The Luka Doncic trade to the Los Angeles Lakers immediately caused ground-shaking repercussions across the league when the Dallas Mavericks dealt their franchise star for Anthony Davis in a blockbuster move before the deadline.
Mavs star Kyrie Irving was among those emotional about the stunning trade as he tried to process the departure of his "hermano" and later sent a heartfelt message to the fan base.
With the dust now starting to settle, Irving appeared to voice his distaste over how the Mavericks delivered a “character assassination” of Doncic in the wake of the unforeseen move, as one NBA analyst put it.
“What have you thought about the way Luka’s been spoken about by upper management?” ESPN’s Malika Andrews asked Irving in a recent interview.
“Part of our job every day is to deal with the public space, but there were real relationships that were built behind the scenes that will transcend just the basketball court, coaching, and then upper management,” Irving said. “Hopefully, we can tailor back on some of the public criticism aspects of it and really just maintain the kindness and the compassion that we have for each other that’s real every day, not just one moment or a sound bite that ends up being described as something that could be taken out of context.
“That’s what I feel like is going on right now. People are highly emotional.”
Kyrie Irving on Luka Doncic:
— MFFL NATION (@NationMffl) February 19, 2025
“Hopefully we can tailor back on some of the public criticism aspects of it and really just maintain the kindness and the compassion that we have for each other that's real everyday...”
(via @ESPNNBA, h/t @ohnohedidnt24) pic.twitter.com/NzDku48V0M
Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison has since faced heavy backlash for trading away Doncic in a secret deal that no one from minority owner Mark Cuban to Davis’s agent Rich Paul knew about. Harrison and the Mavs were reportedly concerned about Doncic's conditioning issues and weight, per one report.
While Doncic has gradually been building a strong rapport with LeBron James and his new Lakers teammates, Irving has yet to play consistent minutes with Davis, who suffered an adductor injury during his first and only game with the franchise and is expected to miss multiple weeks.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Kyrie Irving Seemed to Call Out Mavericks Over Recent Criticism of Luka Doncic.
