The Dallas Mavericks shocked the basketball world on Saturday night when they shipped the face of the franchise in Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis.
General manager Nico Harrison made it abundantly clear the decision to make the trade was his and he believes Davis’ ability on the defensive end of the floor will lead to championships rather than relying on the offensive-minded Doncic.
“Well, let’s be clear: I’m the one making the decision and [Kidd]’s supportive of it, so it’s me,” he said. “I don’t do anything that’s scary. I think everything that we do, we put a lot of work into it, we study it and we re-study it and we go back. I understand the magnitude of it. So the easiest thing for me to do is do nothing, and everyone would praise me for doing nothing. But we really believe in it — and time will tell if I’m right.”
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Former majority owner Mark Cuban relinquished his control of the organization and watched as the team traded the player he draft seven years ago. In a response to reporter Brad Townsend regarding the trade, Cuban said, “MFFL” which translates to Mavericks fan for life, clearly indicating he’s choosing the Mavericks over his former player.
Even Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd revealed he was a “little” shocked by the trade.
“It is a little shocking, but in the sense, we have to push forward,” Kidd said. “As an organization, as a team, we have a game to play, and we have to be pros about it. But we understand what Luka has meant to the Mavericks, and we wish him and his family the best in L.A. Also, Maxi and [Morris]. But we have to push forward, and we believe we have a team to do that.”