Luka Doncic continues to show the Dallas Mavericks up with an undeniable streak of performances for the Los Angeles Lakers.
From the moment they made the stunning trade, the Dallas Mavericks were warned they had traded away an incredible part of their future. The Luka Doncic transaction has also proved to be a remarkable move in the present for the LA Lakers.
The Mavericks side of the trade has not had a fair shake. Anthony Davis suffered an immediate injury – yet this was always part of the risk. He has had a history of injuries and was even sidelined when the move was executed.
And with an already shortened window for success made smaller by this season being written off, the Mavericks leadership are left reflecting where it all went wrong, while criticism piles up.
Dallas Mavericks focused on the negative
When a glass of water is 50 percent filled, you can look at it to assess whether it is half full, or half empty.
In the case of Luka Doncic the glass was 95 percent full, and the Dallas Mavericks chose to focus on the 5 percent that was empty.
Speaking to Get Up, ESPN host Mike Greenberg blasted the Mavericks’ decision-makers for focusing on Doncic’s minor weaknesses, and forgetting all perspective.
He said: “Reliving this just is what it is. And I don’t want to put the people in Dallas through any more of this than they have to deal with. But just the fact that they traded this guy, he is carrying this [Lakers] team by himself.
“And I understand if you choose to focus on the things that he’s not great at, ie defense, and you worry about him being in shape and all that. I guess you can choose to focus on those things.
“But if you wish this guy played, he is one of the best and most entertaining players in the world. He’s top three of all every player in the NBA.”
And that’s exactly what the Mavericks did. They focused on the very few things where Luka Doncic could improve, and used those as excuses to trade him away.
It was a failure of their organization to not believe in themselves that they had the ability to improve Doncic’s defense and conditioning, and unceremoniously booting him out of the door.
Their reluctance to commit to Doncic long-term has rejuvenated the Lakers, who have a chance to win the championship this season, when the Mavericks believed it was they who were improving in the short-term.
And considering Doncic’s age, Mavs GM Nico Harrison could be haunted by this move for the rest of his executive career.
Greenberg added: “To trade this guy when he was 25 years old is going to wind up being one of the worst trades in the history of the league.”
Mavericks also focused on the positive with Davis
Nico Harrison’s decision could cost the Dallas Mavericks more than $1 billion, an expert claimed, who argued they did not consider the downside of trading for Anthony Davis.
The Mavs went all-in on the upside of Davis. Nico Harrison argued that Davis could provide better defense than Doncic, and make the team more resilient in a championship run this year.
In a perfect scenario it could have happened. But in choosing to focus on Davis’ positives, and Doncic’s negatives, they talked themselves into a scenario without considering the downside.
Now ranking in 11th place after being overtaken by the Phoenix Suns, the Mavs’ season is effectively over, while the excitement for the Lakers is just getting started.
