Luka Dealt to Lakers: Nico Harrison is a Basketball Terrorist

[fifteenth]

... Lou Dort was going at his knees that whole series. Are we sure it was just fatigue?  ....

I'm not trying to rebut your post, just saying that I think Luka's knee injury was something he dealt with the entire playoffs. 

My own thought about the Boston series was that the Mavs as a team weren't ready for Boston. We were the up-and-coming team that ran into a team that had already paid their dues and were flat out better.

[fifteenth]

This could be BS, not sure. But, if true, the Mavs' problems could be even bigger than we thought. 

https://youtu.be/UzNxr7JCoz0?si=7McokemGamteYWL2

This sounds like he and the folks he's talking to are just trying to make an educated guess about the owners, not reporting from anyone inside. The people Calin cites aren't saying the know. They're saying "knowing Nico, ......" 

Cowherd is kind of hit or miss in my opinion. He can talk, and has opinions of differing relevance, but he's always mainly riffing, not reporting based on actual info.  

That's my take.

[mvossman]

I'm not trying to rebut your post, just saying that I think Luka's knee injury was something he dealt with the entire playoffs. 

My own thought about the Boston series was that the Mavs as a team weren't ready for Boston. We were the up-and-coming team that ran into a team that had already paid their dues and were flat out better.

I agree with this but also add that the Mavs were worn down a bit going through three tough series while Boston had a cakewalk.

[ThisIStheYear]

This sounds like he and the folks he's talking to are just trying to make an educated guess about the owners, not reporting from anyone inside. The people Calin cites aren't saying the know. They're saying "knowing Nico, ......" 

Cowherd is kind of hit or miss in my opinion. He can talk, and has opinions of differing relevance, but he's always mainly riffing, not reporting based on actual info.  

That's my take.

Doesn’t jibe with the story that when Dumont first heard this idea he laughed. Even if true, it’s clear the fans view Luka as more than just another player.  Dumont would take a mulligan if he could. It’s going to take a big, expensive move or incredible stroke of luck to win the fans back.

But his second trade idea has merit. Austin for Gaff works in the trade machine and helps both teams. It seems kind of perfect to me and really balances the first trade.

[hakeemfaan]

I'm not trying to rebut your post, just saying that I think Luka's knee injury was something he dealt with the entire playoffs. 

My own thought about the Boston series was that the Mavs as a team weren't ready for Boston. We were the up-and-coming team that ran into a team that had already paid their dues and were flat out better.

I must not have been clear.  I said Boston was a better team. All I was trying to do was counter the knee jerk reactions of some I have read, and maybe Nico felt this way as well, that the Mavs lost because Luka’s lack of conditioning and weakness on defense caught up to him, and also maybe he lost a bit of faith in Luka as a centerpiece to a title. Hence his comments that defense wins titles. 

We have seen it play out here before with a new egotistical coach and a superstar who did have issues on defense. The difference was the owner was there to stop the coach and fire him before it was too late. 

All I was trying to say is that even though it was a quick series the gap might not have been as large as many think. I would have taken my chances if we had Derek White. Even if that is a bit too much maybe swap Kyrie and Holiday.  The whole thing with defense and reading way too much into that series to me was a knee jerk reaction.  The other thing is for the first time in Luka’s tenure here, I genuinely felt we were the best team when all were healthy. Plus Lively was only going to get better. PJ was also coming into his own and Naji/Grimes gave some real depth. We could even get away with Klay looking like his former self one night and terrible the next.  Yes with AD in there this team will be very good because it was a deep team. Luka was the centerpiece though and the first time he had a team like this, we and he didn’t even get to see how far this team  could go.

[vfromlmf]

Emotions aside, which is the better pair?

