Don Nelson expresses his disappointment with Luka Doncic trade by wearing the star's shoes
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Hall of Fame coach Don Nelson was not a fan of the Dallas Mavericks trading Luka Doncic — and chose his footwear for Game 2 of the NBA Finals accordingly.
Nelson arrived for the news conference announcing him as the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award winner, as selected by the National Basketball Coaches Association, wearing a pair of Doncic's signature Jordan Brand sneaker.
The reason: He was showing Doncic — who he calls 'my dear friend' — support.
'As a matter of fact, I want everybody to know I'm wearing Luka's shoes, his new shoes from Nike that just got on the market,' Nelson said. 'I'm wearing them in protest for the trade from Dallas. Tremendous mistake by the Dallas franchise to trade him and I want everybody to know that.'
Doncic was traded by Dallas to the Los Angeles Lakers this season for Anthony Davis, a blockbuster that the entire league found stunning. Fans in Dallas were furious for months, though some of that seems to have subsided in recent weeks with the Mavericks winning draft lottery and the chance to draft Cooper Flagg No. 1 overall later this month.
Nelson said his philosophy on generational players is the one that Red Auerbach taught him: Don't trade those talents.
'His philosophy was when you have a great player — Bill Russell, (John) Havlicek, Sam Jones, you name 'em — you don't lose that player,' Nelson said. 'You keep him for a lifetime. You put his number up and you honor that player. That's been my philosophy.'
Nelson has deep ties to Dallas, so his reaction to the Doncic trade is understandable. He coached the Mavericks for eight seasons and his son, Donnie Nelson, was an executive with Dallas from 2005 through 2021.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Associated Press
38 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Rays visit the Red Sox to begin 3-game series
Tampa Bay Rays (35-30, second in the AL East) vs. Boston Red Sox (32-35, fourth in the AL East) Boston; Monday, 7:10 p.m. EDT PITCHING PROBABLES: Rays: Shane Baz (5-3, 4.96 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 60 strikeouts); Red Sox: Brayan Bello (2-1, 3.91 ERA, 1.59 WHIP, 33 strikeouts) BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Red Sox -114, Rays -105; over/under is 9 runs BOTTOM LINE: The Boston Red Sox host the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday to begin a three-game series. Boston has a 17-16 record at home and a 32-35 record overall. The Red Sox are 23-8 in games when they out-hit their opponents. Tampa Bay has gone 12-10 in road games and 35-30 overall. The Rays have the seventh-ranked team slugging percentage in the AL at .394. The matchup Monday is the fourth meeting between these teams this season. TOP PERFORMERS: Rafael Devers leads the Red Sox with 14 home runs while slugging .522. Ceddanne Rafaela is 14 for 41 with four home runs and six RBIs over the past 10 games. Junior Caminero has 15 doubles and 15 home runs while hitting .262 for the Rays. Brandon Lowe is 9 for 41 with three doubles and three home runs over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Red Sox: 5-5, .270 batting average, 4.95 ERA, outscored opponents by four runs Rays: 7-3, .256 batting average, 3.03 ERA, outscored opponents by 28 runs INJURIES: Red Sox: Josh Winckowski: 60-Day IL (elbow), Nick Burdi: 15-Day IL (knee), Justin Slaten: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Liam Hendriks: 15-Day IL (hip), Alex Bregman: 10-Day IL (quadricep), Triston Casas: 60-Day IL (knee), Masataka Yoshida: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Kutter Crawford: 60-Day IL (knee), Tanner Houck: 15-Day IL (flexor), Chris Murphy: 60-Day IL (elbow), Patrick Sandoval: 60-Day IL (elbow) Rays: Jonny Deluca: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Ha-Seong Kim: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Hunter Bigge: 15-Day IL (lat), Shane McClanahan: 60-Day IL (tricep), Richie Palacios: 10-Day IL (knee), Alex Faedo: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Nathan Lavender: 60-Day IL (elbow) ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Associated Press
