Luka Dealt to Lakers: Nico Harrison is a Basketball Terrorist

[Smitty]

So how long does Nico have left before he’s fired into oblivion? How do we measure success after he literally blew up a finals level team mid season because he liked AD more than Luka ?

Has there ever been a bigger, faster fall from grace? A few days ago, he had the love of nearly every Mavs fan. My how things can change.

[sefant]

Kidd has been telling Luka for years to stop complaining to the refs.  He still complains.

Mavs have been telling Luka for years to take his conditioning seriously.  He still gets 20lbs overweight DURING the season.  Even more in the offseason.  Notorious for smoking and drinking.

Rest of the team preparing for the season.  Luka is in Slovenia on vacation.  Rest of the team on the road.  Luka is with his group instead of being with the team.

Now he's started to get injuries.  I believe this is his 4th calf injury on the same leg in the last three years.

He's so good that I understand not wanting to give up on him, but I can also see why the Mavs were getting tired of his shit.  You don't just wake up one day and decide to trade Luka Doncic.

Sure i agree. But there are dozen of other trade the Mavs should have done. Over AD. That is pretty much the real problem here. Like Zach Lowe has said. He pretty much nailed everything in his video on twitter.



First of all the timing is off. They could have played out the season. And moved him in the summer. If they miss the playoffs, the miss the playoffs. Doesn't really matter that much. They have the 25 pick. Might move up in the lottery and get Flagg anyway.

scenario 1: play out the season: if you make the playoffs, anything is possible. if not you get a lottery pick. you know you are going to move Luka, move him for the 1st pick in the draft (Cooper Flagg) and more assets.

Could have probably fleeced the Magic. They need a PG anyway. Get half of the Magic team with cornerstone Franz. They wont ever move Banchero, who is looking like a problem. Not a single season with a positive on/off.

Franz Wagner pretty much had advanced stats as high as Giannis/Tatum. Some even better. Before the injury. When the Magic were doing better. 

Right now he is 1 spot ahead of AD in EPM while being 8 years younger. That is your Paul George/SGA trade gamble. For 90 % of the season he was sitting right under Luka at age 23. +12 on/off. SGA is currently at +14.8.

This is Luka on/off the last 4 years

2025: +10.3
2024: +10.1
2023: +5.5
2022:  -0.3
 
Might be german and a little be biased. But he is pretty much the recarnation of Dirk/Kobe in terms of work ethic/character. Totally different player. But if you hate everything about Luka from that sterms from his off court problems. Mavs fans would love Franz. And if you get picks on top, you can make more trades. Getting Goga allows to move Gafford. Da Silva is a good looking two way wing who is pretty much a top 5 rookie this year.

People would still be shocked i guess on trading Luka in general. But i could totally see a scenario where you win that trade. And i wouldn't be overly shocked if Franz ends up having a more successful career than Luka. Especially if he fixes his jumper. That looked fine before the injury. Already won 1 world cup. Franz and Wemby will be a tough outing. But germany also have some upcoming talent the next 5 years. USA going to be careful. Franz/Germany will give them a lot of more trouble i assume.




If you want defense. There you go. Kawhi won DPOY in 2014/2015 & 2015/2016. He also plays the "same position/wing" as Luka i guess.

[SleepingHero]

A summarization of Steins latest article detailing the Luka trade


@All_Things_Mavs
Lots of info in here. Here’s my most notable:

- “[Kyrie] Irving, by all indications, remains on course for a new multi-year deal in July.”

- Dallas felt pressure to jump through hoops to keep Luka happy

- Nico is clearly identifying players he has exisiting relationships with to add to the team (Kyrie, PJ & now Davis)

[ThisIStheYear]

For all you who think maybe AD can lead the Mavs to a title, there’s no style of play anymore in the NBA that can win a title without four guys regularly on the court who can knock down an open 3. It can’t be done. If Davis, who can’t shoot the three (under 30%) is to play power forward, then the Mavs must pair him with a stretch 5, like the Bucks have with Lopez. Otherwise, he has to play center and the Mavs have two other good ones. The Mavs roster just isn’t built for him right now. They’ll need to acquire a stretch 5 and another playmaker. The Mavs roster is prehistoric in more ways than just the age of it’s stars, both of whom are #2s.

[SleepingHero]

What’s crazy is that I think Kyrie and AD are a sick duo…. If you had freaking Luka to pair with them.

[DanSchwartzgan]

Thank you for this. It expresses my feelings so well.

I loved Luka's show, his flair, and his upside. 

But over time, for me his act had worn real thin. It was getting increasingly more difficult to enjoy his brilliance amid the non-stop whining, the ball dominance, way-too-many pull-up 3s (sometimes so very early in the shot clock), and the too-often "playing my way back into shape" during the regular season where results matter.