Kyrie + AD

Luka + KP

[meistermatze]

Luka looked awful in the Lakers presser—almost on the verge of tears, at least to me. He was just going through the motions, saying generic things about the organization, LeBron, and JJ. The only real emotion came when he was asked whether there was any chance or indication that he might not take the supermax in Dallas and that’s why the Mavs moved first. He vehemently shook his head, laughing at the absurdity. He repeatedly said he had thought he would spend his entire career in Dallas—"It was home, you know." My heart was breaking at that point.

This body language expert agrees with me—it’s an interesting watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2qDgkI6TQY

Contrast that with AD’s interview for the Mavs—he genuinely seemed excited, giving more details and information in general. Of course, he was surprised, but he moved on quickly and remained highly professional. Even genuinely excited, like I said. I guess that’s good for the Mavs—looks like he wants to be here.

But man, we had Luka…

[SleepingHero]

@MacReady41
Adam Silver showing up IN Detroit for a Mavs/Pistons game that Luka was not playing in is forever going to be suspicious to me. What the fuck was he doing there?

[SleepingHero]

Emotions aside, which is the better pair?

Kyrie + AD

Luka + KP

I'd still take Luka+KP. Because that pair has Luka. 

Call me biased.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

I agree with this but also add that the Mavs were worn down a bit going through three tough series while Boston had a cakewalk.

Dallas/ LAC went 6, Dallas/ OKC went 6 games, and Dallas /Minny went 5. Bos/Miami went 5, Bos/Cleveland went 5, and they swept the Pacers, 4-0. Dallas had a tougher road, but it’s not Boston's fault the Knicks and Pacers had key players get injured. That's part of the game.

[KillerLeft]

Emotions aside, which is the better pair?

Kyrie + AD

Luka + KP

The pair with the 25 year old five time All NBA 1st team player. That's the better pair.

[Halfnir]

I have a feeling that this might not work for the Lakers as intended. Luka has absolutely no incentive not to hit free agency 2026 if he does not like playing with the Lakers. As a young european i do not think he is very impressed by the Lakers legacy alone.
It's not easy these days for teams to open up max player salary cap space, but if 26 year old Luka is the price ... as a Lakers rep/fan i would be very scared.

[Dixon Cider]

I have a feeling that this might not work for the Lakers as intended. Luka has absolutely no incentive not to hit free agency 2026 if he does not like playing with the Lakers. As a young european i do not think he is very impressed by the Lakers legacy alone.
It's not easy these days for teams to open up max player salary cap space, but if 26 year old Luka is the price ... as a Lakers rep/fan i would be very scared.

I think you’re wishful thinking….

[Halfnir]

I think you’re wishful thinking….

Not really. I only wish for Luka to be happy, don't care which of the other 29 teams he's on. If he's happy with the Lakers, i'm fine with it.

[mvossman]

Dallas/ LAC went 6, Dallas/ OKC went 6 games, and Dallas /Minny went 5. Bos/Miami went 5, Bos/Cleveland went 5, and they swept the Pacers, 4-0. Dallas had a tougher road, but it’s not Boston's fault the Knicks and Pacers had key players get injured. That's part of the game.

It’s not about fault, just part of the reason that series was less competitive than it could have been. I will say there is an issue with the massive disparity in talent between East and West and it only seems to be getting worse.

[Chicagojk]

The only way this isn't a disaster if Luka is broken down player, and I certainly don't want to root for that. I also can't root for the Lakers. Once the trade deadline is past, I will probably slowly back away. I think.

I can understand the frustration the team had with Luka. Trading him was probably #100 after everything else was tried. I would have preferred to go down with the ship...whatever that means. It looks like they tried some steps. I mean there is a 80-90% chance we feel the impacts of Sunday for a decade plus. Although, I get the frustration. Last years run was amazing. Luka was hurt and fought through it and had amazing moments. He can still be one of the best in the league on toughness, grit and IQ. And he did that in the finals run.

