NBA: Mavericks GM Nico Harrison Feels 'No Regret' For Trading Away Luka Doncic To Lakers
Standing by his belief of “Defense wins championships,” Harrison remains steadfast that the Mavericks got excatly what they wanted from the seismic trade.
Despite making possibly the biggest-ever move in Dallas Mavericks’ history, trading away their franchise player Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, Nico Harrison remains undeterred (admirably/foolishly) by the ongoing chants of fans calling for the Dallas Mavericks general manager’s job.
All sorts of catcalls persist in every setting in Dallas 2 1/2 months after 26-year-old superstar Doncic was sent to the Lakers in a seismic trade that brought Anthony Davis (and unrelenting criticism) to Dallas and upon the man who ensured the deal happened.
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At the time, Harrison thought the Mavs had the prospect of a title contender by adding Davis to a ‘defense-first’ line-up that includes superstar guard Kyrie Irving, young center Dereck Lively II, veteran 3-point specialist Klay Thompson, and versatile defender P.J. Washington Jr.
But due to a series of unfortunate injuries, the next (and first) time those five play together won’t happen until sometime during the 2025-26 season.
“I do agree that history will decide it," Harrison said Tuesday in his first meeting with reporters in Dallas since the trade that shocked the NBA just past midnight on the East Coast on Feb. 2.
“But I go back to what I said in my opening statement," Harrison said. “Putting the roster on the floor with Kyrie, Klay, P.J., Anthony Davis, and Lively, that’s a championship-caliber team. And although the fans could have been upset with trading Luka, they wouldn’t have been upset with the results."
Harrison said he believes the vitriol from fans would have eased if Davis and Irving had been able to finish the season together.
“There’s no regrets on the trade," Harrison said. “Part of my job is to do the best thing for the Mavericks, not only today but also in the future. And some of the decisions I’m gonna make are gonna be unpopular. That’s my job, and I have to stand by it."
Standing by his belief of “Defense wins championships," Harrison remains steadfast that the Mavericks got excatly what they wanted from the seismic trade.
“With our philosophy of defense wins championships, we wanted a two-way player to lead our team," Harrison said. “And that was Anthony Davis. And so everybody’s going to have their critics. But we got what we wanted."
Doncic continues to blossom with the Lakers, who secured a comfortable third seed in the West, thanks to a fiery scoring streak from the Slovenian to close out their regular season, while Dallas have dragged themselves to the Play-in Tournament, where they will face the Sacramento Kings to have a fighting chance at making it to the playoffs.
(with agency inputs)
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