Dumont had a negative interaction with Luka that led him to greenlight the trade.

[donkki]

Still doesn’t explain the biggest problem with this trade. Why only the lakers and why such crappy return?

Only explanation I can think of is that the whole trade was ordered by the league. People at the very top wanted Luka in a Lakers uniform, so that's what the Mavs were forced to do.

[Lala870]

Still doesn’t explain the biggest problem with this trade. Why only the lakers and why such crappy return?

Only explanation I can think of is that the whole trade was ordered by the league. People at the very top wanted Luka in a Lakers uniform, so that's what the Mavs were forced to do.

10000%

Lakers have the most iconic stadium/naming rights brand deal in all of sports. They need LA relavent.

[Black Jack]

Yet again.

The problem isn’t trading Luka.

The problem is only talking to one team about trading him.

I can absolutely see both Nico and Dumont wanting rid of him. I can understand his conditioning rubbing up the wrong way.

But unless there’s ulterior motives to this trade then you shop him league wide and drive the price up. Heck even if you decide that Anthony Davis is the best option after that, you still get another first or two, or young players, from the Lakers or a third team.

Speaking to one team makes NO sense at all unless there is some kind of outside influence, or the owners want to deliberately tank the value of the team for relocation.

The NBA needs a young superstar in purple & gold every generation. It's as simple as that.

[Edrees]

Owners have to approve all trades. You don't need evidence to prove to you that Dumont has at least some culpability to approving the trade. He should be hated as much as Nico is for approving it.

Think of it this way, if any Mavs fan from this board became owner of the Mavs (Nico still GM), Luka would still be on that team. So you can't blame it all in Nico.

[Edrees]

Still doesn’t explain the biggest problem with this trade. Why only the lakers and why such crappy return?

It does. Because it makes it looks like a rogue Nico move rather than an owner move. If Luka gets shopped around for 3 months looking for the best offer, it becomes clear owernship is involved and approving.

[darkse1d]

Whether the owner wanted Luka gone or not doesn't absolve Nico making the worst trade of all time.

[axeman23]

Nico doesn't deserve all the hate he's getting. That said, he should have done everything in his power to have that trade not go through. 25 other teams would have outbid that offer. Dumont will use the excuse of "bad interaction" to try and save his image.

I mean, Nico could have literally called the Nuggets and offered Luka for Jokic. It would have been a legitimate discussion.

come on, why would any GM do something that dumb?

I already posted when the trade happened that there was a good chance that Luka was probably indifferent to the owners which the owners didn't like.
What is the point of selling your soul to the devil and marrying the daughter of Miriam Adelson, a horrible and evil person, if millionaire athletes like Doncic can treat you like just another guy?

Lol, I don't like that the player isn't nice to me, who is this, Donald Sterling?

Not only would Denver have not done it; I don't think Dumont would've signed off either, if what's come out is true. Why would Dumont trade his EXISTING "Lazy Euro" for an OLDER "Lazy Euro"? You don't go at Luka about HIS conditioning, then trade him for Jokic, who would rather be swilling beer while racing chariots...

[HMFFL]

The ownership felt it was best to start completely fresh and they're doing just that. They also have no obligations to Dirk Nowitzki. The history of the team doesn't mean anything to them.

Sent from my SM-S928U1 using RealGM Forums mobile app

[wegotthabeet]

The ownership felt it was best to start completely fresh and they're doing just that. They also have no obligations to Dirk Nowitzki. The history of the team doesn't mean anything to them.

Sent from my SM-S928U1 using RealGM Forums mobile app

Fair enough, but if you’re a fan of the Mavs this move tainted the franchise to such a degree that moving the team to Vegas then getting a new expansion team with new ownership is maybe the best outcome. Just let them relocate then get a new expansion team a couple years later like Charlotte.

[Grumpy Heat Fan]

But why the secrecy and only dealing with LA? Don't say because of AD. You could do a multiple team trade for AD and get more back.

or you can just open up bidding and get a kings ransom.

[Calvin Klein]

There is nothing in this trade that benefits Dallas. And everything benefits the lakers. The reason for wanting to trade doncic should not be the main story. The lakers are completely left out of the conversation like they were just so incredibly lucky to be the beneficiary of an incompetent franchise. What a coincidence.

[oversteerdawg]

Dumont: We have concerns about your conditioning

Luka: Pot calling the kettle black

Dumont to Harrison: Trade Luke

[Slink]

If I'm Nico, I'm resigning before I trade Luka. All the crap, death threats, and hit to his reputation isn't worth it.

[Doctor MJ]

https://dallashoopsjournal.com/p/nico-harrison-takeover-dallas-mavericks-luka-doncic-trade?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=621353&post_id=161812840&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=false&r=17lwnj&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email



Sources informed DallasHoopsJournal.com that among the factors that led Dumont to provide the green light was an interaction he had with Dončić, focused on addressing perceived conditioning concerns. This occurred before Harrison initiated trade talks for Dončić at his coffee meeting with Pelinka in Dallas before the Mavericks faced the Lakers on Jan. 7. As one might expect, that interaction involving Dončić and Dumont did not go well. Weeks later, Dončić was traded, with a heavy run of media leaks emphasizing conditioning to follow.

