“Wanted to Get Better Defensively”: Mavericks Analyst Reasons Why Luka Doncic Got Traded So Suddenly

The basketball world was shocked by this weekend’s Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis trade that sent Luka to the Lakers and AD to the Mavs. Nearly everyone has been blasting Dallas general manager Nico Harrison for not getting more for Luka, a consensus top-five player in the NBA. Devin Harris, an TV analyst for the Mavericks games that also played 10 of his 15 NBA seasons in Dallas, joined the Road Trippin’ podcast to discuss the move, as well as try to explain Harrison’s reason for making it.

“This was based on defense. They wanted to get better defensively. They believe that a player like Anthony Davis, partnered with Kyrie Irving, PJ Washington, their bigs [Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively], they want to get big.”

Harris mentions OKC and Denver as teams that Dallas needs to match up with. But it does have to be noted that the Mavs beat the Thunder in the Western Conference Semis last year with Luka, and they beat the team that beat the Nuggets one round later. Whether they’ll be able to repeat the feat with Davis remains to be seen.

“They want to match up with OKC, they want to match up with Denver, and they feel like this kind of trade can get them over the hump.”

Davis will undoubtedly help the Mavs defensively, where they currently rank 14th in the league, but with 25.7 points per game, he’s much more than just a rim protector. On paper, his presence does allow Dallas to combat someone like Nikola Jokic better, but losing Luka and all he does for the team can’t just be discounted either.

Trading away Luka Doncic is one of the biggest gambles in NBA history

Harris talked about how Harrison has made moves every year since he’s been the team’s general manager, and he hasn’t been afraid to take big swings. While he is getting piled on right now for trading Luka, his track record, which includes trading for Kyrie Irving and PJ Washington and drafting Dereck Lively (all moves that weren’t hugely celebrated at the time), should at least buy him a little bit of goodwill and benefit of the doubt.

The trade deadline isn’t until Thursday, which gives Harrison more time to make moves. Will he trade for another ball-handler, or leave all the playmaking duties to Kyrie? It’s going to be fascinating to see how this season plays out, both for the Lakers (who desperately need to trade for a big man now that AD is gone) and the Mavs. If these two teams meet in the playoffs, it’s going to be one of the most anticipated series of all-time, and the first big referendum on who really won the trade.