By Aiden Prochaska and Tyree Brower
If I had to choose between my wife and keeping Luka on the Mavs, catch me at my lawyer's office prepping for a divorce -- Mark Cuban
Luka Doncic has been traded to the Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a 2029 first-round pick! Fans and critics alike are baffled at the absurdity of the trade. Many are poking fun at the Mavs GM saying “Even NBA2k wouldn't allow this trade.”
Even more so, Mavericks fans are devastated. With their franchise player gone, how will the Mavericks adapt? We will now hear from Aiden, a tried and true Mavericks fan.
Thanks, Ty. Mavericks fans know the feeling of cheer for loyal superstars. Dirk Nowitzki was one of the greatest players ever to wear a Mavericks jersey in the early 2000s up to the late 2010s when he would play a season with the rookie from Slovenia, Luka Doncic. Dirk Nowitzki was one of the most loyal superstar players to ever be in the NBA as he spent 21 seasons with the Mavericks. Dirk won his first NBA Championship with the team in 2011, the Mavericks played one of the best Miami Heat teams ever assembled. On February 2nd, a little past midnight central time, the Mavericks traded one of the most decorated athletes in the NBA right now, Luka Doncic.
My instant reaction wasn’t shock, it was being in denial. I was with my two brothers at the time who are just like me, obsessed with Dallas sports teams. Stars, Cowboys, Mavericks, Rangers, and all the other teams that might be in Dallas, we root for. Luka was all our favorites. I and my oldest brother went to a Mavericks game and got to see “The Don” in real life which felt so surreal. But I never had a thought in my mind that he would ever leave the Mavericks franchise. After 30 minutes of me and my brothers arguing with each other and being in denial, we found out the trade was officially official. Me and my brothers were at a loss for words, we all wanted to break tears but also try to make sense of the trade. We lost motivation to do anything that night and we lost sleep, if we even went to sleep.
After an hour of emotions, we finally were all motivated to understand the reality even though it felt like a lucid dream that was too lucid. We couldn’t make sense of it. Why would they trade the franchise player who isn’t just generational talent, he’s legendary talent. For Anthony Davis too? We already have 2 centers, it makes no sense. Luka is 25, he’s been to two Western Conference Finals, and already had an NBA Finals appearance. Anthony Davis on the other hand is 31, and is a center, As mentioned before we have 2 centers already. Nico Harrison made the worst transaction in NBA history.
Nico Harrison is the general manager of the Dallas Mavericks. That means he makes the moves to make a 12-14-man roster for the Mavericks every season. Nico Harrison has received great support from the Mavericks fans, but after this trade, I don’t think Nico Harrison can show his face in public anymore. Nico Harrison has been harassed on social media and some fans have even made threats. As a Mavericks fan, I don’t condone the threats one bit but I understand social media can be a very toxic environment. Nico has made so many great moves for the Dallas Mavericks. He brought in good role players like P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford at last year's trade deadline, and a year before that he traded for Kyrie Irving! One of the best slashing shooting guards in the game. This offseason, Nico Harrison addressed everyone that we were a “Klay Thompson” away from winning an NBA championship. Man is he eating his words now. He went and got Klay Thompson in the offseason but unfortunately for Mavericks fans, Klay has been struggling without Luka on the floor since Luka got hurt on Christmas Day and hasn’t been active since, and now he isn’t on the team anymore. Nico Harrison was one of the most decorated general managers but now he might be known forever the worst for this trade.
Looking back at the memories with Luka Doncic on the Mavericks has never felt so irritating. Knowing that our superstar, point-forward, was no longer on the team I adore and I am obsessed with. My favorite moment with Luka on the Mavericks was last year when I got to see the Slovenian superstar in person. But the memories are countless. The "LuKai" duo only lasted one full season. This made no sense. Luka took the Mavericks to the Western Conference finals, not once, but twice in his last three seasons with the team. Fans of other teams are baffled by the arrogance of the general manager of the Mavericks as well. With multiple social media comments that are typed like, "This one move ruined a franchise" or "This is going to make to you lose so many fans." They were right. The Mavericks lost eight hundred thousand followers in one day and multiple people cancelled their season tickets. The picture below is the picture my brother took on Snapchat when we saw Luka play in Chicago.
The internet was shocked. Whether you didn’t like the Lakers, Mavericks fans or not thought this trade was dumb and unnecessary. Below are pictures of tweets from popular personalities from the NBA and outside the NBA.
What are your thoughts on this blockbuster trade? Do you feel bad for Mavericks fans like me? If you see a Mavericks fan in public, hug them, they need support.
Comments