Mavs owner Patrick Dumont: “If you look at the greats in the league, the people you and I grew up with — Jordan, Bird, Kobe, Shaq — they worked really hard, every day, with a singular focus to win. And if you don’t have that, it doesn’t work … you shouldn’t be part of the Dallas Mavericks.”

Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont makes first public comments after Luka Doncic trade. The Las Vegas Sands COO said he’s ‘unwavering’ on the need to have hard-working players who fit Dallas’ culture.

Source:

dallasnews.com/sports/mavericks/2025/02/09/mavericks-governor-patrick-dumont-makes-first-public-comments-after-luka-doncic-trade/?outputType=amp

reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1ilfy85/mavs_owner_patrick_dumont_if_you_look_at_the

Engelmann The Luka Doncic Trade — My Perspective as an Ex-Mavericks A***ytics Staffed Who Spent Two Years Pushing to Trade Him

Fascinating read. The article is behind a paywall but I’ll summarize the broad strokes.

Luka plays a brand of basketball that generates raw numbers that overstate his impact. This has gotten better over the last few years but the Mavericks’ own internal models showed him as significantly overrated

There are questions about Luka’s commitment to doing the things that lead to winning like getting back in transition, rotating on defense, boxing out, being conditioned etc. It appears these questions are much more serious than this sub thinks

Luka requires very specific team construction to get the best out of him

This trade would have never happened with Mark Cuban at the helm and Nico Harrison surrounded himself with “yes-men”

In summary the author agreed with the decision to trade him but thought they could’ve gotten more. While the author was with the Mavs he had proposed a Luka for Tatum + picks trade for example.

The most interesting part of the article imo is that the Mavs’ own internal models showed that Luka is overrated, this is especially notable since they have by far the most data on him.

URL: roycewebb.com/p/the-luka-doncic-trade-my-perspective

reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1iin3k4/engelmann_the_luka_doncic_trade_my_perspective_as

Kalland Anthony Edwards says he wants to sit courtside for Luka's return to Dallas (which is on 4/9) and the Wolves schedule (4/8 in MIL and 4/10 in MEM) makes it a real possibility.

Anthony Edwards says he wants to sit courtside for Luka's return to Dallas (which is on 4/9) and the Wolves schedule (4/8 in MIL and 4/10 in MEM) makes it a real possibility.

Man it’s crazy. He just took them to the Finals,” Edwards said. “He beat me and took his team to the Finals. I’d just feel so tried, that like, if they say I couldn’t do this I’d go do it. You know what I’m sayin? Whatever they sayin about me, I’ma change the whole storyline. The whole campaign, it’s gonna be my campaign. He just took y’all to the Finals. Hell yeah the created a monster. If the respect that I got for him is where I think it is, yeah they created a monster. Hell yeah. And I’m excited to play the Lakers now, cause they created a monster, boy. Man, what? He was gettin 35 like it ain’t nothin. Now like, they finna make him drop to 240 and all type of sht. Like he gon’ be in shape. Dunkin sht.

“I’m excited to see the first time the Lakers play Dallas the first time they play in Dallas. I’m super excited to see that. Oh my god. It’s in a few weeks? If we not playin I’m buyin front row tickets to that b*tch. Hey, for real.”

Source: uproxx.com/dimemag/anthony-edwards-luka-doncic-return-dallas-courtside-seats-video

reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1iinsmf/kalland_anthony_edwards_says_he_wants_to_sit

The Athletic Inside the top-secret trade negotiations that made Luka Dončić a Laker. Dončić is ecstatic about joining the Lakers, and all early signs point to a long-term future with the team, a league source said.

Important bits:

Late Saturday, the Dallas Mavericks agreed to send Dončić to the Lakers for 10-time All-Star and defensive anchor Anthony Davis, Max Christie and the Lakers’ first-round pick in 2029. In the process, the Lakers held onto their 2031 first-rounder.

The Mavs, desperate to find Dončić a new home as soon as possible, did not press for it.

The Lakers’ logic, according to league sources, was that parting with both of their first-rounders would be too perilous. Dončić’s contract can expire in 2026 when they couldn’t know his interest in re-signing. And they had no chance to find out before pulling off an exchange that shook the NBA.

