The city of Dallas has still not recovered from the Dallas Mavericks trading Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, and the frustration about this move continues to appear at the most unexpected places.
While "fire Nico" chants aimed towards Mavericks GM Nico Harrison have been few and far between at Mavericks home games since the trade went down, they have been happening elsewhere. Recently, these chants have occurred at a Dallas Stars game, an FC Dallas game, and even at Medieval Times. The disgust with this trade continues to reveal itself in Dallas, and plainly, the move should have never happened to begin with.
The Mavericks traded Doncic due to conditioning concerns as well as the organization taking exception to some of his off-court habits such as drinking beer and smoking hookah along with a handful of other factors, and clearly, this is not enough of a reason to trade a generational superstar. This was a premature move that fans may never get over, and there are countless reasons as to why Dallas shouldn't have made this move.
History shows Mavericks' Doncic fears were overblown, just ask Harden
Mavericks fans should look no further to see how foolish the Doncic trade was, as James Harden had weight and off-court concerns at different points in his career, and even at 35 years old, Harden is leading the LA Clippers to the NBA Playoffs on a yearly basis. He even has an MVP under his belt during his time with the Houston Rockets, and his career trajectory has shown how bad of a decision the Mavs' Doncic trade will likely turn out to be down the road, as well as right now.
Harden has been a rival of the Mavericks for years, as he spent time playing for the Rockets before now playing for the Clippers (after stops with the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers), and he is a prime example of why Dallas shouldn't have traded Doncic. Dallas and Harden have had plenty of intense battles over the years, and nothing has held him back from dominance in this league.
Harden and Doncic have been compared to each other since day one due to their heliocentric offensive playstyle, and both players have often been criticized for their defense. Harden has proved that his off-court and weight concerns from the past are no longer an issue, and he puts on a show regardless of what's going on off the court.
He is a No. 1 option on a playoff team during his 16th season, and his image from the past is nothing but a distant memory. That will likely happen to Doncic in the coming years as well, as his off-court habits and occasional weight fluctuations didn't keep him from leading the Mavs to the NBA Finals last season.
Doncic and the Lakers are in a much better position than the Mavericks right now, as the Lakers are the No. 3 seed in the West while Dallas is the No. 10 seed and is sitting at 33-33. Both teams are in extremely different spots, and Harrison trading Doncic crippled the Mavericks for the future as well as right now.
Doncic will quickly prove to the Mavericks that his off-court habits and conditioning concerns are a thing of the past, and he is on a mission to put that behind him. While he hasn't been extremely explosive in Los Angeles, he took Dallas' rumored comments about his conditioning personally, working hard over the All-Star break while on vacation in Mexico. Former Maverick Quentin Grimes even took exception about what has been said about Doncic, saying that he was someone who was always working on his craft late at night.
Just like Harden, Doncic's legacy will not be defined by his off-court activities, and he is on pace to be an all-time great, shattering the Mavs' flawed opinion on him. Doncic will only be known for his on-court greatness, while the Mavs may never escape the backlash of letting him go.
