Luka Doncic’s departure from the Dallas Mavericks wasn’t exactly smooth sailing. The Slovenian star had previously stated that he never intended to leave the franchise and envisioned spending his entire career in Dallas. The trade that shocked the NBA, which saw Doncic land with the Los Angeles Lakers, was met with heavy criticism from Mavs fans.
Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison, became the primary target of their frustration. In this tense atmosphere, former player Chandler Parsons predicted that Doncic would seek “revenge” against Harrison in the upcoming season.
It’s reported that Harrison had lost hope that Doncic could be the face of the franchise for years to come, citing issues beyond his on-court performance, such as his physical condition and work ethic. These concerns were leaked through reports from within the Mavericks organization.
However, rather than discouraging Doncic, these leaks appear to have fueled him with extra motivation. In his first game against his former team, the Slovenian superstar led the Lakers to victory, registering a triple–double with 19 points, 15 rebounds, 12 assists, three steals, and two blocks.
Luka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers looks to pass past Klay Thompson #31 of the Dallas Mavericks during the first half of a game at Crypto.com Arena. (Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
After the game, Parsons boldly predicted that Doncic would be the MVP of the next season, claiming he would enter the season with a chip on his shoulder and in peak physical shape to prove Harrison wrong.
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“[Luka Doncic] is my pick for MVP next year. I feel like he’s going to be on a mission,” Parsons said on Run It Back. “He’s going to be in the best shape of his life. He’s going to spend all of the offseason proving Nico Harrison he made the biggest mistake of his life“.
Harrison reportedly determined to move on from Doncic
It appears that Mavericks general manager was committed to moving on from Doncic. According to NBA insider Marc Stein, Harrison made the decision to shift the team’s focus away from the Slovenian star.
“Whispers via league sources suggest that Dallas’ decision-makers, most notably general manager Nico Harrison, no longer wanted Planet Mavericks to orbit around [Luka] Doncic and had grown determined to trade him by this summer at the latest,” Stein reported.
Doncic’s cold reaction toward Kidd and Harrison
In the recent matchup between the Lakers and Mavericks, Doncic showed some warmth toward his former teammates and assistant coaches, but notably snubbed head coach Jason Kidd during post-game greetings.
As for Harrison, during the warm-ups prior to the game, the general manager was seen observing from the scorer’s table as both teams prepared. Despite being just a few feet away from Doncic, there was no exchange between them. When asked about seeing Harrison on the court, the Slovenian star gave a cold response: “I didn’t see him at warm-ups”.
