On Wednesday, April 9, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks faced off on Dallas’ home court with the Lakers coming out victorious for the second time since Luka Dončić was traded to the team back in February. In the first game back in February, Dončić put up 19 points.
In the second game, however, his performance was truly astonishing. Dončić scored 45 points against his old team that traded him – a generational talent and the former face of the franchise – for 32-year-old Anthony Davis.
The trade has been condemned by many sports critics as the worst trade in NBA history. In response to Luka’s staggering performance, ESPN analyst and former NBA player Jay Williams called the trade “basketball treason” and “self sabotage.” The scoreboard seems to confirm it.
Are the Mavs regretting their decision to let Luka go?
Well, that all depends on why they made the trade in the first place. Jason Whitlock and Jay Skapinac, host of “Skap Attack,” debate the real reason behind the Luka trade.
Skap chalks it up to pure stupidity on the part of Mav’s general manager Nico Harrison.
Harrison and Mavs ownership “lost their minds” when they traded Dončić – “an absolute generational star,” he says.
“The only two players ever to score at least 30 points per game in their playoff careers [are] Michael Jordan and Luka Dončić, and they trade that guy for Anthony Davis and one first round draft pick?” he asks in disbelief.
Skap predicts that the Mavs’ ship will sink early in the play-in tournament, if they can maintain their play-in position, while the Lakers, thanks to their new addition, may become “the best team in the Western conference.”
“Thanks for nothing, Nico Harrison and the Dallas Mavericks,” he sighs.
Whitlock, however, doesn’t think it’s that simple. Anybody who knows the basics of basketball understands that trading Luka is basketball suicide, so there must be another reason behind it.
Two theories have him interested.
Theory #1: The NBA pushed for the trade because they “wanted LeBron to have a playoff run.”
Theory #2: The trade was spurred by the owners — the Adelson family — who want to use the team to “leverage their way into a casino and new arena.”
“Blaming Nico is an easy way out,” says Whitlock.
To hear more of the debate, watch the clip above.
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