The Dallas Mavericks made a blockbuster trade and acquired Anthony Davis in exchange for Slovenian superstar Luka Doncic, just two months ago. This was one of the most shocking trades in NBA history and till this day nobody really knows why the trade took place. NBA Podcasters, analysts, and some reports have thrown out their own speculations as to why the Mavs traded away Doncic. Some say it was because of Luka’s conditioning issues, and how Luka did not like the Mavericks firing staffs that were close to him. GM Nico Harrison said it was because Mavericks wanted to “win now,” with a defensive monster like Davis, and there are also stories about how the Mavericks have refused to pay their superstars max contracts because of the front office’s lack of trust in any of the players that come in.
General Manager Nico Harrison was the one who pulled the plug on Luka Doncic’s tenure with the Mavericks, and this move has upset the Mavs’ fans a lot! During last night’s game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers, the fans were repeatedly chanting “Fire Nico,” and that clearly tells us how much Doncic meant to the Mavs’ fans.
Also Read: Los Angeles Lakers Edge Out Dallas Mavericks Behind Luka Doncic’s 45 Points, Secure Playoff Berth
When Doncic was traded to the Lakers, there are reports stating that Harrison had to increase his security because of all the death threats he was receiving at that time. The fans were also seen protesting against Nico Harrison outside the American Airlines Arena and holding funerals for Doncic just two months ago.
One thing that’s clear is that, the Dallas Mavericks fans are never forgiving Nico Harrison for trading away Luka Doncic and if the Mavs fail to win a championship in the next few years, this trade will surely go down as one of the worst trades we have ever seen in NBA history.
Here’s what we think;
The Mavericks did not want to pay max money to Luka Doncic, is the theory we believe in. Why? First off, the conditioning issues of Luka Doncic was something that could have been fixed. We have seen countless superstars in the NBA, who relatively play subpar defense, get paid. Take prime James Harden for example. Harden was one of the most ridiculous offensive talents we’ve ever seen. However, his defense was always something that was talked about, but that never stopped the Rockets from handing out max contracts to Harden. Similarly, yes, Doncic needs to work on his perimeter defense a lot, but his offensive talent more than makes up for his lack of defense.
In the seven seasons Doncic played for the Mavericks, he single handedly took the Mavericks to the Western Conference Finals a couple of years ago and knocked off the No.1 seed in the West, who were the Phoenix Suns at that time. Then last season, the Mavs went all the way into the NBA Finals. So the argument about Doncic being unreliable on defense and his poor conditioning goes right out of the window because if a player can take you to the NBA Finals, despite the player’s shape, almost every franchise will decide to keep the player at any costs.
The Mavericks’ best player, in their franchise history, is undoubtedly Dirk Nowitzki as he helped them win their first and only championship. However, there are reports suggesting that the Mavs would have traded Nowitzki if he had not accepted to take pay cuts. Some reports also state that Nowitzki took a total of $194 million pay-cuts over his career. For a superstar talent like Nowitzki, that is an absurd number. While the German prioritized winning his entire career and is one of the most unselfish superstars we’ve ever seen, $194 million is a lot of money to let go off.
Similarly Steve Nash, a two-time MVP winner and one of the NBA’s greatest point guards ever, played for the Dallas Mavericks for three seasons. When the 2004 NBA free agency arrived, the Mavericks refused to pay Nash and let him walk into the free agency, despite Nash wanting to stay in Dallas and play for the team.
Lastly, when the Mavericks won the championship in 2011, center Tyson Chandler, who played key role in bringing the Mavs a championship, asked for a multi-year deal and the Mavs were unwilling, yet again, to give him a contract.
This time it was Luka Doncic, who was supposed to get a max contract in the upcoming offseason. However, now that the Mavs have traded him away, they cost the Slovenian $115 million because of the NBA rules that are in place.
While we are not entirely suggesting that the Mavericks do not like to pay their best players, there is a series of pattern in their franchise history and that is something we cannot ignore.
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