For me, seeing Luka ball was only a means to an end -  after the novelty of it wore off, I didn't find the lack of ball movement and the same high PNR being run repeatedly to be all that fun to watch. But if it was the best way to a win, so be it. So if they can win as much (or more) with more of a team concept, I'll like it more, frankly, and I won't miss hero ball. If they can't win without him, then it'll be a different story.

The negotiating will still suck, however, even if they came out better as a team. That process was horrendous, and it's 100% on Nico who chose to do it that bizarre way, thinking he had it figured out. Um no.

I'm in a similar place.  I don't love the deal itself, but can kind of see the desire to move on from Luka at some point.  I've gotten to where I don't watch full games any more.  I think part of the reason is that we play a boring brand of basketball.  I actually like the product better when Luka is out (and everyone else is healthy).  The ball really moves.  

Killer had a post several pages back talking about being "in the Luka Doncic business".  One of the first things I thought of when I heard the news was Boogie Cousins.  Part of it was the financial ramifications to Luka's Super Max (what a hose job).  But, part was that this was a similar decision.  As good as he was, Sacramento didn't want to be in "the Boogie Cousins business" any longer.  Several major injuries later, it turned out they weren't wrong.  We really have no idea how this will turn out.

I think one of two things are true.  Either:

1.  Nico is an idiot, or

2.  There is more to "the Luka Doncic business" than we may ever know.

I don't think Nico is an idiot.  Time after time his moves have been a positive surprise to me.  But, I am not in a position to judge whether Luka was a problem (or a big enough problem to justify this).  Maybe there was reason to believe Luka wasn't going to sign the extension this summer?  Maybe Dallas didn't want to give the extension for a variety of possible reasons?  Maybe they don't see Luka having a long or successful career from here?   

Let's be clear.  I'm not happy he's gone or thrilled with the package we received (let's talk more Thursday afternoon).  I'm just saying that I can kind of see it.  Do I wish AD was younger and less injury prone?  Absolutely.  But, there are lots of things about Luka I wish I could change as well.  

Of course, none of this really matters.  Its done.  So, where do we go from here?  Some thoughts:



Man, this puts Kyrie in a tough position from a PR standpoint.  I hope it doesn't negatively impact his extension this summer.  Oh, and he lost his best friend on the team in Morris in this deal.  Yeah, he and AD are close, but he's got to thread a needle on this in terms of his public statements when they come.

There is focus on this trade getting us under the tax.  Maybe that was a goal.  But, it also gives us a trade spread above our outgoing salary (up to the first apron).  So, we have more room with which to work on trade matches.

It does seem that Gafford, AD and Lively are too much when everyone is healthy.  It also seems that we have too many non-creating guards/wings.  I agree with Jason Timpf's mention of Sexton (a place my mind went also).  We need to add someone like that.  It could also be a wing who can create his own shot.

I suspect Luka will take this as an insult to the core of his very being and (like Steve Nash) win the next two MVP awards.

I'm not positive LA is better after this trade.  They have a path to getting better, but they aren't there today IMHO.

I like Max Christie.

AD makes $8mm more next season than Luka.  Christie makes $3.3mm less than Maxi.  So, this added nearly $5mm to 25/26 salary.  It probably also lessened the incentive for Irving to give us a discount (recall last time he took about $7mm less than he was eligible for IIRC).  So, adding talent through the full MLE this summer is even more challenging than it was before.

I'm not sure this team needs Grimes, Christie and Hardy.  Naji overlaps their PT a little as well.  If you keep Grimes, you are pushing the second apron just by standing pat.  It seems like they need to make a deal here while there is value to be had.  

I thought Utah did very well here.

I'm not positive we get a better deal by making this an open auction.  Luka loses a ton of money in this deal.  If this becomes public, he probably says he will only extend with this team or that.  Possibly just the Lakers and probably for a lesser package than what we got.  There is a world in which Nico actually gets less than this if he went a different route.  There isn't any single player who would have satisfied us (maybe Jokic or GA).  Without AD in the package, you probably need to move on from Kyrie and Klay also.  Doing this deal differently may have landed us more picks (been there done that) while costing us any chance to compete in the near term.  I'm not that interested in being a team with a dozen upcoming picks led by PJ Washington and Dereck Lively.

[Ghost of Podkolzin]

Thoughts...

1.  There has to be a backstory here on Luka's being too much of a pain or was going to force his way out.  LAL is perfect for the prima donna.  I love his game and will continue to be a fan.
2.  Please tell me this puts Kyrie at the point.
3.  Can PJ start at SF?  If not, why?
4.  AD has always complained about playing the 5.  I think this really puts pressure to keep the Lively/Gafford duo.
5.  I'm disappointed that Max Christie was included and not DFS or Reeves.