The Lakers could not talk to Dončić’s agent, Bill Duffy, about the trade because both sides, Dallas and Los Angeles, wanted to keep negotiations a secret. Mentioning the behind-the-scenes details to agents would put the information at risk of becoming public, which the Mavericks especially thought would be too flammable. If a trade didn’t materialize, then they believed the prospect of being left with a disgruntled franchise centerpiece could be disastrous

At Harrison’s news conference, he praised Pelinka’s ability to keep talks quiet, even as they went on for weeks, though concealing the availability of a young star was in Pelinka’s interest, too. If the rest of the league learned the Mavs wanted to move Dončić, it could flood Dallas’ inbox, possibly with offers that bested the Lakers’.

So without the ability to gauge Dončić’s appetite to remain in L.A. long term, the Lakers expressed they couldn’t go all the way in for him, league sources said. And the Mavericks acquiesced, eventually agreeing to deal Dončić, along with Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris for Davis, Christie and one first-rounder. For salary-cap reasons, the Jazz also took on Jalen Hood-Schifino and two second-round picks.

Now that the trade is official, answers are emerging. Dončić is ecstatic about joining the Lakers, and all early signs point to a long-term future with the team, a league source said.

Source: nytimes.com/athletic/6108360/2025/02/03/luka-doncic-nba-trade-negotiations-lakers-mavericks

reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1igvr4o/the_athletic_inside_the_topsecret_trade

Franko

“A person close to the situation described this trade as the ultimate Harrison power trip, calling him a power-hungry man. Another observer said Harrison removed anyone who held a different view.“
“A person close to the situation described this trade as the ultimate Harrison power trip, calling him a power-hungry man. Another observer said Harrison removed anyone who held a different view.“

“There is a well-documented list of people close to Dončić who have left or were forced out since Harrison took over. Scott Tomlin, the team’s longtime VP of basketball communications. Casey Smith, the longtime athletic trainer, widely regarded as one of Dončić’s closest allies in the organization. Igor Kokoškov, an assistant coach during Kidd’s first year, was another departure. He coached Dončić to a EuroBasket title in 2017 and served as his pregame workout partner—a role he took over from Orlando Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley, another voice Dončić deeply respected. Jalen Brunson, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Boban Marjanović, three players Dončić respected and was close with, all left the Mavericks during Harrison’s tenure. Another person who had a short tenure in Dallas, not necessarily from Dončić's circle but well-respected around the league, was Dennis Lindsey, who left for Detroit in the summer.”

Source: digginbasketball.substack.com/p/the-day-after-luka-doncic-trade

reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1igtiii/frankoa_person_close_to_the_situation_described

instagram.com/reel/DF_H6_byTp2

streamable.com/lgjm21

yardbarker.com/nba/articles/former_mavericks_executive_destroys_patrick_dumont_for_his_luka_doncic_comments/s1_16751_41748960

"The people who were critiquing him had no business. Those people have not accomplished anything. Who are they to be talking about what it takes to win? That's the part that I found really offensive... You inherited a pretty good roster, generational superstars. Have a little bit more humility in knowing what it takes to win. Nico is in a tough position so I can empathize with him."

"But the owner, this guy is like the definition of... He married into money. This guy does not look like he's ever denied himself the luxury of an extra meal. So for him to talk about what it takes to win and to reference Shaq as the ultimate example is just so tone-deaf. Obviously, you managed to marry into this amazing family that has a lot of money. Great, congratulations."

"What have you managed to accomplish other than going to school? People go to school... I don't have a lot of sympathy for people who are so adamant. Just have a little grace... 'We're new to this. We'll do better. We trust the fans. We really want to bring something better.' But they really don't care enough about Dallas, they're not from Dallas, and they're not Dallas people. It's a real estate play for them."

theringer.com/2025/02/14/nba/dallas-mavericks-luka-doncic-trade-nico-harrison-dirk-nowitzki

dallashoopsjournal.com/p/mavericks-front-office-displays-troubling

reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1iqbrdr/the_las_vegas_sands_have_blocked_mavs_reporter

2 of the players in OP on another team lol

nytimes.com/athletic/6137644/2025/02/17/luka-doncic-trade-lakers-mavericks-nico-harrison

Dončić, who joined the Mavs in 2018, presented a different type of mentality from Bryant. Dončić drinks beer and smokes a hookah, neither of which is atypical for a 25-year-old. But those behaviors didn’t fit Harrison’s mold.

