The Dallas Mavericks have taken constant backlash since trading megastar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis and Max Christie. It doesn't help that the Mavs have fallen down the Western Conference Standings due to injuries to Davis, Kyrie Irving, and other key pieces, but the trade was supposedly made to help them now if we're to believe what Nico Harrison said.
"I understand why they would be shocked, initially,” Harrison in the initial aftermath of the trade. “But I do believe that we positioned ourselves to win now and also win in the future. And that’s ultimately the goal and why we’re here. It’s one of those things where it’s my job to make the tough decisions that put our goals first and foremost.”
But he also said, "The future to me is three to four years from now... The future ten years from now -- they'll probably bury me and [Mavericks coach Jason Kidd] by then. Or we'll bury ourselves."
That's a lot of ways to say this trade helps them now. But as always, someone in the Mavericks is contradicting it.
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FC Dallas fans hold up a Fire Nico sign for Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison
Mar 8, 2025; Frisco, Texas, USA; FC Dallas fans hold up a Fire Nico sign for Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison during the first half of the game between FC Dallas and Chicago Fire at Toyota Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Dallas Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont recently spoke at a conference with the Real Estate Council in Texas and was asked about the team's decision to trade Doncic. His answer will only make Mavericks fans even more upset, as it seems to contradict Nico Harrison while still not making sense.
"We had to decide how to get better," Dumont started. "What can we do to improve our team? We looked at our trajectory during the season and realized that we did not get better... This was a decision about the future. If you look at our roster today and who we have, we feel like we positioned ourselves to be incredibly competitive against the best teams in the NBA."
If the trade was about the future, why would they give up the 25-year-old five-time First-Team All-NBA selection? Especially for a player with a well-known injury history, Anthony Davis, who got hurt in the third quarter of his Dallas debut and hasn't played since. There's a good chance he won't play again this season.
They also only got one first-round pick out of the two tradeable first the Lakers had because they wanted to keep the deal from Doncic's agent. A trade made for the future would've come back with every first-round pick possible and a budding young star. Max Christie is a serviceable player, but it's fair to question his ceiling.
It would just be better, at this point, for the Mavericks to stop talking about the trade entirely. They're only making it worse every time they do.
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