The intel provided to Dumont by the Harrison-led basketball operations department enabled Harrison to obtain permission to make the controversial trade to acquire a player he had long sought, Davis. Dumont doubled down on that narrative just days after the trade, further illustrating how effective the Harrison regime’s selling of this problem proved to be. In an interview with The Dallas Morning News, Dumont made his position unmistakably clear. The man who had just authorized the trade of a generational superstar had publicly questioned Dončić’s commitment.


YEAH..It was all NICO! What a joke. That article pretty much goes through everything. Worth a read! Crazy stuff.

So - saying up front that this happens to confirm what I guessed at the time of the trade, that this had to involve some kind of failure in the Dumont/Doncic personal interactions - let's not forget that rationally the problem here isn't that they traded Luka, but that they traded him for so little.

The reason why the Mavs fixated on AD isn't about Dumont, it's about Nico (and perhaps Kidd). From there, it was Nico's job to negotiate the best deal he could and I just don't think anyone believes he seriously tried to do that.

So while I think it's clear that Dumont is capricious and egotistical, I think we basically expect this from new NBA owners, and we don't expect them to get "fired" because they own the thing.

In the end then, the big takeaway here is still about Nico not being someone who should be the biggest basketball decision maker for a franchise.

The big question is really where Jason Kidd was in all of this. Kidd's a guy who is all about backstabbing others in the front office to gain power, yet so far he's apparently been the good soldier here. It's possible we'll eventually learn that Nico's assessment of Luka the basketball player's limitations was in fact specifically influenced by Kidd - I mean honestly, if I were Nico, I'd be looking to listen and learn from Kidd. If that never happened, I expect Kidd will speak out when he judges it to be in his interest.

[Dirk2Doncic]

If I'm Nico, I'm resigning before I trade Luka. All the crap, death threats, and hit to his reputation isn't worth it.

There is ZERO chance I would take a giant crap all over my community. And I'm not doing something that's going to make me the laughingstock of the entire sports world. Why would you put your loved ones thru this? It's changed their lives in this community no doubt. I'd speak my mind and live with the results. That's what man does.

So, spare me the Nico had a gun to his head so he had to do it garbage.

Failure to tell the emperor he has no clothes has a LOT to do with how the world works.

And just to be clear, my position is NIco masterminded this and Patrick signed off on it. Exactly as has been reported locally who know FAR MORE about any of this than anyone else.

[Doctor MJ]

If I'm Nico, I'm resigning before I trade Luka. All the crap, death threats, and hit to his reputation isn't worth it.

I just don't think he does the AD trade if he doesn't believe that the AD trade makes a lot of sense, so I think the reputation hit is just him letting us know what he really does and does not understand.

[Archx]

Yet again.

The problem isn’t trading Luka.

The problem is only talking to one team about trading him.

I can absolutely see both Nico and Dumont wanting rid of him. I can understand his conditioning rubbing up the wrong way.

But trading Luka IS A HUGE problem. Because now we know why Dumont was upset and why Nico did it. It was reported by all 3 main Mavs insiders.. The trade was done for all the wrong reasons.

Someone was spying on Doncic's training sessions when he was suppose to be out with wrist injury but he was still practicing shots, etc... Some thought he was faking it to get back in shape because he had other injury issues before season started. That upset Dumont and it was a big discussion on reddit when fans wondered who was spying and why. Dumont and Nico wanted him to travel with the team but Doncic's camp wanted to heal and get back in shape. Hence why Dumont later went on air to say "don't take vacations on our team".

The other huge issue was his calf injury. We also know now that Nico fired Casey Smith and replaced entire medical team with incompetent people. Luka had his own medical staff that wanted him to properly heal this time and not rush back. And we know for the entire season, Mavs new medical staff, was rushing players back (AD included) and they aggravated their injuries over and over again. Luka's camp was smarter than that.

Now to sum it all up. Dumont is an idiot who has no clue about NBA and was somehow convinced Luka was not serious. And Nico is such an arrogant prick that even made Dirk distance himself completely from the Mavs organization. So all Nico had to do was go to Dumont and say he's trading him for "defense" when defense wasn't even a problem. Dumont later admitted he had no clue what this trade would actually mean in entire basketball world.

The big question is really where Jason Kidd was in all of this.

Can't remember which one of those 3 reporters said it but Kidd was on it. He complained to Nico about Luka but underestimated the stupidity and didn't expect a trade mid season.

[MGB8]

Pels traded Anthony Davis to the Lakers to join LeBron.. got the #1 for Zion. Yeah, this smells very familiar, although I doubt that they can have Flagg go to Dallas without basically confirming the thought. So maybe next year, or maybe #2…

[Mr B]

Nico doesn't deserve all the hate he's getting. That said, he should have done everything in his power to have that trade not go through. 25 other teams would have outbid that offer. Dumont will use the excuse of "bad interaction" to try and save his image.

I mean, Nico could have literally called the Nuggets and offered Luka for Jokic. It would have been a legitimate discussion.

**** that! Nico wanted Luka gone more than anyone. Dumont wasn’t at the meeting with Pelinka. Nico deserves to be fired and I hope he never gets a job in the NBA again. Go back to selling shoes. Also that MF better not be seen walking around the city. There are a lot of Mavs fans that would love to get their hands on Nico.