Basketball fans will forever remember where they were when they heard that the Dallas Mavericks traded away their franchise.
I was laying on my dorm room couch half asleep, upset.
Why? Because John Cena just lost the WWE Royal Rumble. Little did I know what was in store for me in the near future.
At 12:12 a.m. I received an X notification from Shams Charania, the senior NBA insider from ESPN.
The 25-year-old NBA superstar Luka Doncic had been traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in a three-team-deal with the Utah Jazz, for a package that included Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first round pick.
I genuinely thought that Charania had been hacked, and there would be a follow up post declaring the trade a false alarm. But no. My fears were confirmed when Charania released a follow up post with the message “Yes, this is real,” along with the full terms of the trade.
He literally had to double down because of how ridiculous it is. Even Charania didn’t believe the trade at first, as he said on the ESPN show “Get Up” : “I thought my phone was hacked.”
I was in utter shock, and still am.
This deal makes absolutely zero sense. You don’t just trade a perennial MVP candidate like Doncic. There are zero ways to justify this move.
The Mavericks reportedly had “major concerns about moving forward with (Doncic) due to his constant conditioning issues and the looming commitment of another super max contract extension this summer,” according to ESPN reporter Tim MacMahon.
So, Mavericks General Manager Nico Harrison just traded away the potential best player in franchise history, who is beloved in the city of Dallas and who wanted to stay there for the entirety of his career, all because he put on a little weight?
That may be the dumbest thing I ever heard.
Even if Doncic is overweight and has some conditioning issues, who cares. He just led the team to the NBA Finals last year and was the leader in points, rebounds, assists, steals and field goals during the playoffs.
And to fix that problem by trading for Davis, who was given the nickname ‘street clothes’ because he has been constantly sidelined from injuries over the course of his career.
Harrison further justified the move by claiming “I believe that defense wins championships,”
“I believe that getting an All-Defensive center and an All-NBA player with a defensive mindset gives us a better chance. We’re built to win now and in the future.” Harrison told ESPN.
The Mavericks were three wins away from a championship last year, and traded away the guy who made it happen.
Even if it was a good idea to ship away Doncic, the manner in which the Mavericks conducted this trade should be considered malpractice. Harrison didn’t even bother to feel out the market.
In the early stages of discussion with the Lakers, general manager Rob Pelinka thought that Harrison was joking when he floated the idea of a Doncic and Davis swap.
Can you imagine the haul the Mavericks would have gotten if they actually shopped Doncic around the league, creating a massive public bidding war?
Rudy Gobert was acquired from the Utah Jazz in 2022 by the Minnesota Timberwolves for five players (three of them starters) and five first round draft picks. But the Mavericks only got back Davis, Christie and a first round pick?
The Mavericks return, to put it bluntly, sucks. Davis turns 32 in March, and with his proneness to injuries, signs point to him being an expiring good. Don’t get me wrong. Davis is an unbelievable basketball player on both sides of the floor, and will definitely help the Mavericks in the short term, but for Doncic?
Doncic is a player that should be untouchable. Former majority owner Mark Cuban agreed, even admitting that he would rather divorce his wife than trade away Doncic.
He has generational talent, and has perhaps the highest career ceiling since his now teammate LeBron James.
The Mavericks are not a franchise with a track record of historical excellence. If you are a team who is lucky enough to wander into a player like Doncic, you lock him in the arena and throw away the key.
