The Luka Dončić Trade: A Tale of Tragedy and Absurdity
The Dallas Mavericks sent their franchise star to the Los Angeles Lakers.
There have been worse trades in sports history than the one that saw Luka Dončić leave the Dallas Mavericks for the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a future first-round draft pick. Consider this: in 1919, Boston Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sold Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees for $100,000. Frazee had his reasons. Ruth was notoriously undisciplined. As Glenn Stout wrote in The Selling of the Babe, “Tracking Ruth down after a night of drinking—usually passed out somewhere, often in an alley behind a brothel, his pockets empty—became a routine for his teammates.” Ruth would miss games without warning and often gambled away his salary. The Red Sox tolerated his antics for a while—not only because he was charismatic but because he was an exceptional player. As a young pitcher, he racked up 67 wins in his first three seasons and set a scoreless-innings record in the 1918 World Series. But his true gift was hitting. His unique uppercut swing, rare at the time, thrilled fans as he crushed home runs, though his teammates—who preferred a contact-hitting approach—saw his method as unconventional. Ruth, however, wanted to focus on batting, while the Red Sox wanted him to continue pitching. He knew how to pressure the team to get his way, and Frazee—who also produced theater—was financially struggling. So, he sold Ruth to the Yankees, a team that had never won a playoff series. Legend has it that Frazee used the money to fund the 1925 Broadway show No, No, Nanette.
Ruth went on to lead the Yankees to seven World Series appearances and four championships, helping establish one of the most dominant dynasties in sports history. Meanwhile, the Red Sox, who had won their fifth championship with Ruth in 1918, wouldn’t claim another title until 2004—thus was born the infamous Curse of the Bambino. The true cause of Boston’s struggles (poor management decisions and the overt racism of later owner Tom Yawkey, who resisted integrating the team) was largely irrelevant. Even the details of the trade itself were secondary. (Frazee was actually funding My Lady Friends, the precursor to No, No, Nanette.) The deal reshaped Boston’s perception of itself. What mattered was the story.
Dončić isn’t Ruth, and Davis—a ten-time All-Star—isn’t Nanette. But stories matter, and for Dallas, this one doesn’t seem headed for a happy ending.
When news of the trade broke late on Saturday, February 1st, frustrated Mavericks fans gathered outside the team’s downtown arena. They stood near the towering 24-foot statue of Dirk Nowitzki, the legendary Maverick who spent 21 seasons with the franchise. The statue’s plaque, installed two years prior, reads: Loyalty Never Fades Away. By the next morning, workers were scrubbing graffiti—angry messages left near its base. A GoFundMe campaign raised tens of thousands of dollars to fund billboards demanding the firing of general manager Nico Harrison and the sale of the team by the Adelson family, the casino moguls who recently became majority owners. On the night of Dallas’s first home game after the trade, hundreds of fans protested outside the arena. There were Dončić jerseys, homemade signs, a makeshift shrine dedicated to him, and expressions of sorrow and rage. One fan even brought a casket.
The trade caught nearly everyone off guard. Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka admitted he initially thought Harrison was joking when he proposed the deal. Even Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd wasn’t informed until the trade was nearly finalized. At a press conference, Harrison explained this while Kidd sat beside him, looking slightly stunned. When ESPN insider Shams Charania first reported the trade on X, many assumed his account had been hacked. Charania later admitted that when he first received the tip, he thought it was false. Trades involving superstars of Dončić’s caliber are virtually unheard of at this stage in a player’s career. Very few players in NBA history have produced at his level at such a young age. At just 25, Dončić already has more First-Team All-NBA selections than legends like Nowitzki and Stephen Curry—an incredible feat in a league where most players peak in their late twenties. He competes with rare intensity, thrives in pressure situations, and dazzles with his playmaking. Last June, he carried a mediocre Mavericks squad to the NBA Finals with a series of breathtaking performances—dictating the action, improvising on the fly, and sinking clutch shot after clutch shot. Dallas fans saw him as the next Nowitzki, only better. Few players were more exciting to watch—at least, when he wasn’t arguing with referees.
