One year ago this week, the Dallas Mavericks made a monumental decision to trade Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, a choice that had immediate ramifications for the franchise.
The move was crucified by Mavericks fans, applauded by Lakers supporters, questioned by media members and subsequently defended by its architect, Nico Harrison.
Anthony Davis was the intended prize of the blockbuster deal, but what the Mavericks really walked away with by dealing Doncic was another chance at a generational talent with the selection of No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg.
In this oral history, the people directly involved in one of the most stunning trades in NBA history tell the tale of Doncic’s departure from Dallas.
Mavericks
The night of
Shams Charania on The Old Man and the Three podcast, recounting his post on X at 11:12 p.m. Feb. 1:
I basically was like, ‘Is this real?’ And the Dallas News was like, ‘Yeah, it’s real.’
Obviously my hands were shaking. You had to make sure every detail was right. You had to make sure there was no typo. And I just remember, like my hands were trembling, I didn’t have a graphic to go with it because it was so sudden. You don’t have time to prep for it, like you make a Luka Doncic graphic beforehand. You don’t even know.
And so [from] the time I heard about it to the time I put it out, probably five to seven minutes went by, five confirmed sources on it, and then after that my phone was a mess. I had up to like 300 text messages. . . Everyone with the same message: ‘Did you get hacked?’
The Dallas Morning News post on X at 11:14 p.m., updated at 11:19 with more details:
League source confirms the unbelievable is true: The Mavericks are trading Luka Doncic to the Lakers for a package that includes Anthony Davis.
League source confirms the unbelievable is true: The Mavericks are trading Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber, and Markieff Morris to the Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick.
— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) February 2, 2025
Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd, left, and general manager Nico Harrison, right, discuss the trade of Luka Doncic before an NBA basketball game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Sue Ogrocki / AP
Nico Harrison to The Dallas Morning News at 12:13 a.m., when asked about the shock and anger of Mavericks fans:
First of all, I understand why they would be shocked initially. But I do believe that we positioned ourselves to win now and also win in the future. And that’s ultimately the goal and why we’re here. I think it’s one of those things where it’s my job to make the tough decisions that put our goals first and foremost.
Mavericks CEO Rick Welts this month, recounting where he was Feb. 1:
I was in bed, asleep. As I remember, it was a Saturday night when the news broke. My phone started buzzing, which I normally would just ignore, but I took a peek and it said, ‘Patrick Dumont.’
I’m like, ‘OK. Patrick goes, ‘We’re making a trade.’ So that was the first that I knew of it. It made for a sleepless night and pretty busy weekend. Because obviously our staff had gone home Friday night. And Monday morning, they were going to walk into something a little different than anybody might have expected the week before.
So it was a lot of just trying to get prepared for whatever incoming there was going to be, that the people in this office would be the frontline of dealing with.
Cooper Flagg, on his reaction to the trade:
I remember being with all of my guys. That might’ve been the night we played UNC. … We were all hanging out. My teammate Darren Harris was the first one to see the Shams post. We just started going crazy. It was such a shock.
Cooper Flagg’s reaction to the Luka Doncic trade:
“I remember being with all of my guys. That might’ve been the night we played UNC… We were all hanging out. My teammate Darren Harris was the 1st one to see the Shams post. We just started going crazy. It was such a shock.” pic.twitter.com/xkr5AnEDzv
— Mike Curtis (@MikeACurtis2) June 24, 2025
The immediate aftermath
Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka on Feb. 4:
Luka Doncic joining forces with the Los Angeles Lakers is a seismic event in NBA history and the reason I say that is because we have a 25-year-old global superstar that’s gonna get on the stage of the most popular and influential basketball brand on the globe. When those two powerful forces come together, it brings basketball joy to the world.
Doncic on Feb. 4:
I was almost asleep so when I got a call, I had to check to see if it was April 1st. I didn’t really believe it at first. It was a big shock. It was home, so it was a really hard moment for me, especially the first day.
Los Angeles Lakers’ Luka Doncic, right, and general manger Rob Pelinka field questions during an introductory NBA basketball press conference Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, in El Segundo, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Jae C. Hong / AP
Markieff Morris, who was part of Dallas’ trade to LA, on Feb. 4:
My agent texted me Shams from Twitter. Because obviously I was in a whirlwind. I’m trying to think ‘What’s next?’ I saw that Luka was in the trade and I was like, ‘What?’ I was like, ‘If they can trade Luka, they can trade anybody.’ … I feel like it’s some sort of disrespect.
