The Dallas Mavericks decision to trade Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers this season deeply angered and hurt the Mavericks fanbase. Doncic was the team's beloved superstar, and had every intention to spend his entire career with the team. By trading Doncic, the Mavericks betrayed both him and the fans.
In response, Mavericks fans have let general manager Nico Harrison and the team know how much they despised the decision. They protested the trade outside of the American Airlines Center, and when Doncic returned to Dallas for the first time as a Laker, Mavericks fans alternated between cheering for him and chanting "fire Nico!"
During the Mavericks press conference after getting eliminated from the NBA play-in tournament, Harrison acknowledged that he didn't quite realize just how important Doncic was to the fanbase.
"I did know Luka was important to the fan base," Harrison said Monday. "I didn't quite know it to what level"
Nico:
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) April 21, 2025
"I did know Luka was important to the fan base. I didn't quite know it to what level" pic.twitter.com/21EW73zQVW
To say Harrison miscalculated the fans' adoration of Doncic would be an understatement. Not only are the fans upset, but the Mavericks will reportedly pay the price as trading Doncic could reportedly cost the team nine figures over the next few years due to crowds and merchandise sales plummeting, and sponsorships cutting ties with the organization in the wake of the trade.
Harrison justified his decision by pointing to the fact that he feels they had a championship-level roster after trading for Davis. Had multiple of his starters not been injured, Harrison feels their success could have "quieted some of the outrage."
"The way we looked at it is if you're putting a team on the floor that's Kyrie [Irving], Klay [Thompson], P.J. [Washington], Anthony Davis, and [Derrick] Lively, we feel that's a championship caliber team, and we would have been winning at a high level," Harrison said. "That would've quieted some of the outrage. Unfortunately we weren't able to do that, so it just continued to go on and on."
Injuries certainly hurt the Mavericks, but after Doncic just led Dallas on a run to the NBA Finals last season, his claims simply fall flat. Doncic was largely the reason fans had hopes they could win a title, and Harrison trading him has only prompted distrust and hurt between the fans and the organization.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Nico Harrison Made Stunning Admission About Importance of Luka Doncic to Mavs Fans.
