How is the Mavericks trading away franchise star Luka Doncic to the Lakers going over in Dallas? Well, here are some scenes of the mock funeral/memorial some fans held for the franchise before Sunday’s game against Cleveland.
This is wild 🤣 pic.twitter.com/P99vkaFcMv
— MFFL (@Mavs_FFL) February 2, 2025
“I’m sorry they’re frustrated, but it’s something that we believe in as an organization — it’s going to make us better,” Mavericks GM Nico Harrison said Sunday during a press conference discussing the trade. “We believe that it sets us up to win, not only now, but also in the future, and when we win, I believe the frustration will go away.”
Part of fan frustration stems from Luka Doncic being beloved in Dallas — and the feeling is mutual. He penned a note thanking the Mavericks fans for all their support and wishing he could have brought them an NBA title (he did get Dallas to the Finals a season ago).
#MFFL pic.twitter.com/qVMcV2uh5m
— Luka Doncic (@luka7doncic) February 2, 2025
Harrison was the driving force behind the trade — he initiated the talks with the Lakers, he pushed for exclusively for Anthony Davis rather than opening up the bidding for Doncic to other teams (the Nets got five first-round picks for Mikal Bridges, the Mavericks got one), and he was the one who ultimately pulled the trigger on this trade. It is the kind of trade that gets a GM fired if the deal does not work out as he envisioned.
Harrison discussed the logic behind the trade with the media on Sunday. He hinted that Doncic’s defense and conditioning issues, combined with the $346 million supermax contract he could sign this summer, proved to be a tipping point for the Dallas front office. Harrison also said that Doncic never approached him asking for a trade.
“We definitely understand the magnitude of what just transpired. It’s not lost on us. We’d definitely would like to thank Luca for his brilliance over the last four years since we’ve been here...
“I think it’s important to know that [Mavericks coach Jason Kidd] and I, we’ve had a vision in the culture that we want to create since we’ve been here, and the players that we’re bringing in, we believe exemplify that. We think defense wins championships, and we’re bringing in one of the best two-way players in the league...
“We feel like we’re built to win now, as well as in the future...
“There’s some unique things about [Doncic’s] contract, that we had to pay attention to. There’s other teams that were loading up. He was going to be able to decide, to his make his own decision at some point of whether he wants to be here or not, whether we want to supermax him or not, or whether he wants to opt out. So I think we had to take all that into consideration and feel like we got out in front of what could have been a tumultuous summer.
[Talking about team culture and Doncic’s fit in that] “I’ll just say there’s levels to it, and there’s people that fit the culture, and there’s people that come in and add to the culture. And those are two distinct things, and I believe the people that were coming in are adding to the culture.”
If they don’t add to a lot of wins and a deep playoff run or two in Dallas, Harrison will feel his seat get very warm, and Mavericks fans sound ready to throw fuel on the fire.
