but Davis is more known for being injured than his basketball skills. The veteran power forward has missed more than 235 games across his 13-year career, the equivalent of almost 3 full NBA seasons due to injury.
Other NBA superstars have since commented on the trade.
Denver center Nikola Jokic expressed in a press conference, “I think nobody is safe in the league.” If a successful franchise is willing to get rid of a young, generational player, the real question is: who in professional sports is safe from the trade deadline?
Three-point record holder Stephen Curry seemed to show disappointment in the trade: “It’s a reminder that there are only a few in this league that can go to sleep with any type of confidence.”
In the press conference, Doncic reflected, “[Harrison] made a decision. I don’t know why.”
Overnight, the course of Doncic’s career and life completely changed against his will. Sure, he is a millionaire, and the trade will not ruin his life, but money cannot directly fix the lingering feeling of betrayal from Harrison, despite Doncic’s loyalty. All Doncic can hope is to continue his dominance on the basketball court. As for Mavericks fans, all they can hope for is Davis to recover from his never ending injury streak.
