It’s been a while since the Dallas Mavericks shipped off Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, and yet the “Why, though?” questions haven’t stopped. Especially now that Doncic has hit form like he’s on a mission to make a point. Not only has he dropped almost 30 lbs, but he also averaged 34.7 points per game in EuroBasket. Now serving as the leading man for the Lakers in LeBron James’ absence, he’s scored more than 40 points in each of his last three games.
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Mavs GM Nico Harrison has previously spoken about the controversial transfer, noting how it’s the defense that wins championships … an indirect jab at Doncic’s physical prowess at the time. Unfortunately, that vision may take some time to materialize, as the Mavericks currently sit at 2-3 with the season just underway.
NBA insider Shams Charania recently appeared on the Flagrant podcast, where he was asked if Harrison genuinely believed trading Doncic would have made the team better. And he gave a solid response.
“He genuinely believed that Anthony Davis is a better championship fit, better for their culture and defense,” Charania explained (via Flagrant), before adding. “Like in real time back then, that is what he believed. Now, he might still believe this. I don’t think anyone’s gone up and asked, ‘Do you still believe this?'”
“But as of, even training camp, this is what [Harrison] believed- Anthony Davis, being a better fit to a championship-quality team than Luka Doncic, and whatever concerns they had about Luka… So, you go out and make this trade,” Charania added.
When the host of the show, Akaash Singh, called the Luka trade the worst NBA trade ever and questioned how Harrison still has a job, Charania explained that the Mavs’ new ownership genuinely believes the team Harrison has assembled, when healthy, can compete for an NBA championship.
Although Charania avoided labeling it a bad trade, he did note that with Doncic, the Mavs could have built a championship-caliber roster around him for the next decade or so. Then again, he maintained that it’s still too soon to tell whether Harrison’s decision to move on from Doncic was the right call.
“Let’s say, the Mavericks, this year or next year win a championship and the Lakers don’t, are we going to say this trade was a success?” he later asked.
Understandably, Charania prefers to sit on the fence on this one, and perhaps he’s right to do so. Stranger things have happened in the NBA, so the Mavs winning a championship with Harrison still in charge could very well be a real possibility.
