Matty Writes Sports

9 months ago, the Dallas Mavericks were on top of the world. Fresh off of a 5 game thriller over the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Dallas Mavericks had finally managed to return to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2011. Led by rising superstar Luka Doncic and the mercurial Kyrie Irving, the Mavericks had emerged victorious out of one of the strongest Western Conferences in NBA History.

The Mavericks had entered the playoffs as the 5th seed, finishing with a 50-32 record, a very strong rebound after the team shockingly missed the prior postseason. Spurred on by the trade deadline acquisitions of Daniel Gafford and PJ Washington, the Mavericks exploded after the deadline, almost immediately becoming one of the hottest teams in the Association. Behind the unstoppable offensive duo of Irving and Doncic and anchored by Gafford and rookie centre Dereck Lively II, the Mavs entered the playoffs on a roll. 50 wins to their name, and looking to prove they had what it takes to go all the way.

Their first round opponent would be the Los Angeles Clippers, who appeared to be fully healthy for the first time in what felt like forever. Their big three of Kawhi Leonard, James Harden and Paul George had enough offensive firepower to overcome any defence, and the three future Hall of Famers were out to prove they had what it takes to make a run. In Game 1, it seemed like they were about to do just that. Harden dominated the Mavs’ with 28 points and 8 assists, as Dallas had no way to slow down The Beard, as he exploded in his Clippers post season debut. However, the Mavs rebounded, winning the next two, in part due to Doncic’s masterful playmaking in both games. The Clippers took game 4 in Dallas to even the series, but a 30 point blowout in the crypto.com arena spelled the end of the road for the Clippers. Dallas won game 6, and sent the Clippers home.

Their next series would be an even bigger test. The Number 1 seed rolled into town, fresh off of a 5 game gentleman’s sweep against the New Orleans Pelicans. The OKC Thunder, the youngest number 1 seed in NBA History had arrived, and led by Shai Gilgeous Alexander. Game 1 was a rout in the Thunder’s favour, as, fuelled by their home fans, Dallas’ offence was completely overwhelmed, as the Thunder left their home arena with a 22 point victory. In game 2, Behind Luka and PJ Washington’s 29 points, the Mavs levelled the series heading back to Texas, where in Game 3, a huge 16-0 quarter, spearheaded by Washington kept the Thunder at arm’s length, securing a Game 3 victory. The Thunder levelled the series in Game 4, squeaking out a 4 point victory behind Gilgeous-Alexander’s playoff career high of 34 points that, despite a Doncic triple double, the Mavs were unable to overcome. With the series heading back to Oklahoma City, a 31 point triple double for Luka proved decisive, with the Mavs leaving OKC with a 12 point victory and on the brink of making the Conference Finals for the 2nd time in 3 years. In a nail-biter, the Mavericks emerged once again, with PJ Washington’s decisive free throws with 2.5seconds left in the game sealing the win for Dallas, eliminating the Thunder.

The Conference Finals awaited now, and, in what may have been seen as a shock, the Minnesota Timberwolves were awaiting the Mavericks. After sweeping the Phoenix Suns in Round 1, the Timberwolves had executed a 20 point Game 7 comeback against the defending champion Denver Nuggets to make the Western Conference Finals for only the second time in Franchise History, 20 years after their first. The 3 seeded Wolves were all that stood between the Mavericks and the NBA Finals.

In Game 1 at the Target Centre, The Mavericks dominated in the paint, outrebounding the Wolves and scoring 62 of their 108 points from inside. Despite shooting awfully from 3 point range, the Mavericks overcame this with their interior dominance escaping Minneapolis with a 3 point victory. Game 2 was the opposite for the Mavs as they shot 60% from the floor after the halftime break, clawing back an 18 point deficit. With the game on the line, and the Mavericks down 2 points, Luka Doncic sized up Jaden McDaniels, but a PJ Washington screen forced the switch onto Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert. Doncic, danced and dazzled the Frenchman, and despite the 7’1 Gobert’s best efforts, Doncic launched a 3 over his outstretched hand, that sunk beautifully into the hoop. Dallas victory.

From there, the Mavericks had all the momentum, winning Game 3 in their own arena by 9, and, despite a Wolves victory in Game 4, there was no chance of a comeback. The Mavs routed the Wolves in Game 5, securing an NBA Finals berth for the 3rd time in Franchise History.

Despite the disappointing 5 game loss to the Boston Celtics, the Mavs had given themself a platform to build upon for the future, and, with Luka Doncic on your team, anything is possible. The Slovenian has been one of the best players in the league since he joined the NBA, and, at just 25 years old, it seems inevitable that Dallas would win a ring in the coming seasons, even as Kyrie Irving begins to age.

Enter Nico Harrison.

Harrison has been a pretty central figure around the NBA for a long time, working with Nike originally where he represented the players sponsored by the company to wear their shoes on court. He developed relationships with several NBA Stars, enticing them to sign with Nike. Eventually, Harrison was promoted to the role of Vice President for Basketball Operations of Nike, a role he held until deciding to join the Mavericks in a front office role.

Joining in June 2021, Harrison had been the man behind the team that had gotten to the Finals. He executed the trade for Kyrie, sending Dorian Finney-Smith and Spencer Dinwiddie, along with a 2029 first to land the 2011 1st pick. He also acquired Gafford and Washington at the 2024 deadline, that had been the catalyst for the Mavs’ turn around before making the finals. By most accounts, Harrison was pretty good at his job.

This was the narrative that surrounded Harrison until the 2nd February 2025.

Shortly after Midnight (EST), a tweet from famed NBA Insider Shams Charania, hit the timeline of NBA fans around the world.