When we got the the finals, he was fine. He was limited though. It felt like he was the best player on a finals team, and not the crowning achievement to the best player in the world. Boston went at him pretty hard. Maybe that Boston team was a legendary team ready to win. Also, it would have been a more competitive series if Kyrie played better too.

Although, with the game 3 issues and having Boston go hard at him, I am sure the team was interested in how he would respond after getting so close to the mountain top. Jordan and Kobe are killers. Luka is certainly a killer on the court too. I am sure the team thought they improved the roster and was ready to win now and they wanted to see if this was a revenge tour for Luka. Instead he came into out of shape and got hurt quickly and then spent the first half running around the court like a 40 year old. I get the frustration. They lose me everything past that though.

[hakeemfaan]

The only way this isn't a disaster if Luka is broken down player, and I certainly don't want to root for that.  I also can't root for the Lakers.  Once the trade deadline is past, I will probably slowly back away.  I think.

I can understand the frustration the team had with Luka.  Trading him was probably #100 after everything else was tried.  I would have preferred to go down with the ship...whatever that means.  It looks like they tried some steps.  I mean there is a 80-90% chance we feel the impacts of Sunday for a decade plus.  Although, I get the frustration.  Last years run was amazing.  Luka was hurt and fought through it and had amazing moments.  He can still be one of the best in the league on toughness, grit and IQ.  And he did that in the finals run. 

When we got the the finals, he was fine.  He was limited though.  It felt like he was the best player on a finals team, and not the crowning achievement to the best player in the world.  Boston went at him pretty hard.  Maybe that Boston team was a legendary team ready to win.  Also, it would have been a more competitive series if Kyrie played better too. 

Although, with the game 3 issues and having Boston go hard at him, I am sure the team was interested in how he would respond after getting so close to the mountain top.  Jordan and Kobe are killers.  Luka is certainly a killer on the court too.  I am sure the team thought they improved the roster and was ready to win now and they wanted to see if this was a revenge tour for Luka.  Instead he came into out of shape and got hurt quickly and then spent the first half running around the court like a 40 year old.  I get the frustration.  They lose me everything past that though.

Well said. Again most here who are against this trade ABSOLUTELY get the frustration with Luka. However he played hard, at least on offense , every time he was on the court. Every player has warts. I love Dirk but we romanticize and forget how many times pre and post that championship run we would be somewhat frustrated that Dirk was not more assertive in key parts of the game. AD has had issues looking like he has checked out sometimes the whole game. 

No player is perfect. Most generational stars have some diva tendencies. You work around those because you are not getting another one most likely in your lifetime. 

My frustration with Luka was that he took bad shots and also that he had a model in Jokic who he should have patented his game around and didn’t follow it.  He can score 40 without taking a single forced shot from deep. His passing is so good that teams can’t cheat.  This guy is one of the few legit offensive cheat codes but he was playing like Harden who for all his talent is IMO  a clear tier below Luka.  I kept waiting for Luka to change but somehow it never happened.  

It still doesn’t excuse this trade and haul. If you decide to move past a 25 year old Luka just go full on rebuild. If you are looking at only the next two years Luka was still the best choice as this whole roster is built around him and he is a better player than AD.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

It’s not about fault, just part of the reason that series was less competitive than it could have been. I will say there is an issue with the massive disparity in talent between East and West and it only seems to be getting worse.

That's fair. But looking at the standings, the West has just 3 more teams over .500 than the East, and that's going to be fluid. The West has been the stronger conference for years now. No surprise there.

[BigDirk41]

I would absolutely one million percent rather have Luka over AD and a #1. That being said, I understand why they traded Luka, but they completely botched the return. They did it in secrecy because they knew they wouldn't be able to trade Luka if the fans knew ahead of time. Nico handled this as poorly as humanly possible with no regard to the fans. The return from LA should have been AD, Reeves, Knecht and 2 number ones at a minimum. What happened should not have been allowed by Silver.

[Radical Mavs]

Luka on the Laker bench. Many comments online say he does not look happy at all.