On late Saturday night, early Sunday morning, the NBA was hit with a blockbuster deal. We’ve seen star players traded in the past but not like this. The Dallas Mavericks traded their All-NBA PG Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Mavericks GM Nico Harrison exclusively handled this deal. At a press conference on Sunday, head coach Jason Kidd said he wasn’t told that Luka was being traded until the “11th hour.” How does a GM in the NBA not communicate with his head coach that he’s trading away the team’s best player?
Jason Kidd did not look pleased that the Mavs traded Luka Doncic
I’ve been deep in this Luka Dončić trade rabbit hole since it happened, but this sticks out the most:
How does a GM not loop in his HC on a trade this big? Jason Kidd finding out “at the 11th hour, right before it was announced” is just bonkers to me. pic.twitter.com/YE8MECJhHr
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) February 3, 2025
In any professional sports league, the GM and head coach must be on the same page. Being in lockstep keeps the franchise’s best interests in mind. That doesn’t look to be the case for the Dallas Mavericks as the 2024-25 trade deadline approaches. At a press conference on Sunday, GM Nico Harrison tried to justify him trading Luka Doncic to the Lakers. Harrison gave some background on how the deal went down.
He told the media that discussions with Lakers’ Rob Pelinka were happening for three to four weeks. The idea of trading Luka Doncic was floated between the two. However, this conversation was kept secret and nobody else knew. Not even Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd. On Sunday, he told the media that Harrison informed him at the “11th hour” that Doncic would be traded.
Nico Harrison claimed that he understands the type of players that Kidd wants on the roster. That’s why trading for Anthony Davis seemed like a win-win for the Mavericks. In the short time since the trade with LA, Nico Harrison has received immense backlash around the league for trading Doncic away. Luka is a top-five player in the NBA who turns 26 this month. Despite all the upside with Doncic, the Mavs traded him. Dallas could have gotten a larger haul for Doncic if they had made him publically available for trade. Instead, they went under the table and made a deal with the Lakers. How will this affect the Mavericks long-term?
