Luka Doncic TRADED to the Lakers!

OremLK · Feb 3, 2025

Jorge M Gutierrez said: ↑

Women
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I mean based on their decisionmaking thus I think a move like that sounds pretty on brand for Mavs' front office...

SuraGotMadHops · Feb 3, 2025

My friend who is a Mavs fan is adamant this was a League/Mavs owners handshake deal.."send Luka to the Lakers and we'll green light your relocation to Vegas."

Seriously, to decide you are trading a generational player in his prime and not open it up to a bidding war is the most suspicious part of this whole thing.

zeeshan2 · Feb 3, 2025

https://digginbasketball.substack.com/p/the-day-after-luka-doncic-trade

The secrecy of a one-man operation

Here’s what the framework for this stunning trade looked like based on what I’ve learned yesterday:

Nico Harrison admitted he spoke only with Lakers GM Rob Pelinka and that they kept the discussions secret from everyone else, including Jason Kidd.

Dončić did not request a trade, nor did he give the Mavericks any signals that he wouldn’t sign his next supermax extension. Harrison confirmed that. In his statement, Dončić said he had hoped to spend his career in Dallas. He was even in the process of investing in a new house in Dallas.

Team employees typically involved in processing such major decisions had no knowledge of the trade.

Harrison made it clear that he alone was making the decisions, while Kidd referred to it as "Nico’s vision."

Both Harrison and Kidd admitted this was a win-now move.

Based on all of the above, one can conclude that moving on from a five-time All-NBA First Team, five-time All-Star was Harrison's idea—one he was determined to execute without involving or hearing any other voice that might dissuade him or, more importantly, alert anyone who could prevent it from happening.

Ego is the enemy

I borrowed this title from one of my favorite books by Ryan Holiday, a bestselling author, marketer, and modern Stoic known for his work on philosophy, strategy, and personal growth. Holiday explains that introducing ego into a situation often prevents us from being rational, objective, and clear headed.

A person close to the situation described this trade as the ultimate Harrison power trip, calling him a power-hungry man. Another observer said Harrison removed anyone who held a different view. I’m not close enough to say there’s no other perspective on this situation. These are the views of people who either left or don’t necessarily align with the current vision.

But what’s clear is that there is a Nico vision, and Dončić might be the last—and by far the biggest—piece that didn’t fit into it.

There is a well-documented list of people close to Dončić who have left or were forced out since Harrison took over. Scott Tomlin, the team’s longtime VP of basketball communications. Casey Smith, the longtime athletic trainer, widely regarded as one of Dončić’s closest allies in the organization. Igor Kokoškov, an assistant coach during Kidd’s first year, was another departure. He coached Dončić to a EuroBasket title in 2017 and served as his pregame workout partner—a role he took over from Orlando Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley, another voice Dončić deeply respected. Jalen Brunson, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Boban Marjanović, three players Dončić respected and was close with, all left the Mavericks during Harrison’s tenure. Another person who had a short tenure in Dallas, not necessarily from Dončić's circle but well-respected around the league, was Dennis Lindsey, who left for Detroit in the summer.
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mfastx · Feb 3, 2025

The delusional Laker fan trade ideas are just gonna get even crazier after this, smh. Luka also gonna average 10 FTAs/game for the next 10 years now.

Easy · Feb 3, 2025

mfastx said: ↑

The delusional Laker fan trade ideas are just gonna get even crazier after this, smh. Luka also gonna average 10 FTAs/game for the next 10 years now.
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Giannis for Austin Reaves, contract fillers and a FRP.

tallanvor · Feb 3, 2025

zeeshan2 · Feb 3, 2025

[Goldsberry] The Luka Dončić deal originally included multiple first-round picks, Dalton Knecht, and more, but was chiseled down after Rob Pelinka was able to convince Nico Harrison that taking on Luka Dončić was a big risk due to his weight and injury history.

zeeshan2 · Feb 3, 2025

ElPigto · Feb 3, 2025

zeeshan2 said: ↑

[Goldsberry] The Luka Dončić deal originally included multiple first-round picks, Dalton Knecht, and more, but was chiseled down after Rob Pelinka was able to convince Nico Harrison that taking on Luka Dončić was a big risk due to his weight and injury history.
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This has to be a joke.

JumpMan · Feb 3, 2025

ElPigto said: ↑

This has to be a joke.
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A big, fat joke.

It's just gossip and 99.9% of all gossip is a lie. True fact.

zeeshan2 · Feb 3, 2025

cheke64 · Feb 3, 2025

AroundTheWorld said: ↑

lol I mean some takes are just ridiculous

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It just keep getting worse. Then they trade Jimmy for a bag of chips.

The Captain · Feb 3, 2025

Reading this article and i realized this whole thing is a microcosm of how corporation and government ‘leadership’ is completely disconnected from people, just in another world in a bubble with no clue. ‘Ah, they’ll get over it.’

adoo · Feb 3, 2025

zeeshan2 said: ↑

Rob Pelinka was able to convince Nico Harrison that taking on Luka Dončić was a big risk due to his weight and injury history.
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citing these eg

John "hot plate" Williams

Gen "baby" Davis

Zion Williamson

Duncan McDonuts · Feb 3, 2025

Lmaaaaoooo Mavs. Such a fail. They ended up taking less for Luka.

OkayAyeReloaded · Feb 3, 2025

Mr. Dominant said: ↑

Luka looks in shape to me.

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Whew, if everyone is healthy those next Lakers vs Mavs games are going to be savage.

Mr. Dominant · Feb 3, 2025

Mr. Dominant · Feb 3, 2025

zeeshan2 · Feb 3, 2025

Late Saturday, the Dallas Mavericks agreed to send Dončić to the Lakers for 10-time All-Star and defensive anchor Anthony Davis, Max Christie and the Lakers’ first-round pick in 2029. In the process, the Lakers held onto their 2031 first-rounder.

The Mavs, desperate to find Dončić a new home as soon as possible, did not press for it.

The Lakers’ logic, according to league sources, was that parting with both of their first-rounders would be too perilous. Dončić’s contract can expire in 2026 when they couldn’t know his interest in re-signing. And they had no chance to find out before pulling off an exchange that shook the NBA.

The Lakers could not talk to Dončić’s agent, Bill Duffy, about the trade because both sides, Dallas and Los Angeles, wanted to keep negotiations a secret. Mentioning the behind-the-scenes details to agents would put the information at risk of becoming public, which the Mavericks especially thought would be too flammable. If a trade didn’t materialize, then they believed the prospect of being left with a disgruntled franchise centerpiece could be disastrous

At Harrison’s news conference, he praised Pelinka’s ability to keep talks quiet, even as they went on for weeks, though concealing the availability of a young star was in Pelinka’s interest, too. If the rest of the league learned the Mavs wanted to move Dončić, it could flood Dallas’ inbox, possibly with offers that bested the Lakers’.

So without the ability to gauge Dončić’s appetite to remain in L.A. long term, the Lakers expressed they couldn’t go all the way in for him, league sources said. And the Mavericks acquiesced, eventually agreeing to deal Dončić, along with Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris for Davis, Christie and one first-rounder. For salary-cap reasons, the Jazz also took on Jalen Hood-Schifino and two second-round picks.

Now that the trade is official, answers are emerging. Dončić is ecstatic about joining the Lakers, and all early signs point to a long-term future with the team, a league source said.
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Easy · Feb 3, 2025

"The future is 3, 4 years."

This kind of comment should get a CEO fired.

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