38 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Phillies begin 3-game series at home against the Cubs
Chicago Cubs (40-25, first in the NL Central) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (37-28, second in the NL East) Philadelphia; Monday, 6:45 p.m. EDT PITCHING PROBABLES: Cubs: Matthew Boyd (5-3, 3.01 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 70 strikeouts); Phillies: Zack Wheeler (0-0) BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Phillies -145, Cubs +121; over/under is 7 1/2 runs BOTTOM LINE: The Philadelphia Phillies host the Chicago Cubs on Monday to begin a three-game series. Philadelphia has a 37-28 record overall and a 19-12 record in home games. The Phillies have the fifth-ranked team batting average in the NL at .250. Chicago has a 40-25 record overall and a 20-14 record in road games. The Cubs are 32-5 in games when they out-hit their opponents. The teams meet Monday for the fourth time this season. TOP PERFORMERS: Trea Turner leads the Phillies with a .300 batting average, and has 13 doubles, two triples, seven home runs, 19 walks and 30 RBIs. Alec Bohm is 10 for 39 with a home run and two RBIs over the last 10 games. Kyle Tucker has 12 doubles, four triples, 12 home runs and 40 RBIs for the Cubs. Michael Busch is 12 for 31 with two triples, three home runs and 10 RBIs over the past 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Phillies: 1-9, .189 batting average, 6.01 ERA, outscored by 30 runs Cubs: 6-4, .241 batting average, 2.07 ERA, outscored opponents by 11 runs INJURIES: Phillies: Bryce Harper: 10-Day IL (wrist), Aaron Nola: 15-Day IL (ankle) Cubs: Miguel Amaya: 10-Day IL (oblique), Porter Hodge: 15-Day IL (oblique), Eli Morgan: 60-Day IL (elbow), Shota Imanaga: 15-Day IL (leg), Javier Assad: 60-Day IL (oblique), Justin Steele: 60-Day IL (elbow) ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Associated Press
38 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Braves take road losing streak into matchup with the Brewers
Atlanta Braves (27-37, fourth in the NL East) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (35-31, third in the NL Central) Milwaukee; Monday, 7:40 p.m. EDT PITCHING PROBABLES: Braves: Chris Sale (3-4, 2.93 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 96 strikeouts); Brewers: Aaron Civale (1-1, 5.19 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 14 strikeouts) BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Braves -175, Brewers +146; over/under is 7 1/2 runs BOTTOM LINE: The Atlanta Braves visit the Milwaukee Brewers looking to break a three-game road slide. Milwaukee has a 35-31 record overall and a 19-12 record in home games. The Brewers have a 23-9 record in games when they record eight or more hits. Atlanta has a 27-37 record overall and a 10-23 record in road games. The Braves rank sixth in the NL with 68 total home runs, averaging 1.1 per game. The teams meet Monday for the first time this season. TOP PERFORMERS: Jackson Chourio has 10 home runs, 10 walks and 37 RBIs while hitting .254 for the Brewers. Sal Frelick is 14 for 40 with a double, a home run and three RBIs over the past 10 games. Ozzie Albies has nine doubles and six home runs for the Braves. Austin Riley is 12 for 40 with three doubles and three home runs over the past 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Brewers: 7-3, .262 batting average, 2.80 ERA, outscored opponents by 23 runs Braves: 2-8, .208 batting average, 4.17 ERA, outscored by five runs INJURIES: Brewers: Connor Thomas: 60-Day IL (elbow), Blake Perkins: 60-Day IL (shin), Garrett Mitchell: 10-Day IL (oblique), Nestor Cortes: 60-Day IL (elbow), Brandon Woodruff: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Robert Gasser: 60-Day IL (elbow) Braves: Daysbel Hernandez: 15-Day IL (arm), AJ Smith-Shawver: 60-Day IL (calf/elbow), Stuart Fairchild: 10-Day IL (finger), Ignacio Alvarez: 60-Day IL (wrist), Reynaldo Lopez: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Joe Jimenez: 60-Day IL (knee) ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