[ThisIStheYear]

I didn’t just read someone compare Luka, an all time great, to Cousins, a sometimes good, always overrated player with a premodern style of play? This board is nuts sometimes. Being in the Luka business is like being in the Lebron business. He’s a megastar. Maybe a GM like Nico just can’t handle those bright lights or anyone else steering the ship.

[KillerLeft]

I'm not positive we get a better deal by making this an open auction.  Luka loses a ton of money in this deal.  If this becomes public, he probably says he will only extend with this team or that.  Possibly just the Lakers and probably for a lesser package than what we got.  There is a world in which Nico actually gets less than this if he went a different route.  There isn't any single player who would have satisfied us (maybe Jokic or GA).  Without AD in the package, you probably need to move on from Kyrie and Klay also.  Doing this deal differently may have landed us more picks (been there done that) while costing us any chance to compete in the near term.  I'm not that interested in being a team with a dozen upcoming picks led by PJ Washington and Dereck Lively.

Great post! 

I agree with basically everything until the very last paragraph. I understand the point of how going public affects how much leverage can be applied, and from where, but I don't agree that there's even a chance they end up with a worse deal than this. They might not have ended up with AD or any other passable "win-now" player, but they'd have gotten better draft compensation, and THEREIN lies the disconnect between Harrison and fans, I think:

I do not really care whether the Mavs are good now. It's not because Luka is gone - I agree with everything RTG, FGump and you are saying today. It's because they are now a team filled with a bunch of old guys who I don't perceive as Mavericks. I'm not sure I could've actually predicted this, but I'm just not connected to this team, all of a sudden. I'm morning the loss of the promise that was the Luka Doncic era, I suppose. Luka Doncic the person was starting to suck the fun out of things for me, too, but he was 25, and I guess I still believed he'd mature past it all and claim his place in history right behind Jordan and LeBron, and while wearing a Mavs uniform. I think what's gone today is hope, really. 

I would've preferred blowing it up once the decision to trade Luka was made. I would've preferred to go forward with Hardy, Lively, O-Max and all of the picks in the world. THAT would be exciting, at least on some delusional level, because it would have hope baked into it, and would help with closure on the Luka thing, to some extent. The thrill of searching for the next era. 

Obviously the current team will be better this way than if they'd held an auction. It would've gotten messy and they'd have then made other tear down moves, but I just can't seem to find it in me to care much about the current team at the moment, and I was a Mavs fan more than a Luka fan. Maybe that will change if/when the team starts to play well, but something was lost here that is truly depressing.

[hakeemfaan]

Folks now comparing Boogie and Luka in terms of falling off a cliff. SMH

Warrs and all, he is still a more impactful player than AD right now. Warts and all, best of luck finding this level of talent dropping in your laps. You will get guys with work ethic but if that itself moved mountains the Bulls, Knicks and many other teams wouldn’t be in basketball purgatory for so many years. We get close to the chip and only focus on the fact that if Luka was in better shape or complained less or played more defense we would have won a title. It’s easy to forget that his phenomenal talent is what had got us so far and trading him away due to being frustrated with his flaws is not magically bringing that phenomenal talent back.

I loved Dirk but Dirk had his flaws as well. Nico would have traded him like Avery tried to in 2007.

You know what. More I read some on this board, the more I am glad Luka got out of here. He will be fine in LA. Best of luck finding a guy here who will make all NBA once in the next decade let alone multiple times. But we are all fine as long as the ball is moving, and the players are getting back on defense and in shape. /s

Giannis, Steph, Bron, Luka, Wemby are the marquee faces of the NBA. Luka was ours. Even if the team sucked he was ours. Plus unlike AD, Kyrie and a host of other talents who never wanted to come here in their primes, Luka was happy to be here. Many delusional Mavs fans underestimate that aspect as well. Now just like that he is gone forever.

[hakeemfaan]

I'm not positive we get a better deal by making this an open auction.  Luka loses a ton of money in this deal.  If this becomes public, he probably says he will only extend with this team or that.  Possibly just the Lakers and probably for a lesser package than what we got.  There is a world in which Nico actually gets less than this if he went a different route.  There isn't any single player who would have satisfied us (maybe Jokic or GA).  Without AD in the package, you probably need to move on from Kyrie and Klay also.  Doing this deal differently may have landed us more picks (been there done that) while costing us any chance to compete in the near term.  I'm not that interested in being a team with a dozen upcoming picks led by PJ Washington and Dereck Lively.

If it gets out and Luka is not happy you keep him and give him the supermax. If he is so ticked off that he leaves on his own then so be it.  Taking the risk that you might end up with nothing and Luka leaving is comparable for me to getting AD.  It is a worthless deal IMO. 

Also while I love this board, this paralysis by analysis on this board is something I won’t miss.  Every single team trades even older players who make it known they want out and still get a lot. It’s only the Mavs whether this FO or the previous one who always seemed to have some excuse why they used to come up always short.  Now we are having a 25 year old coveted generational star.  Even that now we are rationalizing that AD and a distant first might have been the best we could get. SMH.  This is why this franchise will always remain a laughing stock.

