On Feb. 2, a three-team trade was conducted, ultimately sending Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers and Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks. Dončić is a Laker, and it still looks like a photoshopped graphic for a Reddit rumor.
Why would any reasonable organization trade their franchise player who led them to the NBA Finals last year and nearly averaged a 30-point triple-double for the past six seasons? I couldn’t tell you, but Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont can.
According to The Dallas Morning News, Dumont implied that Dončić did not have a mindset that was enough “to create a championship-winning outcome.” Again, they reached the finals last season with Dončić averaging 28.9 points, 9.5 rebounds and 8.1 assists per game.
There has also been speculation that Dončić’s weight and conditioning played a factor in the trade, but I don’t care if he’s 300 pounds if he’s putting up 30-point triple-doubles.
Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison also chimed in and attempted to provide some reasoning for the chaotic trade that had ensued. According to ESPN, Harrison stated that he believes that “defense wins championships,” which led to him trading away Dončić for Davis.
Dončić averaged 1.8 steals per game this season, which is tied for second in the league.
Harrison also argued that Davis would improve their defense due to his All-Defense and All-NBA reputation. While this is true, and Davis is undoubtedly a better defender than Dončić, Davis is injury-prone. It doesn’t matter if your All-Defensive forward-center can’t play because he’s in street clothes on the bench.
Moreover, it seems as if the organization doesn’t even know if they’re trying to be a “win-now” team or a team that is building for the future. Granted, Dončić’s upcoming supermax contract extension was likely lingering in the organization’s mind and played a role in the trade, but there should still be a common goal within the organization if they were going to trade him.
Sports Illustrated reported that Dumont was supportive of the trade to set themselves up solely for the future. On the contrary, Harrison reportedly considered winning now and in the future, but his idea of the future was only “three to four years from now.” This is obvious as they traded away their young superstar for the 32-year-old Davis and only received one future first-round pick. What an excellent job at setting your team up for the future.
This incompetence from the Mavs’ front office is bigger than their organization, though.
In the NBA trade market, there are certain players labeled as “untouchable.” For example, Stephen Curry, LeBron James and Victor Wembanyama, among other players, are on this untouchable list. Dončić was always considered to be among these players. However, this trade has completely changed the landscape of the trade market. Now, nobody knows who’s truly an untouchable player. For all we know, superstar players might be dealt around like they’re role players due to the market now being skewed.
All of a sudden, the players who we’ve known as superstars could be in serious trade talks, not only playful rumors in NBA forums. We might wake up in the offseason to Giannis Antetokounmpo being on a new team via a similar trade.
One might say, “No NBA GM is as incompetent as Harrison.” To that, I would say every superstar’s value is now diminished. Although this may be just one blunder, it has opened the doors to a trade of this magnitude happening again, even if it seems insane.
