Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka and Dallas Mavericks GM Nico Harrison almost certainly agree on a key fact: their mutual late friend Kobe Bryant would’ve wanted Luka Doncic in L.A.
So they pulled the strings to get him there.
To start the Lakers’ introductory press conference of Doncic on Tuesday morning, Pelinka made sure to thank one key person for gifting Los Angeles yet another all-time great talent. That’s right.
He actually thanked the Mavericks and Harrison for facilitating the Doncic trade. Man, that’s like a bully thanking you for giving them your lunch money. That’s like an old-timey robber being appreciative that they had the opportunity to commit a massive heist of a moving train.
“Thank you for letting me rob you blind,” Pelinka … probably.
Honestly, I don’t blame Pelinka for feeling a little cocky, though:
Rob Pelinka thanks the Dallas Mavericks and calls Mavs GM Nico Harrison, “instrumental” in the trade negotiations.
(via @TomerAzarly) pic.twitter.com/8WcCKXTC9K
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) February 4, 2025
When have you ever seen a sports executive publicly thank the other team’s representative like this?
Of course Pelinka would thank Harrison for gifting him a current top-three player. Of course, Pelinka admitted that Lakers owner Jeanie Buss was in the loop of the trade from the beginning, while Harrison kept mostly everything a secret from the Mavericks. Harrison made acquiring a generational talent for pennies on the dollar so simple and so easy!
Pelinka absolutely knew he was pulling off the NBA heist (trade) of the century from the start here. Harrison was all too happy to oblige.
Man, I’d be thanking him like this, too.
