There are probably five players across the NBA who are thought as untouchable, simply not available for a trade. And many would have assumed that Luka Doncic was at the very top of that list.
Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison clearly had different ideas when he shocked the basketball world in dealing Doncic to the Lakers for Anthony Davis late Saturday night.
The obvious question after the trade was … why? Doncic is a generational talent, just 25 years old and led Dallas to the NBA Finals last season. That’s not the kind of player you just give up on. In an interview with the Dallas Morning News, Harrison voiced his concerns about Doncic’s contract situation while explaining the motivation behind the trade.
“We really feel like we got ahead of what was going to be a tumultuous summer, him being eligible for the supermax and also a year away from him being able to opt out of any contract,” Harrison said. “And so we really felt like we got out in front of that. We know teams, they’ve had it out there, teams have been loading up to try to sign him once that comes available.”
Doncic would have been eligible for a five-year, $345 million supermax extension this summer, so by trading him, the Mavericks actually took that supermax eligibility away from Doncic.
But if there was genuine concern about Doncic opting out and signing elsewhere, you’d think the Mavericks would shop around for the best offer. They didn’t do that.
The entire situation remains so weird.
