It’s been seven months since the shocking trade of Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers, and finally, we can say that at least some of the storm around the whole thing has calmed down. Never before had we seen a team that had been in the NBA Finals trade its franchise player, who was 25 at the time, after a season in which he was the league’s top scorer, an All-Star, First Team All-NBA for the fifth consecutive season, and WCF MVP.
The whole story seemed so surreal that the entire basketball world, from media to players, was left in shock. Once the deal was finalized, it became clear that no one in the league was certain, and one of those who still can’t believe it actually happened is Jimmy Butler.
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“I just thought when you used the word ‘untradeable,’ ‘untouchable,’ you’d think Luka Doncic is one of those guys, honestly. I don’t know, it doesn’t have too much to do with me, I’m still just, I was baffled by it. I’m still baffled by it. It just doesn’t look right. It’s just… crazy,” Butler stressed. There’s always more to it.”
“Everybody else is always on the outside looking in, so you only know what you read, you only know what you read from socials. You don’t know what was really going on behind closed doors. And everybody’s going to latch onto whatever narrative they want to believe and whatever clickbait is put out there. But there’s always more to these stories. I don’t know, I don’t know, but I can guarantee you there is more, and there’s always a reason behind everything. Do I know the reason? No,” Butler concluded.
Harrison was clearly bothered by Doncic’s behaviour for some time
When we considered that Nico Harrison gave an interview to Slovenian media just two weeks before the trade, saying he hoped the Slovenian captain would lead them to the Larry O’Brien Trophy, things became unclear and somewhat confusing.
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Negotiations between Harrison and Rob Pelinka allegedly lasted more than a month, and everything coming out of the Mavericks camp about the trade was a bit messy to watch, from claims that Doncic was overweight, which led to certain injuries, to his unsportsmanlike lifestyle, where he was often seen in the offseason smoking hookah and drinking beer, and so on.
Harrison was clearly bothered by Doncic’s behaviour for some time. He simply didn’t see him as a franchise player worthy of the max contract, despite his phenomenal performances in a Mavs jersey. Someone who complains hysterically at every referee decision, in Harrison’s eyes, wasn’t worth a max contract. Still, after withstanding all the criticism from media and fans, Harrison insists trading Doncic was the right move, and time will prove him correct.
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“There’s no regrets on the trade,” said Harrison. “Part of my job is to do the best thing for the Mavericks, not only today but also in the future. Some of the decisions I’m going to make are going to be unpopular. And that’s my job and I have to stand by it. One last thing, I’ll also add that every trade I’ve done has been met with high scrutiny, and so eventually, I’ll earn the trust of this community back.”
Conspiracy theories
Although he later made some unbelievable statements as if he didn’t really know how much Luka meant to Dallas fans, luck quickly smiled upon him when, with only a 1.8 percent chance, he landed the first pick in the draft, which automatically meant Cooper Flagg would join the team.
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When you add championship and veteran experience from Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, and Klay Thompson, assuming they stay healthy, Harrison could really achieve big things as the Mavericks GM if they go all the way.
Some even went so far as to say it was impossible for Flagg to end up in Dallas, and various conspiracy theories started to emerge. Even Butler isn’t sure how, after the Doncic trade, a team with a 1.8 percent chance ends up with perhaps the biggest talent since LeBron James. We’ll unlikely ever know if there was something more behind the scenes that led to the Mavs having so much luck in getting a generational talent like Flagg.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 10, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.