Questions about the organization’s ability to hold Dončić accountable followed.

Management unsuccessfully pushed him to get into better shape, even as he dominated the league, averaging at least 27 points, at least eight rebounds and at least eight assists during each of the five seasons following his first in the NBA. Dončić controlled more day-to-day decisions than the average player does, such as practice schedules, though superstars on other teams receive similar treatment.

“Every person who worked at the Mavericks, except for me, was terrified of this guy,” Haralabos Voulgaris, a Mavericks executive from 2018 to 2021, said of Dončić

Voulgaris told a story about interacting with Dončić during his rookie season. Dončić filled a thermos with lemonade and sweet tea. “I know liquid calories are death,” Voulgaris told then-owner Cuban. Voulgaris, according to his recounting, was told to stay in his lane.

In November, Dončić missed five games with what the Mavericks announced as a right wrist sprain. That injury classification was not entirely true. In reality, Dončić was supposed to use time off to improve his conditioning, team sources said.

Dallas might have worried about Dončić’s body, but until a recent calf ailment, he had never missed significant time because of injury. This will be his first season playing fewer than 60 games. (On the other side, Davis is six years his elder and has failed to compete in 60 games during four of the previous six seasons. Considering the injury he suffered during his first game with the Mavericks, he could miss that landmark again in 2024-25.)

Nonetheless, concern built, including with Harrison, that Dončić’s body would break down possibly sooner than anyone would suspect. It eventually reached a point where Harrison felt he had to move on from someone who could still one day be a league MVP.

vsdistrictnews.com/sports-news/nico-harrisons-message-to-the-mavericks-after-the-luka-doncic-trade

reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1irr5o5/nico_harrisons_message_to_the_mavericks_after_the

reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1isifxt/kevin_gray_luka_don%C4%8Di%C4%87_really_offended_every

Marc Stein

“Whispers via league sources suggesting that Dallas' decision-makers, most notably general manager Nico Harrison, no longer wanted Planet Mavericks to orbit around Luka Dončić and had grown determined to trade him by this summer at the latest.”

In the wee hours of Feb. 2 in Cleveland, with virtually no one in the NBA prepared for such a swap in the middle of the night or the middle of the season, Dallas agreed to voluntarily exit the Luka Era after less than seven full seasons. Without warning they agreed to send him to Tinseltown in exchange for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and one future first-round pick. Dončić literally had to be roused from his Saturday night sleep to be informed of the deal by phone.

Yet naturally now, with a bit of distance from the initial shock, you have begun to hear more of the whispers that the Mavericks had somehow concealed for months. Whispers via league sources suggesting that Dallas' decision-makers, most notably general manager Nico Harrison, no longer wanted Planet Mavericks to orbit around Dončić and had grown determined to trade him by this summer at the latest

The timetable, even more stunningly, then got moved up suddenly … presumably because Dončić's former co-star, Kyrie Irving, is turning 33 in March and doesn't have infinite time to form a similarly successful partnership with Davis.

In his own limited public commentary on the matter to date, Harrison explained in part — via a pre-game press conference from Cleveland — that the Mavericks believe the trade got them ahead of "a tumultuous summer," referring to Luka's looming eligibility for a five-year, $345 million supermax contract extension in July.

Yet all the Mavericks have known since, of course, is a tumultuous present.

Tumult, in fact, that is unlikely to simmer down any time soon and has only been exacerbated by the fact that Davis has been sidelined until at least March 6 (and almost certainly longer) by an adductor strain sustained in what looked for a half like it would be a storybook Mavericks debut.

Source:

marcstein.substack.com/p/the-77-stages-of-grief-contd

reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1iy5nxl/marc_stein_whispers_via_league_sources_suggesting

This team is truly a nightmare scenario

one plays for the celtics, the other lakers.

reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1j52nen/the_dallas_mavericks_have_now_also_lost_three