Nico Harrison reveals he only talked to Lakers about trading Luka Doncic

Nico Harrison reveals he only talked to Lakers about trading Luka Doncic

Less than 12 hours after trading franchise superstar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison stepped in front of the podium and delivered an incomprehensibly bad press conference, attempting to justify the earth-shattering and franchise-altering transaction.

Perhaps the most shocking development of the entire deal is that Harrison revealed that he only talked to Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka about trading Luka Doncic–conversations that happened over “three to four weeks.” Head coach Jason Kidd also wasn’t informed about the trade until after it happened.

Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd wasn't informed about the Luka Dončić trade until after the deal was finalized, according to GM Nico Harrison. pic.twitter.com/XQHIcizhNa

— ESPN (@espn) February 2, 2025

When you’re talking about the prospects of trading, at worst, a top-3 player in the sport–regardless of how long that thought crept to mind–wouldn’t it be wise to check in with the rest of the league before you pull off a trade?

While Anthony Davis is an All-NBA player who’s one of the best defenders in the sport, think about the offers you could command for Doncic. Every player has a price. There’s obvious levels to it. Six months ago, we saw Mikal Bridges fly off the shelves for five first-round picks. Now, a top-3 player in the sport got dealt for Davis, Max Christie–who’s balled out for the Lakers over the last month after momentarily being out of the rotation–and one first-round pick.

Lakers desperately need another center now

We are obviously not privy to those conversations, but talking to one just team about Doncic doesn’t make any sense, and it likely never will. Imagine the offers that Oklahoma City, San Antonio or Houston could’ve offered. We will never know, but most general managers would likely offer a ton for Doncic, who led Dallas to its first NBA Finals in over a decade.

Doncic should have never even reached the table, yet been on it. But if he was, the market should’ve been explored, but alas.

Oh, and you should probably communicate with your head coach about that next time instead of assuming he would be OK with it.

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