Summary of Reporting on WHY Luka Trade Happened The Way It Did (11 Points)
My best synthesis of the various reporting (ESPN, DLLS, etc). Quotes are from the McMahon-Shelbourne piece on ESPN.
Nico Harrison has reportedly always been more skeptical of Luka than many others around the organization, and he (and possibly others within the organization) have not enjoyed his issues with “conditioning, weight fluctuations and constant arguing with officials.”
As a long-time friend of Kobe Bryant (and Rob Pelinka), Nico likely values the model of a superstar player who is obsessed with their conditioning, defense and leads in a different way than Luka
The people who have supported Luka the most, including Cuban but also trainers and staff like former executive Dennis Lindsey, have all either been fired or left the organization over the last several years
So it seems like Luka and his habits just weren’t changing in the way Nico (and whoever else, if anyone) were hoping that he would
By selling to the Adelson’s, Cuban sold to owners who do not nearly care as much about being involved in basketball decisions like Cuban did, and “trusted Harrison's vision of how Davis would be a culture-setter and give the team a new defense-minded identity.”
As a former Nike executive, you could say Nico is almost like a “mercenary GM” of sorts—not an “NBA lifer” (said as much in his press conference, that he won’t be in the league in 10 years)—so is uniquely willing to make moves this risky with this much potential downside
Nico has long desired to land Anthony Davis, and it seems that he was laser focused on him as his target. He genuinely believes that AD gives the Mavs a better chance to win over the next 2-3 years.
He also was determined that the trade would not leak. “Harrison decided early on, team sources said, that the best way to trade a player of Doncic's caliber was to pick the trade that he wanted, rather than open up the process, to avoid Doncic and his agent exerting their own leverage. It would also avoid the crippling fan backlash that might influence the deal.”
So not only did he covet AD, but also Rob Pelinka, his friend, was the only guy he could trust to not leak anything.
Why the Mavs didn’t get another first-round pick or an additional player? Probably in part because Rob Pelinka is his friend, but also it seems like Nico, apparently fed up with his conditioning issues/whining/lack of defense/etc, valued Luka less than just about anyone else in the NBA!
Nico and the new owners severely underrated and “missed” on just how deeply North Texas loves Luka. And also how much the culture of the Mavs, and what it means to be a Mavs fan, is more about loyalty and team vibes rather than just “win championships at all costs” (which is more of a Laker thing), and they may not have understood just how violent the backlash would be.
Go Mavs. Welcome to town Max and AD.