In the NBA when a team makes the NBA finals, the common reaction to this situation would be to keep the same roster, save for a few minor changes, and try again next year. However, if you are the Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison, then you would think very differently.
One season after the Dallas Mavericks made the NBA Finals and came close to winning the Championship, Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison decided to trade one of the best players on the roster Luka Dončić to the LA Lakers for Anthony Davis and Max Christie. To put this into perspective, that would be like trading a brand new Rolls Royce for a 2008 Chrysler 300. Even the players involved in the trade had no idea that it happened until the morning after. NBA head coaches have expressed how much of their roster they would give up to the Mavericks for Luka. Some coaches such as Erik Spoelstra have said they would give up more than half their roster for Luka, and the Mavericks only dealt with the Lakers who gave them two inferior players and one first- round pick.
The entire situation surrounding the Luka trade is unfortunately just the tip of the iceberg for Dallas fans. After the Luka trade, Anothony Davis’ first game playing for the Mavericks was going very well. However, it was cut short due to him being injured late in the third quarter. Shortly after that injury Kyrie Irving, the next first option for Dallas after Luka and Davis, was injured on March 4 leaving the team in shambles and no star player. In the following month of March, eight players went down with injury making the Dallas Mavericks two more injuries away from forfeiting games because of insufficient players.
Some NBA conspiracy theorists have surmised that the Dallas Mavericks are destroying the team to move it to Las Vegas. These theories sparked due to a couple of factors, one of them being the new ownership group that bought the team after Mark Cuban sold his majority stake in the team. Fans speculated that the Mavericks would move to Las Vegas in an attempt to legalize gambling in Texas. A wild speculation to say the least; however, many people believed this was actually the case very shortly after the Mavericks downfall started.
In all reality, this crazy Luka trade was most likely the result of the new ownership of the team seeing a supermax contract for $350 million and got sticker shock.
“The Dallas Mavericks are not moving to Las Vegas, there is no question in that. That is the answer, unequivocally.” Team governor Patrick Dumont said on the Dallas Morning News. “The Dallas Mavericks are the Dallas Mavericks and they will be in Dallas.”
Patrick addressed the fact that the new ownership is in the casino business and has family located in Las Vegas which was a selling point for some theorists.
“I’m not sure where this is coming from. I appreciate people asking.” Dumont said. “Our family happens to live in Las Vegas, but we have investments all over the world,”
Only time will tell whether this trade will result in winning a championship when the team gets healthy again next season.