NBA All-Star 2025: Two weeks later, the league and its stars still can't comprehend Luka Dončić trade

Yahoo

16-02-2025

SAN FRANCISCO — As NBA commissioner Adam Silver hosted his annual press availability from the All-Star Game, addressing the league's most pressing topics, the first query he faced was about The Trade.
"Is that what we're calling it?" Silver asked of the deal that sent Luka Dončić from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a first-round draft pick in 2029.
"I was surprised when I heard about The Trade," added Silver. "I did not know that Luka was a player who was potentially about to be traded. That was news to me. I followed it like a fan from that standpoint."
Two weeks later, the NBA still cannot get over The Trade. Nothing piqued the interest of All-Stars more.
"Two weeks later, it's still the craziest trade I've ever seen," said San Antonio Spur Victor Wembanyama.
"Obviously, everyone thought The Trade was fake," added Memphis Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr. "Everyone did. I just was double-checking to make sure it was real, checking the accounts, stuff like that."
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić tried to defend The Trade, only to join the chorus.
"I kind of think both teams win," said Jokić. "In my opinion, of course, maybe I think Luka is a generational player and talent. I'm not saying that AD is not. I'm just saying that Luka is somebody that — did we see someone like this before, who is affecting the game on so many levels? He was building something there."
He sure was. Dončić led the Dallas Mavericks to the 2024 NBA Finals, averaging 33.9 points, 9.8 assists and 9.2 rebounds per game last season, only to be traded at the age of 25 — an unprecedented swap of a young superstar. There remains no rational explanation for the deal, other than Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison honestly believed it was a good idea, though Stephen Curry took a higher road.
"Well, we've all learned recently how quickly things can change in this league, some of the unexpected happening," said the Golden State Warriors superstar. "For us as players, you just do your job and make sure you're staying prepared and healthy and available and handling our business. But that's why there are folks upstairs who are relied on to make tough decisions and try to do their job the best they can."
But what happens when a front office goes rogue? As best we can tell, Harrison made the decision with a small circle of people, including new governor Patrick Dumont, without opening up The Trade to a league-wide auction. Instead, Harrison quietly agreed to the deal with a longtime friend in Lakers GM Rob Pelinka.
"Whether or not history will judge this as a smart trade, they did what they thought was in the best interest of the organization," said Silver. "I have absolutely no knowledge or belief that there were any ulterior motives. There is no doubt in my mind that the Dumont and Adelson families bought that team to keep it in Dallas. I have no doubt whatsoever that they are committed to the long-term future there."
You know a trade is bad when the commissioner openly raises the question of whether the move might have been spurred by an effort to relocate the franchise, even if he discarded that theory in the end.
When that happens, you lose the faith of your fanbase, as we have seen in Dallas. Fans held a faux funeral outside the arena, and a spectator at a recent game was escorted from the building after mouthing "Fire Nico" on the Jumbotron. Players have taken notice of that aspect of the deal, too.
"What really strikes me is how the Mavs' fans are hurting, how they feel," said Wembanyama, whose Spurs share a division with rival Dallas. "It's really something that I think was a really strong emotion."
The league has taken note, too.
"In terms of anger in the fanbase, I'm empathetic," said Silver. "I understand. Dallas was in the Finals last year, and I like Luka very much. I met him before he came into the league, when he was with Real Madrid. It seems truly authentic that he was stunned and disappointed. You could see it in his body language."
Sorry, Dallas.