Nico Harrison KNEW the Mavs Were Losing Luka Doncic, Weren’t Going to Offer Him Max Contract
The Dallas Mavericks shocked the NBA world by trading Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis. What led to this blockbuster trade and how will it reshape the league for years to come?
Nick Angstadt is joined by Christian Clark of The Athletic to discuss the Mavs’ decision to trade Luka, Nico Harrison’s role in the deal, and the cultural differences that may have contributed. They explore the implications for both franchises, mentioning Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, and Mark Cuban’s reactions to this seismic NBA trade.
Story: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6137644/2025/02/17/luka-doncic-trade-lakers-mavericks-nico-harrison/
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50 Comments
Even if Nico never intended to give the supermax contract, he didn't know if Luka would leave because he never negotiated or even probed. (Dirk took his pay cut to help the team many times.) Even if his reason for the trade is reasonable, the way he handled the trade still didn't make any sense.
This trade will haunt this organization forever. Nico will be remembered by this for his entire career. He better be right, but likely wont be. True MFFLs will always ❤ luka.
We don’t know anything about these Owners…..We are getting ready to find out if they are cheap or not
Nico has the good decision. Mavs despite big men injuries are playing their own roles. Confidence and moral is high on mavs team. There is ball movement. Team plays patient for open man . Nico build a championship contender minus davis gafford & lively. Unike with luka who owns the ball. Everybody just watching him one on one plays just do his thing . Forced shots no morals no confidence on players. Mavs are a better team now with kyrie
As a Lakers fan I wish the Lakers kept AD and Christie. They'd just gotten their wing rotation straight and were winning at a high percentage. Now this roster is back to being unbalanced and lacking the defense Christie offered. Any team can drive to the rim without any concern AD would be on the backline to block their shot.
I suggest you refrain from talking about all these Luka conspiracies… puro Marites lang naman yan…
Anyone here after DEN vs LAL game
Don't know if anyone saw the laker game but luka looked really good as they beat the hell outta Denver. He's gonna destroy the mavs here in a few days
Was it a bad trade? Yes. Should he have been traded? No.
I don’t know if y’all remember, but Luka was complaining to the refs a lot in his first two years. Then, in his third year, Kidd got on him about it. By his fourth year, he reverted back to it. He let constant complaining to the refs impact his game—he wouldn’t get back on defense or wouldn’t even try at times.
His defense was terrible a lot of the time. When someone would iso him, he’d start pouting. First, it was Rick Carlisle, and now this. So, he gets iso’d every game, and that’s why we lose.
Should they have traded him? No. But it seems like they were tired of these issues. If you’re going to trade him, though, you better get a huge haul in return. I don’t mind trade just should’ve been way more in return , this will never make sense to me or any fan
Luka will be better off in LA and the bigger spotlight, he was meant for it. I think he'll take everything more seriously there and reach his full potential
Luka just had 32/10/7 with 4 steals, 1 block. 4/9 from 3, 8/8 FT. In a win against the Nuggets.
AD got revenge on his old team, though. Great performance- 0/0/0 with 0 steals, 0 blocks. 0/0 from 3, 0/0 FT. The Pelicans are a better measuring stick than the Nuggets.
Nico's BBIQ and culture sure to elevate this Mavs team. He can't keep lucking into things and failing upwards right? At some point, we'll all see his mad genius. Just like it was his plan all along to be rejected by Kuzma, while he was intending to get PJ and Gaff. Just like he lucked into Luka, as an asset, to get his posse/buddy AD while serving up Luka on a silver platter to the teat he suckles on- Pelinka.
Nico needs more security
CAN WE PLEASE MOVE ON?????? I hate how the Luka trade went down but the guys on our team still need our support. The past can't be undone and continuing to make videos related to the trade won't change the fact that he is gone.
Nobody talking about the defense Nico has played since the trade?!
Nico: Luka bought ONLY a 15m dollar mansiom, not 20m. That's a major red flag he is leaving.
Luka played the most games and the most minutes last year. Led the Playoffs in all the most important statistics. He's only behind MJ and Wilt in terms of being an offensive juggernaut.
If Nico wasn't an egotistical, id!otic, power-tripping, possibly racist Kobe and Pelinka teat-suckler, he would've hired people to get through to Luka. You know? The people close to Luke he bagan firing one by one?
Nico wanted Nico to win a Kobe-esque black American ring. He didn't want to support Luka in winning a Dallas Dirk-like ring. He always wanted to serve up Luka on a silver platter to the teat he currently suckles on- Pelinka.