Luka Doncic had been traded.

The Mavericks had traded Luka Doncic. 5 All-NBA First team selections, 5 All-Star selections, a Finals appearance less than a year prior had been dealt just like that.

You know it’s a shock when the man breaking the news, Shams Charania, thought that he had been hacked when he received details of the trade. That is when you know something is off.

The NBA World exploded almost immediately. Most initial reactions were that Shams had been hacked by a Lakers fan who was simply trolling. But later, more details of the deal began to emerge, proving this was all too real.

In exchange, the Mavericks received Anthony Davis, an excellent, albeit injury prone forward-centre, Max Christie and a 2029 first round pick. That was it.

As expected, ridicule was thrown towards the way of Harrison. Who would be stupid enough to deal a generational prospect like Luka?

Well, the Mavericks.

As news came out that they were the ones to broker the deal with the Lakers, the ridicule was relentless. Rob Pelinka, the GM of the Lakers initially thought that Nico Harrison was joking when he brought up a Luka trade during a meeting in Dallas. Once Pelinka realised Harrison wasn’t just talk, he sweetened the deal for the Lakers. According to an anonymous source, the Mavericks had initially wanted Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht and LA’s other first rounder as well as Davis and Christie, but Pelinka managed to convince Harrison that Doncic’s conditioning issues made this too expensive.

Conditioning. This is a word brought up quite heavily in the media following the trade.

Doncic had long been questioned about his habits off of the court. During the offseason, there have been several images of Luka enjoying the finer things in life, like hookah and alcohol, but that didn’t stop Doncic from dominating NBA defences on the daily. However, Dallas seemed convinced that this would lead to huge injuries down the line, if Luka wasn’t serious about removing these from his life.

But, you don’t trade someone as good as Luka Doncic based on a hypothetical, right?

Well, the Mavericks did just that.

After the trade had been finalised, Mavs GM Nico Harrison explained that ‘defence wins championships’, alluding to the fact that Doncic had long been questioned on that side of the ball, and how Davis had been one of the premier defensive players in the league for years. But this did nothing to soften the feeling of Mavericks fans. Or the media.

The reception in the Media was resoundingly negative on the side of the Mavs. Major NBA figures, such as ESPN’S Reggie Miller said that bringing up Luka’s conditioning was a ‘character assassination’ to try and make the Mavericks look better following the trade.

David Aldridge, an NBA reporter for a number of years said:

‘I’ve been covering the NBA for 37 years. Almost nothing that happens – deals, free agent signings, coach hirings/firings – rises to the level of, “Holy S–t” stories. You just get used to the unexpected. This is a “Holy S–t” trade.’

Numerous reports labelled the trade as the most shocking in NBA History, and some NBA Legends even weighed in. Lakers great Magic Johnson said that Doncic was one of the greatest passers to have ever played, and that it was the biggest trade he had ever seen.

Even NBA Players themselves couldn’t believe it. Knicks players Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart expressed their disbelief on their shared podcast, Devin Booker thought that the trade was centred around Timberwolves backup Luka Garza at first, and a video of the Portland Trail Blazers’ bench seeing the news midway through a game against the Phoenix Suns did the rounds on Reddit. Everyone was as surprised as each other.

Additionally, there were several reports saying that the Mavs had only wished to trade with the Lakers and that they wouldn’t want to trade Doncic anywhere else, despite the fact they could have received even larger packages from other teams. The Lakers were seen as a team that didn’t really have too many assets that had much value, outside of their future first rounders. That changed overnight.

However, alternate reports came out suggesting that Harrison had also floated the idea of trading Doncic to a couple of other teams, namely the Milwaukee Bucks and the Minnesota Timberwolves, presumably you would feel for Giannis Antetokounmpo or Anthony Edwards. It seems that Harrison reached out to the Wolves to see if they would trade Edwards. He was promptly told no, but the Wolves were astounded that the Mavericks seemed willing to part with Doncic regardless.

Still the Mavericks had basketball to play, and, their first game with Davis on their roster was against the Houston Rockets on the 8th February. Many tuned in to see the new look Mavs in action and, at first Davis didn’t disappoint, dropping 26, 16 and 7, leading Dallas to an 11 point victory. However, Davis left the game in the third quarter with a lower body injury and later, it was revealed that Davis would miss the next month after suffering an adductor strain. Not what the Mavs had envisioned.

Regardless, the season continued, and, as Luka began making waves in the Purple and Gold, the Mavs continued playing just over .500 basketball without their new star centre. Kyrie Irving took the brunt of the offensive load, being the leading scorer in 7 of Dallas’ following 9 games, without any of his best teammates around him.

That was until the 4th March where, in a blowout defeat to the Sacramento Kings, Irving left the game at the end of the 1st quarter. The images didn;t look good and, the worst fears for Mavericks fans were confirmed after the game. Kyrie Irving would miss the remainder of the season with an ACL Tear. The worst news imaginable for a fanbase already mourning the loss of their cornerstone.

Now, the Championship window of the Dallas Mavericks may be at a premature end. An ACL injury at Irving’s age and size may spell a sad decline for one of the NBA’s greatest entertainers. A due of Davis and Irving, who are both into their 30s may no longer have a window remaining, not with some of the young teams in the Western Conference continuing to improve. But whilst the Mavs are reeling, the Lakers are feeling all the benefits. Now set up perfectly for a future without LeBron James, the Lakers must be counting their blessings to have someone like Doncic on their roster.

As for the Mavs, maybe trading your franchise cornerstone less than a year after making the NBA Finals with him wasn’t the best idea. Now, their window may have just slammed shut overnight. Congratulations Nico Harrison.