In February 2025, the Dallas Mavericks organization made one of the biggest blunders in modern sports history. They traded away Luka Doncic to the Lakers for Anthony Davis, effectively sacrificing their long-term future. General manager Nico Harrison was fired early this season as ownership attempted to take accountability for the mistake. Now, the Mavericks are 19-32, do not look headed for postseason basketball, and have already traded Davis away again.
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Davis was sent to the Washington Wizards, bringing one of the strangest stretches of a future Hall of Famer’s career to an end. He appeared in just 29 games during his year in Dallas. While the organization now has additional financial flexibility heading into the offseason, it still cannot come close to filling the void left by Doncic’s sudden departure.
Not to mention that when you look at what the Mavs got for Davis, it’s not great. At least not according to Dirk Nowitzki. The Mavs legend addressed his old squad’s latest moves during a recent edition of NBA on Prime. He joked that fans were probably happy that AD is gone because he just reminded the base of what they lost with Luka.
“I think the Mavs fans are happy with this. I think they didn’t want to be reminded of what happened a year ago in the Luka trade,” Nowitzki stated. “To me, looking at this deal at first glance, there’s not a lot that came back for picks or player-wise so this is all really about financial flexibility for the future.”
That is a solid take. Dallas was in the Finals just two seasons ago. Trading Luka away did not just derail the Mavericks’ season, where they fought through the Play In only to be eliminated, it also damaged the incredible connection the city had built with the team through Doncic. Luka Magic was not replaceable. He was a guaranteed ticket draw.
“I’m a little disappointed, obviously,” added Nowitzki, who didn’t pull any punches. “I think when AD actually played with Cooper, they played off each other really REALLY well. I think it was a solid combo, but we’ll never know. I think hat this ultimately is now is build around Cooper, go young, see what the next year brings. See what the draft brings next summer.”
Dirk on the Mavs trading AD:
“There’s not a lot that came back with picks or player wise. I’m a little disappointed. I think (AD & Cooper) was a solid combo but we’ll never know” pic.twitter.com/mGvrQFJWob
— Oh No He Didn’t (@ohnohedidnt24) February 7, 2026
At this point, the Mavs feel less like a team with a plan and more like a franchise still reacting to a shockwave they created themselves. The scary part is not just the losses. It is the identity drift. Dallas used to sell hope every night Luka stepped on the floor. Now they are selling patience and “maybe next year,” which is a much tougher pitch in a market that tasted the Finals not long ago.
The silver lining is that a clean slate can sometimes force smarter long-term decisions, and Cooper Flagg, drafted first overall in the 2025 Draft, gives them a true north star if they commit to rebuilding the right way. But fair or not, every move they make over the next decade will be compared to the one that sent Luka out the door, and that is the kind of shadow only winning, real winning, can erase.