It's pathetic and disgusting and I can't root for this traitorous, backstabbing weasel-snake, and donkey-looking owner.
If you blindly, brainlessly root for the Mavs right now, it's cuckoldry. You enjoy Nico, Dumont and the Lakers doing your team while you watch in the corner waiting to be allowed to participate.
Typical 25yo also aren’t international superstar professional athletes in line for a third of a billion dollars guaranteed contracts.
Luka isn’t being critiqued through the lens of a typical 25yo by his NBA employer.
imagine being the realtors that each missed out on the commission for closing on a $15M home (at 3% that's $450k)
Mavericks fans are dumber than I thought holy shit 😭
Nico is a dumbass. End of discussion.
After hearing this podcast and hearing that the Mavs weren't going to offer Luka the max, I've come to realize that Mark Cuban basically sold the Mavs to Ross Perot Jr. Those who remember the Mavs pre Cuban will know.
Lakers up by 23 and Luka has 32 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 steals, and 1 block — in 31 minutes. Nico is not smart. He is borderline racist because he didn't want a white guy leading his franchise. That is the huge elephant in the room.
The only way the trade isnt the worst ever is if luka is permanently injured and a shell. But he just dropped 32 in 30 min. So i doubt he turns into Brandon roy off the cliff. Im sick. It hurt so much worse then 06
Feels bad man.
Did you see Luka today. 32 10 and 7 against the Nuggets. He even played defence, god damn. Nico Harrison should be run out of town. Well that’s the end of Dallas.
what a loser organization they don't deserve to have any other great player anymore, such losers the Mavs are garbage 🗑️ 🤢
Just my opinion but I think it comes down to ego. Humility has to come before intelligence.
Erick Dampier
Luka new Gold era beginning…but Dallas shame Will be for ever
My biggest nightmare would be being trapped in a room with nick and Chris Broussard. My ears would bleed
Some people here still saying it was a good trade as Luka just dropped 32 in probably the biggest Lakers win of the season.
I’ve enjoyed watching the Mavs fans tears and meltdowns 😆
SO HE GAVE HIM AWAY FOR PRACTICAL NOTHING? HE COULD HAVE SHOPPED HIM AND GOTTEN THE WORLD BACK LIKE EVERY GOOD GM DOES, ITS JUST ANOTHER LIE.
Mavs winning the chip w/o Luka but luka will probably get a ring n it will motivate him to get his own
Why are U still talking about the mavs….
Start just a Luka show
It will have more interest
One angle I haven’t seen people take but seems right to me is that it’s personal. Nico doesn’t like Luka and wanted to rob him of a lot of money by denying him a supermax and sending him to a state with a high income tax. Nico wanted to deny Luka something Nico didn’t think Luka deserved.
What we learned about Nico from this move? Nico is an ego maniac, racist and a sellout.
The trade was already the WORST trade as it was happening, and it only gotten worse and worse as more information went out.
We don’t have to wait ten years to evaluate the trade. Nothing that can happen in the future would justify this trade because we didn’t get fair value. Nico is a clown GM who didn’t give a d@mn about getting value in return. We should have had five firsts over the next ten years. And even then I wouldn’t have done the trade. Just an inexcusable trade that Nico will never live down.
Now Maverick owners see everything in DOLLARS & CENTS…NOT….WINS or LOSSES…get used to it….
Nico hating Luka doesn’t make sense as a reason why he traded him to the Lakers, to a friend. Why not trade him to the east? Why to a rival? Why not get a ton of picks for him? No. This trade is super shady.
DEI in sports? Well, it’s worked out so well everywhere else so I can see the logic. Great job Nico!🙄
For them to ban luka jerseys in the aac is f***ed up
What needs to happen:
Mark Cuban needs to be the savior for the city of dallas & buy the team back.
& Obviously get Luka in the offseason.
"Luka belongs in dallas"
Nico was send to Dallas to steal Luka for Lakers. This was his job.
People are overreacting — will come back to this post next season
Nico Harrison is The Real Al Bundy. He has to sell shoes !
i still believe someone lost millions during the finals. for nico to gang up on luka having no defense? How about kyrie ? some commented kyries kryptonite is boston? Can someone do some digging..
I still love my Mavs I'm a maverick for life but like Dirk I'm still gonna support Luka
Loved seeing Luka ball out today for the purple and gold