It's an understatement to say that there were shockwaves across the NBA when Luka Doncic was traded by the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers. Some fans could've sworn that ESPN's Shams Charania's phone was hacked when he broke the news, thinking there was no way that Nico Harrison would trade one of the best international players to ever exist. There were some trade package rumors involving Jimmy Butler to the Mavs, but nowhere in there did fans expect Doncic to be involved in any trade.
Butler went on the record to talk about the Doncic trade, saying what fans all thought. Every fan out there thought that Doncic was one of the very few untouchable players in the world. Unfortunately, he was not, and it sent shockwaves across the league over what more could happen if someone like Doncic was shipped off.
"I'm still just, I was baffled by it," Butler said. "I'm still baffled by it. It just doesn't look right. It's just… crazy...There's always more to it."
Jimmy Butler hints at hidden story behind Luka Doncic trade
Most of what we've been getting from the trade was that Doncic didn't have the conditioning habits that Harrison wanted to see. Doncic was noticeably skinnier in his rookie year compared to the time he departed Dallas. Even though he had the rumored habits of drinking beer at times, it didn't stop him from getting better every year, including being voted third in MVP voting in 2024.
Butler makes the point about things happening behind closed doors that we don't know. We can try to guess, but we'll really never know until Doncic or Harrison comes back to talk about it.
"Everybody else is always on the outside looking in, so you only know what you read, you only know what you read from socials," Butler said. "You don't know what was really going on behind closed doors. And everybody's going to latch onto whatever narrative they want to believe and whatever clickbait is put out there. But there's always more to these stories. I don't know, I don't know."
Butler further drives a conspiracy that every fan had after Doncic was traded. Doncic could've been traded because he was getting irritated at the moves from the Mavs' front office. Doncic was once on the record saying that they get rid of everyone he likes. It's possible that there was more than that. There are tons of different reasons why the Mavs could've done what they did, and we'll likely never know the real story.
Other reasons that Butler might be referring to might be Doncic's frustration toward the officials and how he was a liability by arguing instead of getting back on defense during games. What Butler might be trying to aim for might be the fact that maybe Harrison didn't want Doncic to get a supermax contract. The supermax might've been the real long-term issue, with Harrison also being concerned about Doncic's weight.
There's always one more detail that will come out sooner or later, but Butler predicting that there was "something more" isn't too extreme to think. We're not 100 percent immune to star players being traded, but not in their prime when they're 25 years old.