Luka Dealt to Lakers: Nico Harrison is a Basketball Terrorist

[audiosway]

I've been a diehard Mavs fan since the 80s and I've thought a lot about what this deal means. I don't think I'm ready to just cut out the NBA cold turkey but it will never be the same. I've wondered if I might like to start watching the hated Lakers. They currently employ my two favorite players. I've thought about following the Thunder. They're homegrown, young, and exciting. I have family in Oklahoma. I've thought about holding out for the next Mavs trade. Maybe they pull a rabbit out of the hat that will get me interested. I still like PJ and Lively.

Man, I just think trading Luka feels like an ender for me. I'll hang around to see what happens at the deadline. And I'll probably watch AD's debut. They'll be good. But even if they go on to win a title it will feel empty. Kyrie and AD are great players but they're not our guys. They're just hired guns who don't even live here. They care about their brand. The owners don't live here either. They don't care about Dallas or basketball. They care about building casinos in Texas.

The Dallas Mavericks are no longer our local basketball team. They're a business, an asset. And the players are assets, commodities bought and sold and traded to the highest bidder, or in secret deals negotiated in the dark corners of a Crescent Court coffee shop. The problem is Luka wasn't viewed as an asset by fans. He was an icon. And now that the cover is blown on who this team really is, it's the end of a era.

I honestly don't think I could have put it any better. I was a Celtics fan in the 80s. Didn't watch for a little bit of the 90s. Then, I got hooked on Dallas when Dirk got drafted. Luka felt like that all over again. He was about to be the face of the NBA and he was our guy.

It just doesn't feel the same anymore. In my prior post I said why I think it went down. But, you nailed it. The Mavs are an asset now. They are looked at like the Lakers were they just get great hired guns and win titles. I think I would rather see Luka go to battle than watch hired guns with no vested interest. I'll probably end up watching some Laker games because of Luka and Dorian.