[BigDirk41]

Everyone needs to be prepared to pay Kyrie the max next contract. He has the Mavs by the balls now.

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

Sure i agree. But there are dozen of other trade the Mavs should have done. Over AD. That is pretty much the real problem here. Like Zach Lowe has said. He pretty much nailed everything in his video on twitter.

I have watched every single Youtube video on this.  Zach Lowe. Bill Simmons. Ryen Rusillo.  Hoop Collective.  Sam Vecenie.

When teams trade a star, usually they're about to enter a full rebuild and want the most future assets as possible.  The Mavs goal here was to field a team that can win right now.  With that goal in mind, name one of these "dozen" trades.  In the end, the only names that make sense are Giannis, Durant, and Anthony Davis.  There are rumors they asked about Giannis.  

I don't understand all the posts about "They could've gotten Castle and 7-8 firsts from the Spurs." Those assets aren't helping you win right now.

I'm just mad at the bad negotiating from Nico. Call about Giannis. If the Bucks say no, call about AD. Demand all the 1st rd picks and Austin Reaves. The dropoff to the next best player the Mavs could've gotten in a trade is steep.

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

Is that real? Dear Lord, he looks fatter than Zion.

[BolsDamols]

The Luka Doncic business

- put seats in the stadium
- made the Mavs relevant again after years of mediocrity/ irrelevance
- gave the fans a perennial MVP candidate, 5 time first team all NBA
- gave you a WCF appearance and 1 Finals appearance
- elevated players like THJ and DFS
- gave your team a fighting chance every season

Most of the 29 other franchises will jump throigh hoops to be a part of the dreaded Luka Doncic business

[mvossman]

I don't think Nico is an idiot. 

This is where we disagree.  I think he is an idiot.  

He was the GM when the decided not to extend Brunson but give Timmy a big contract (don't know how much Nico vs Cuban)

He was the GM when Brunson walked for nothing.

The KP trade was all him.  The decision to trade KP was fine but the timing was bad and the return was bad.  He got very lucky that Dinwiddie had the two best months of his career.

Most of the really good moves started when Linsey got here.  I felt at the time the sudden jump in quality of the FO decisions was more about Linsey than Nico.  

After Linsey left, Nico made a couple of good moves that made me think maybe a lot of Linsey rubbed off.  Then he pulled this shit.

He literally stated in the press conference that he was only focused on the next 3 years because he and Kidd would probably be fired by then.  WTF?  He actually admitted he was not concerned about the future.  What a total FU to the fans.

Does anybody actually think this team has any chance at a championship?  The logic is simple.  You either go all in on Luka long term, or you decide to cut bait and go full rebuild.  Those are the only two options that make sense.  This half assed route is a sure fire way to go down the long path of mediocrity we did after the championship.  We won't have a good lottery pick for several years.  There is no hope right now of getting the top 5 player needed to win it all for a long, long time.

[Jakeospikez]

You gotta watch that press conference from earlier if you haven't yet
Makes it pretty clear that Nico had enough of a burning hatred for Luka to do this and a new owner who is so disconnected from the fanbase they found the idea luls worthy

Pretty much anything coming out in interviews, press conferences, social media, and all that are just smoke and mirrors.

[Smitty]

Is that real? Dear Lord, he looks fatter than Zion.

I thought it was photoshopped when I first saw it this morning. I think he'll be motivated and take his conditioning seriously in LA.

Look at him here vs that recent picture:

https://x.com/isaaclharris/status/188597...85531?s=46&t=4w35gotNXtBJnqxbaL7e9w

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

https://youtu.be/7UMydF5a918?t=694

[hakeemfaan]

I have watched every single Youtube video on this.  Zach Lowe. Bill Simmons. Ryen Rusillo.  Hoop Collective.  Sam Vecenie.

When teams trade a star, usually they're about to enter a full rebuild and want the most future assets as possible.  The Mavs goal here was to field a team that can win right now.  With that goal in mind, name one of these "dozen" trades.  In the end, the only names that make sense are Giannis, Durant, and Anthony Davis.  There are rumors they asked about Giannis.  

I'm really only mad at the bad negotiating.  You had to get the Lakers 2031 pick and Reaves in the trade also.

Luka is better than AD right now. It’s not like we had a surplus at the position that Luka plays that we needed AD to plug any last missing gap.  The lakers had nothing that should have interested us. Maybe Lively for AD.  Not Luka.  It’s not just the negotiating. Even a Reaves plus another pick still wouldn’t move the needle for me.  Getting rid of Luka would need minimum another young player with potential to be a stud. I would have taken the chance that potential might never be realized. Even a Castle and picks along with some matching salaries would have been more palatable.