His constant complaining irritated many within the Mavericks organization. After Game 3 of last year’s Finals—where Dončić had an abysmal defensive showing and fouled out while protesting calls—ESPN’s Brian Windhorst ranted about his “unacceptable” performance and hinted at frustrations within the team. “I’m standing in the Mavericks’ tunnel. Over there is the Celtics’ tunnel. That’s where the winners are,” he said. The clip went viral at the time, and it seemed to have an effect—Dončić later apologized and improved his defense in the next game. But now, Windhorst’s tirade feels different. Between the regular season and playoffs, Dončić had logged more minutes than any other player in the NBA while also orchestrating play at a historic rate. He had often single-handedly willed Dallas to victory—or at least, that’s what many believed. Yet there was Windhorst, branding him a loser on national TV, possibly echoing the organization’s internal view.
Maybe that’s how Harrison saw him. The GM claimed he handled the trade talks alone, speaking only with Patrick Dumont, the team’s governing owner—though some doubt this. As soon as the trade was announced, reports began surfacing. ESPN’s Tim MacMahon tweeted that Harrison believed “defense wins championships”—a clear nod to Davis’s elite defensive skills and an implicit critique of Dončić’s weaknesses. MacMahon also mentioned Harrison’s “serious concerns” about Dončić’s conditioning and the looming financial commitment of his upcoming contract extension. (The supermax contract was designed specifically to help teams retain players like Dončić.) In his first press conference post-trade, Harrison emphasized “culture” and suggested Dončić may not have wanted to re-sign. Additional reports followed—questioning Dončić’s weight, injury risks, and offseason fitness habits. The implication? He was an undisciplined diva. None of this was shocking—Harrison had made a massive gamble and needed to justify it. What was surprising was the lack of more damaging leaks. Did the Mavericks know something the public didn’t? Was there a hidden injury? A personal scandal? Speculation ran wild, fueled further when Dumont suggested in an interview that Dončić had “taken a vacation” during the season—while bizarrely citing Shaquille O’Neal, a notorious underachiever in training camps, as an example of dedication.
Nothing about the deal made sense. If the Mavericks were so concerned about Dončić’s durability, why target Davis, a 31-year-old with an even worse injury history? Sure enough, Davis had a strong debut—until he collapsed in the third quarter with a non-contact groin injury. He’s now expected to miss at least a month. If Dallas was planning for the future, why swap a rising superstar for an aging one? If they wanted immediate success, why trade a Top Five player for someone a tier below? If leverage was an issue—despite reports that Dončić planned to re-sign—why negotiate exclusively with the Lakers instead of fielding multiple offers? (Veteran reporter Gery Woelfel later claimed Dallas spoke to at least two other teams, but those talks didn’t progress.) In fact, it seemed like the Lakers held the leverage: initial reports suggested the deal included their best young prospect and two first-round picks, but Pelinka convinced Harrison to accept a lesser offer. “A gift,” Pelinka called it at Dončić’s Lakers press conference, beaming.
Meanwhile, Harrison was absent from Davis’s Dallas introduction. He reportedly faced death threats and racial slurs. At a Southern Methodist University game, students chanted, “Fire Nico.” Conspiracies emerged. Did Dumont and Miriam Adelson force the trade? Was Adelson, who’s pushing to legalize gambling in Texas, sabotaging the team for a Vegas relocation? Unlikely—Dallas is a massive market, while Las Vegas ranks 40th. But with no logical explanation, theories flourished. Fans were even ejected from games for anti-Adelson and anti-Harrison signs. Nowitzki, meanwhile, was in Los Angeles, supporting Dončić’s Lakers debut.
Harrison may ultimately be proven right. Perhaps Dallas will win with Davis, or draft a future star. Maybe Dončić won’t succeed in L.A. But for Mavericks fans, the issue isn’t just the trade—it’s the erasure of their story. Harrison wanted a different culture. But Dončić was their guy. And erasing him? That’s the real tragedy.