Kyrie Irving on Feb. 4:
You just don’t imagine that you’re going to get ready to go to sleep and then you get news like that. It’s still a grieving process right now. I miss my hermano. We had a lot of time together. Kieff too, and Maxi. We just built some bonds that went beyond the basketball court. If anyone can understand at home, when a few people leave in a trade, it’s going to be difficult. That’s what we’re dealing with right now, but this is a business. It’s way above my pay grade.
Jason Kidd on Feb. 2, on his reaction when he found out:
As Nico brought up, we are aligned. Luka, when I first came here, I was excited about the opportunity to coach an upcoming star who became a mega star. I was just blessed to have that opportunity to coach him. When you look at the vision of the team and what Nico wants to build, I truly support that and truly believe that the players we’re getting are the ones that can help us achieve that, and that’s to win a championship.
Davis on Feb. 7 in Dallas, the day before his debut:
I know who Luka was to this franchise and this city. I’m never going to downplay that, just how I know what I meant to the city of LA. I’m not surprised by the fan reaction and city’s reaction. It’s my job to come in and play basketball, do what I’m supposed to do. …
I don’t know how tomorrow’s going to be as far as the reaction. I can’t control that. At the end of the day, I’m going to give the city life back.
Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont on Feb. 7, on whether he thinks the trade improved his team:
I do. Look, it’s been an emotional week for everyone. It really has. I clearly understand that, and I really appreciate that. I’m a big Luka fan. My family’s big Luka fans. I have a really deep appreciation for what he brought to this team, what he brought to Dallas, and the excitement he brings.
He’s an electrifying player, and I want you to know I really sympathize with all of our fans who feel hurt. Look, as far as I’m concerned, Luka is a Mav for life. And I really want to wish him nothing but happiness and success in his career as he continues in LA.
Related
Mavericks minority shareholder Mark Cuban to Bill Gates, during a Feb. 7 event in Richardson:
And so I wanted to start off with a question, because you’ve been in unique situations and maybe you can help.
If, after you left Microsoft, you found out that Steve Ballmer traded Windows 11 — like the new hot operating system — for Windows 10 the Hall of Fame, but older system, what would you do?
Gates: I might have to hide from the press for a while.
Cuban: I know a couple other people that are in that situation.
Lakers assistant Greg St. John (former Mavs assistant, 2021-2023):
I was on the team bus in New York. We had just beaten the Knicks and we had a great game.
I was riding back to the hotel and sitting next to Max Christie at the time. I didn’t believe that it was real, just like the rest of the world. Then once all that all went through, it was like a whirlwind of processing. … Excitement to get to coach Luka again, but a lot of hurt, obviously to see AD and Max Christie to get traded.
The months after
Cuban on The Stephen A. Smith Show, April 6:
I was like, ‘You’re asking me right? This isn’t done.’ And he [Nico Harrison] he was like, ‘No, it’s done.’ And I was like, ‘OK. Nothing more to talk about. I wouldn’t have done this. And thanks for giving me the call.’
Doncic, on returning to Dallas with LA on April 9:
Those are my brothers. I know we’re not on the same team now, but I’ll always have contact with them. We went to war together. It was nice to see everybody.
At the end, with AD, we got traded for each other, so from now on everyone is going to compare us two. I think he’s an amazing player and I think he’s going to do really good in Dallas.
Welts this month, on how his staff responded:
Dallas Mavericks CEO Rick Welts, center left, and team Governor Patrick Dumont, center right applauding, watch the team play against the Toronto Raptors in the first half of an NBA basketball game in Dallas, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
LM Otero / AP
These [employees] are mostly 20-somethings who are here because they love the game of basketball and want to be part of the sport. It was a rough 100 days. I think, in retrospect, there were a lot of lessons learned. There’s a lot of different procedures here now as a result, different than we had in place at the time.
Every day you just try to come in and do the best job you can. And I call it 100 days because it was, if you count, exactly 100 days between the trade and the lottery. Not 99. Not 101. It was 100.
So I’m super proud of our staff and how they managed their way through it. Super proud of how we honored Luka when he came back. I don’t think a team could have done it better, in truly honoring somebody who’d been so important and so meaningful to the franchise.
Mavericks GM Nico Harrison speaks during a press conference at the Mavericks Training Center in Dallas on Monday, April 21, 2025.
Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer
Harrison, during his end-of-season news conference April 21:
I think I’ve done a really good job here, and I don’t think I can be judged by the injuries this year. You have to judge the totality from beginning to end. I think I have a really good working relationship with Patrick. I think you add in [Mavericks CEO] Rick [Welts], the leadership that we have is really elite. You’ll see next year when our team comes back, we’re going to be competing for a championship.
Cuban to The News, June 27:
For all the hell that Nico’s gotten, he’s done a great job putting us in a really good position. The front office has done a great job of putting together a team where we can compete. A couple breaks here and there; Kyrie comes back; Cooper is who we expect him to be; and we can have a really, really good team.
Flagg on Jan. 27, on whether he could have imagined the trade indirectly leading him to Dallas:
No, definitely not. It’s crazy how things work out and the series of events that led to me being here, but I’m just blessed for everything and every moment that’s led up to this in my life.
Cuban on Aug. 29 via The Arena:
Not making the final personnel decisions. ‘Oh yeah, let’s trade one of the top three players in the NBA.’ I wouldn’t have done it, but it’s done. And sometimes the basketball gods smile on you and get Cooper Flagg and the No. 1 pick. That’s been the toughest part, just not being the final decision maker when it comes to on-court decisions.
Trade consequences, legacy
Dallas Mavericks fans gather outside the American Airlines Center, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, in Dallas, to protest against the Mavericks’ trade of Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers last week, before the game against the Houston Rockets.
Chitose Suzuki / Staff Photographer
Dirk Nowitzki on Nov. 14, after Harrison was fired:
This move should have probably happened this summer. Honestly, I didn’t want this negative energy and this black cloud over the Cooper Flagg era, but here we are now. …
I just knew, I figured this fan base is a passionate and loyal fan base — I was lucky enough to experience it for 21 years — and I knew they weren’t just going to get over it, as people say, or forget about it. They’re extremely passionate and this trade just made no sense. It made no sense to them, and really there was no explanation for it.”
Doncic on Nov. 13:
The City of Dallas, the fans, the players, all of them have a special place in my heart. I thought I was gonna stay there forever, but I didn’t.
So they’ll always be a special place for me, always can call it home. But right now I’m just focused on the Lakers, trying to move on. But obviously there’s always going to be a part of me there.
ESPN’s Tim MacMahon to The News on Jan. 26, on the trade’s impact on the Mavericks and the league:
You’re talking about a team that was fresh off a Finals appearance, and the trade obviously changed everything. It was a win-now trade, but they didn’t win now. And I think more than anything, it wounded this fan base. I’m not sure about forever, but deeply.
I think the best thing you can say about the long-term impact of the trade is the franchise was gifted, for some reason by the basketball gods, a second chance to build around a prodigy type of talent. But it’s just an unprecedented decision for a franchise that had managed to successfully build a Finals team around a guy.
For years, the fear was failing to build around him and what if he looks to leave if you’re not successful? You’re successful and then you dumped him. …
I don’t think the trade had any impact in terms of trends. There’s other things that have happened in terms of the new CBA and second aprons and all those kinds of things, but I cannot think of another time when there was a perennial MVP candidate entering his prime who was traded because the team wanted to get rid of him. That’s not going to set a trend.”
Kristaps Porzingis on Jan. 8:
It’s hard to say what happened, how it got to that point, but Luka is Luka. How are you gonna trade Luka? It’s a weird situation. It’s something I don’t think we’ve ever seen before and I think it was a shocker to everybody. It’s hard. You could see by the reaction of Dallas fans how they felt about the whole thing. Even Luka coming back and tearing up. It was emotional.
Kidd on Jan. 23, when asked to reflect on the year since the trade …
I think the keyword is patient — pivoting and understanding change happens in life. How do you deal with it? That becomes a personal thing, but in a team atmosphere, the train keeps moving. You gotta continue to keep being a pro. The guys that are here, those are all pros. … Things change, but you continue to keep working on your craft.
… and on Jan. 24, when asked if he wished he could do anything to stop the trade:
It’s the one-year [anniversary] and next year it’ll be two years, and after that it’ll be three. We’ll just keep counting. But Luka’s moved on, and we’ve moved on. He’s playing extremely well. He leads the league in scoring. He has his team in the hunt. For that, we wish him the best, but that’s just the business of basketball. Gotta move forward.
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