The Dallas Mavericks made the bold decision to trade a 25-year-old superstar entering his prime when they moved Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. While the league might still be up in arms about this deal, it seems both the Lakers and Mavericks are exceedingly satisfied with what went down between them.
The Mavericks knew trading Doncic wouldn't be easy, but they seemingly misunderstood how much Luka meant to the franchise. This was confirmed by newly-appointed team CEO Rick Welts.
“I thought I’d seen everything in my 47 years in the NBA, but clearly this was different. I think a lot of people of good intent tried to do the right thing... I probably underestimated the reaction. I think we’ve done the best we can, basically, with the staff and trying to do the right thing with everybody who touches the Mavericks.
“It’s incredibly emotional, an incredibly difficult time for so many people. But I still believe we’re going to come out on the other side, with a future that’s incredibly bright. That’s kind of my glass-half-full approach there.”
This is honestly shocking to me. Why would the Mavericks think the fanbase would be okay with them dealing Luka Doncic? Even if you can justify the rationale behind moving him due to his injury concerns and habits, how could the fans be okay with this move for an older and less durable superstar who can't replace Doncic's offensive impact? This is a baffling quote.
If the Mavericks underestimated the fan reaction to this move before making it, it is indicative of the franchise being out of touch with what its fans want.
The fanbase takes pride in loyalty, as they stuck by Dirk Nowitzki for 13 seasons before Nowitzki won a title with them. His 21 years with the franchise and his statue outside the arena are symbols of two-way loyalty between a franchise and a player.
That culture was destroyed with the Doncic trade, as Mavericks fans were emotionally invested in Doncic replicating what Dirk did by winning titles, staying with one team, and then getting his statue outside the arena.
Trading Doncic could have made sense if the Mavericks had actually gotten teams to send them packages instead of making a secret trade in which only the Lakers could bid for him.
Even then the franchise somehow lost the trade negotiations and took back even fewer assets than they could've for a 25-year-old superstar coming off a scoring title and Finals appearance.
The Mavericks' governor Patrick Dumont threw subtle shots at Doncic in a recent interview himself, so it's clear the franchise no longer had the love for Luka that the fans had despite knowing of his conditioning and weight concerns.
"In my mind, the way teams win is by focus, by having the right character, by having the right culture, and having the right dedication to work as hard as possible to create a championship-winning outcome. And if you’re not doing that, you’re going to lose."
"If you look at the greats in the league, the people you and I grew up with - Jordan, Bird, Kobe, Shaq — they worked really hard, every day, with a singular focus to win. And if you don’t have that, it doesn’t work. And if you don’t have that, you shouldn’t be part of the Dallas Mavericks."
"That’s who we want. I’m unwavering on this. The entire organization knows this. This is how I operate outside of basketball. This is the only way to be competitive and win. If you want to take a vacation, don’t do it with us.”
These examples fall flat, as the Mavericks have burned away nearly 30 years of their identity. Maybe that was the plan all along as the new owners are building a new culture from the ground up.
Even if this new culture results in a title, it might not be enough to heal the burn from the loss of Doncic when they anticipated another decade with him.
