Luka Dealt to Lakers: Nico Harrison is a Basketball Terrorist

[SleepingHero]

@MikeACurtis2
Naji Marshall just told me he hasn’t spoken directly to Luka Doncic yet, but he said the former Mavs superstar texted the team’s group chat & said: “Thanks for everything.”

Marshall: “I was surprised like everyone else. Very good dude. Good teammate. I look forward to playing him again.”

[SleepingHero]

@MikeACurtis2
Naji Marshall just told me he hasn’t spoken directly to Luka Doncic yet, but he said the former Mavs superstar texted the team’s group chat & said: “Thanks for everything.”

Marshall: “I was surprised like everyone else. Very good dude. Good teammate. I look forward to playing him again.”

I am sick to my stomach man

[Chicagojk]

I don't buy that this is an ownership thing or a stadium thing.

It just comes down to Nico either Luka is not the one or will not age gracefully. He thinks adding AD and possibly future morgaging the future for another guard/wing gives them a better chance at a title.

I think he is wrong on both of those.

[WillE]

I cannot find the angle on HOW they did it. There had to be a better trade out there than this one, if they had just looked for it. I just keep coming back to the idea that THEY think THIS makes their CURRENT team and near future BETTER. Imagine that. I can’t get there. I couldn’t defend that if I was paid to do so. Not today, anyway.

Same here.

I do understand that he tries to sell it like that. Any longyear manager at a global company has learned to sell failure as success.

Yet, why I don't get is that anybody that was involved agreed this and nobody stopped him. It was 3 weeks in the making and he couldn't decide it all by himself. Would be good to know, if Kidd and/or Finley and who ever okay'd this too.

And yet even if the he would have decided this all by himself, the biggest question is why (only) AD? I understand that he felt forced to deal Luka and that if he would make his intentions public, he had to fear to get even less so he therefore had basically only one or two shots, he needed to act very fast and pull the trigger very quick.

I and it feels like the entire basketball world just thinks different at this point. I just can't buy it, that sheer fear triggered this strategy. Given his previous deals, I have s really hard time believing this.

So rationally, based on the publically known facts, the only conclusion left to me is his asset valuation is...just otherworldly. But even this makes no sense, again, given his previous deals.

Which leads me to believe: the truth is yet to be told.

What could make sense is that he knows Lukas health is a problem and sold my above thinking to the Lakers only to get them to not insisting on thy physicals.

The other motivations would be non-basketball related like what was already thrown around that this was a favour to the league to bring Luka to LA to help sell the product NBA better. Or to facilitate to the franchise to Vegas. Or the help Nike. So basically anybody that had interests in moving Luka to LA. But I somehow still hope that this was all basketball-related.

Sadly, even if I nailed it somewhere above, we'll probably never find out.

[Jym]

a pissed, motivated Luka is so scary
he might average 50 a game against the Mavs the rest of his career

[SleepingHero]

@GrantAfseth
Here's GM Nico Harrison's message for any Mavericks fans frustrated by the Luka Dončić trade:

"I'm sorry they're frustrated, but it's something we believe in as an organization that's going to make us better. [...] When we win, I believe the frustration will go away."



I think he is so sorely mistaken

[MaxiThreeba]

a pissed, motivated Luka is so scary
he might average 50 a game against the Mavs the rest of his career

I hope he does.  And I hope he Mother F’s the FO the whole time he’s doing it.  I hope Nico isn’t too Chicken$hit to sit courtside when the Lukers (PS someone grab that TM if you want to make some Tshirt money) come to town.

[Deebo]

I hope he does.  And I hope he Mother F’s the FO the whole time he’s doing it.  I hope Nico isn’t too Chicken$hit to sit courtside when the Lukers (PS someone grab that TM if you want to make some Tshirt money) come to town.

Cristy and pj will shut Luka down.  Not worried about what Luka gonna do.  We should have received 2-3 more 1st or that rookie Knetch.  Nico is a dummy and rushed to trade him. You don’t rush to trade superstar. You create bidding war and get the mother load.

[SleepingHero]

I just don’t get how Nico could think this team is in a better spot after this trade than if he had just hung onto Luka.

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

I just don’t get how Nico could think this team is in a better spot after this trade than if he had just hung onto Luka.

Nico also seems to have a strong preference for American players.

[MarkAguirreWrathofGod]

Did anyone catch the press conference? The only reporter who pressed Nico at all asked how this sets the franchise up to be better for the present AND future as Nico had claimed. Nico stammered some and said “when I say the future, I’m talking like 3-4 years, not a decade. I mean (looks at Kidd and laughs awkwardly) they’ll probably bury me and J-Kidd way before then.” Gets up nervously and cuts off furthering questions leaving Kidd there alone. So incredibly strange.

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

Bontemps] It also makes one wonder about whether Dereck Lively could be a possible option in trades this week. Not only does Dallas have Daniel Gafford to play alongside Davis

He might not be able to play again this season and could be a valuable trade chip to strengthen the roster.

[Chicagojk]

So who do they target: butler, Lavine. Needs to be a guard who can create. They will force something I am afraid

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

Lakers will be here in April. Who wants to go?

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

Siegel] Based on the conversations I’m having, it doesn’t appear as if Jimmy Butler is the next move on the table for the Mavericks, league sources told ClutchPoints. Expect Dallas to be aggressive in further trade conversations leading up to Feb. 6.

[MAVS-SLO]

MFFL
@Mavs_FFL
Nico Harrison texted and called Luka and didn’t hear back,

“My guess is he probably doesn’t want to talk to me.”


I can only laugh on this.

Trade your superstar player who wants to be here, for a player who doesn't want to be here.

Would like to hear FO responses if Kyrie opts-out in the summer.

Which deff. specialist they are going to bring? Chris Paul? Frank Ntilkina?

[Chicagojk]

Sounds like Nico is using Cleveland as a prototype. Not many organizations was doing that before this year. They are also missing that Mitchell or Garland player. That is a big missing piece.

[Deebo]

I need another trade where we don’t give up much and get a semi star back. ASAP

[Jym]

Mavericks fans are having a funeral outside of the stadium right now

https://x.com/deadspin/status/1886154460239483310

[fifteenth]

I haven't read the entire thread yet, but when I saw the trade news, I immediately thought that the Mavs were probably tired of his refusal to take care of himself. They've been dealing with that for like 6 years now. This hurts, but it makes sense to me. Luka must be even more frustrating about his refusal to take care of himself then we even realized. I don't know if giving up now was the "right" move by Nico, but I respect it.

If this changes Luka's like and he's able to learn to take care of himself, then good for Luka. I wish he would have figured it out as a Mav, but he didn't.