Nico Harrison Genuinely Believed Anthony Davis is a Better Culture Fit Than Luka Doncic: Shams Charania

The “why” questions are still doing the rounds hangs even though it has been a while since the Dallas Mavericks shipped off Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. Especially now that Doncic has hit form like he’s on a mission to make a point.

Over the offseason, Luka dropped nearly 30lbs and averaged 34.7 points per game in EuroBasket. In Los Angeles, Doncic is serving as the leading man in LeBron James’ absence. And he’s scored more than 40 points in each of his last three games. Mavs GM Nico Harrison has previously spoken about the controversial transfer, stating that it’s the defense that wins championships…

That was an indirect jab at Doncic’s iffy physical fitness at the time. However, the larger vision he had in shipping off Luka has not materialized into results on the court. The Mavericks currently sit at 2-3. Needless to say, Dallas’ poor form and Doncic’s hot streak have put fuel into the “why Doncic was traded” discussions.

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.

“He genuinely believed that Anthony Davis is a better championship fit, better for their culture and defense. 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?'” Charania said.

“Even [in] 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,” he added.

The host of the show, Akaash Singh, interjected, calling the Luka trade the worst NBA trade ever while questioning 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. However, 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?” Charania 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 possibility.