MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE
While the Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks both felt that they needed to pull off the biggest trade in recent years, there are some that continue to believe there was more that meets the eye in the deal that had Slovenian star Luka Doncic swapping zip codes.
Doncic was the centerpiece of a trade that made the all-around star a Laker in exchange for Anthony Davis.
“We will be relentless in building a roster around the on-court vision Coach [JJ] Redick has for this basketball team and there is an unwavering commitment to that work to serve our loyal and dedicated fans,” Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said.
Dallas, which zoomed to the NBA Finals behind Doncic last season, felt it needed to make a deal to keep a slowly-closing title window open.
“Defense wins championships. AD is the one that we truly believe fits … When you look at going forward, we’re looking at the window to win now,” said Mavericks coach Jason Kidd.
But not all the talk on the celebrated swap centered on both teams’ basketball needs.
And adding to the raised eyebrows was the fact that Doncic’s father made it apparent that the Slovenian ace wasn’t aware what was happening.
“Luka absolutely did not deserve this. He sacrificed a lot. He really respected Dallas. Luka respected the whole city.” Sasa Doncic, Luka Doncic’s father, told Slovenian television on Sunday.
Luka had built deep ties to Dallas off the floor, including through many charitable organizations. He had given large sums of money to various entities in North Texas and arranged for Jordan Brand sneakers—he represents the brand—to be given to frontline workers in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In only 422 games, he ranks sixth on Dallas’ all-time scoring list, is second in 3-pointers in Mavs history behind only Dirk Nowitzki, is third on the club list in rebounds and fifth in assists.
No ill feelings
So it was expected that several questions were raised on why the Mavericks agreed to trade a well-loved superstar who was close to matching Nowitzki’s impact on the team and the city.
“The Mavs obviously had to make a decision this summer whether to give him five years, $350 million. That’s a lot of money to give a guy you don’t think can stay in shape and is always going to be hurt,” NBA analyst and legend Charles Barkley said on NBA TV. “He’s a great player. But they must know something we don’t know.”
Whatever the reason, it didn’t seem like Doncic was in on negotiations. For one, the trade meant losing hundreds of millions of dollars that would have been on the negotiating table for his contract extension. As a Maverick, Doncic would have been eligible for a supermax deal, something that was stripped away by the trade.
Still, Doncic showed little ill feelings toward Dallas, at least on paper.
Doncic said in a letter to the city that he “wanted so badly to bring you a championship” and that he thought he’d spend his career in Dallas.
“For a young kid from Slovenia coming to the US for the first time, you made North Texas feel like home,” Doncic wrote. “To all the organizations I’ve worked with throughout the Dallas community, thank you for letting me contribute to your important work and join you in bringing light to those who need it. As I start the next part of my basketball journey, I am leaving a city that will always feel like a home away from home. Dallas is a special place, and Mavs fans are special fans.”
Meanwhile, as Doncic looks to reboot his career in Hollywood, Victory Wembanyama will now be the brightest star in Texas—and he’s going to get a new point guard to run the show: De’Aaron Fox is on his way out of Sacramento and headed to San Antonio.
