Mavs GM Nico Harrison admits he was surprised by Luka Dončić’s level of popularity with fans following shock trade to Lakers
Dončić (left) scored 45 points in his first game back in Dallas earlier this month.
By Ben Morse, CNN
(CNN) — Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison admitted that he miscalculated the popularity of Luka Dončić among the team’s fanbase before the shocking trade with the Los Angeles Lakers in February.
The NBA world was stunned when Dončić was traded from the Mavericks to the Lakers in one of the most shocking transactions in recent history, despite the Slovenian superstar being the face of the Mavs and in his basketball prime.
Harrison has faced vehement backlash from Dallas fans in the aftermath of the trade, with many calling for him to be fired. The 52-year-old has consistently defended the move, but on Monday admitted that the love for Dončić from Mavs fans did come as a surprise to him.
“I did know that Luka was important to the fanbase,” Harrison told reporters during his season-ending news conference. “I didn’t quite know to what level.”
While Dončić went to Los Angeles in the blockbuster trade, the Mavs received 10-time All-Star Anthony Davis as the main piece in return with the hopes of transforming the team into a defensive juggernaut.
But since the transaction, the team has faced severe injury issues, with Davis missing a large portion of the season and Kyrie Irving suffering a torn ACL shortly afterwards.
After the trade and as a result of the slew of injuries, Dallas dropped down the Western Conference standings before just eking into the play-in tournament as the 10th seed. The team would win its first game before being eliminated in its second.
That has only brought even more pressure on Harrison, with fans heard chanting “Fire Nico” at Mavericks home games since the trade.
But Harrison remains staunch in his belief that Dallas has the makings of a winning team despite their season being over.
“We feel that’s a championship-caliber team and we would have been winning at a high level and that would have quieted some of the outrage,” Harrison said, adding that being healthy is the only thing keeping the team from challenging for a title. “And so unfortunately we weren’t able to do that, so it just continued to go on and on.”
The move was made more difficult to swallow for Mavs fans given the Lakers’ success since Dončić moved to California, with the team booking its spot in the playoffs and rounding into a serious title contender.
Dončić was given a hero’s welcome when he returned to American Airlines Center for the first time earlier this month, with fans chanting his name throughout and Dončić himself overcome with emotions at the pre-game tribute video that was played.
The 26-year-old told ESPN recently that he threw and cracked his phone when he first heard about the trade, adding that he felt “sadness mostly” and that he “felt like my heart was broken, honestly.”
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
