Luka Dončić, arguably the purest scorer in the NBA, had just come off a successful season with the Dallas Mavericks. He and his team made it all the way to the NBA Finals and grabbed his fifth All-Star and All-NBA First Team awards. Loved by his community, he and the Mavericks were looking set for about a decade. A young superstar like Luka is rare, and the fans of Dallas knew it.
Dallas fans have only experienced one NBA title, carried by the legendary Dirk Nowitzki in 2011, who holds a statue in front of the American Airlines Center in Dallas. Since then, fans trusting the company, waited for them to find their next star player.
In 2018, Dončić joined the Mavericks, and fans watched him develop and adapt to the team that was being built around him. Fans realized Luka was the “next Dirk” and the soon-to-be face of the franchise. With unreal performances like 73 points in a single game, which is the 4th highest ever, several insane buzzer beaters, and recently a clutch step back three to grab a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference Finals, Luka had become a star.
Notably a little more than a year ago, Cuban sold 70% of his stake to the family of Miriam Adelson, who runs a casino company in Vegas. Huge controversy arose because of this, as people started to believe the franchise now intended to move to Vegas to acquire better gambling laws, and ultimately make more money. Fans stayed skeptical.
On Feb. 1, social media erupted at 11:12pm over a post claiming Luka Dončić had been traded to the Lakers for Anthony Davis. This post was so bizarre and unexpected that people thought it was fake, or the account, Shams, on X and Instagram, had been hacked. Because of this, Shams literally had to post again saying, “Yes, this is real” for people to believe it.
To add on top of this the Mavericks general manager, Nico Harrison, claimed they traded Luka because of his lack of defensive skill, and their worries about him having poor conditioning and cardio. Dončić was most definitely a defensive liability, especially in the 2024 NBA Finals, so Harrison’s claim isn’t totally incorrect. But, he has averaged around 36 minutes per game, out of 48, throughout his five seasons, which is just about, if not slightly more than the average. As the main scorer and creator, Dončić was involved with the Mavericks offense seemingly every play, totally debunking Harrison’s second reason.
The Mavericks had traded their star player, who was seemingly not at his peak yet, for a 31 year old power forward who has been extremely injury prone throughout his career. The trade also included Maxi Kleber (Mavericks) in return for Max Christie (Lakers), which has been beneficial for the Mavericks. Fans saw this as disrespectful to Dončić and Kleber who had been so loyal to the team.
Dončić had just bought a house in Dallas, Texas, for around $15 million before he heard about the trade. He was forced to move across the country, without being told beforehand, and without having any interest in leaving.
The way both teams handled the trade was extremely careless, as Luka didn’t hear he was getting traded until the news went public, and Anthony Davis found out during an interview when a reporter said, “Check your phone.”
Prior to the first home game since the Luka trade, Maverick fans chanted and protested against Nico Harrison, the general manager of the team, saying, “Fire Nico,” “Nico sucks,” “We want Luka,” and even “Sell the team.” Fans placed a coffin full of Luka jerseys in front of the arena and spoke to reporters about their opinions on the trade.
One older man from Bosnia was excited to celebrate his 60th birthday with his son by going to watch his favorite player, Luka, play in Dallas. Unfortunately, his wish wasn’t granted.
Fans around the city claimed it was the worst day of their lives and the worst trade in sports history. One man gave a brief speech over his opinion on the trade and it gained a lot of popularity. He claimed the management of the team was putting profit over fans and didn’t care what the fans thought. “He’s supposed to have a statue,” was the statement that turned the knife in the Luka fans.
Looking back on the new management of the Mavericks, people believe this trade is the first step in moving the team to Vegas. Losing fan interest and competition for a ring would make the transition easier for the management team.
Although Anthony Davis dominated in his debut game with the Mavericks, with 26, 16, and 7 in only 31 minutes, he fell to the ground in pain during the game with a left adductor strain. Maverick fans weren’t surprised. It did, however, add the cherry on top of the trade. Fans stated, “We don’t want a quick ring, we want a Luka ring,” claiming that the fans love Luka and can’t imagine winning without him.
Almost a month later, Dončić scored 32 points in a win over the Denver Nuggets and seemingly started to fit in with the Lakers rosters. On Feb. 24, the Lakers beat the Mavericks 107-99, carried by a Dončić 19 point triple double, and a stare down at the Mavericks’ bench after a spurt of Luka magic.
The trade has gone down in history as one of the most questionable decisions in sports history. Terrible management by two teams has caused two players to leave their home and left holes in two cities.
Clayton Rosone | Mar 3, 2025 at 3:18 PM
I’m not a huge basketball fan, but I knew enough to know that Dallas management has gone down the drain, with their handling of the Luka trade being the cherry on top.