Sunday Read: Luka Dončić. In Dallas. As a Laker
It happens Wednesday night, two months and change after the trade that rocked the NBA, and this is Part 1 of our special two-part preview with lots of new reporting
On a late Friday night in mid-January, with Luka Dončić still a Dallas Maverick and working his way back from a calf injury, Kyrie Irving was buoyant when he arrived at the postgame podium.
The Mavericks had just delivered an unexpected victory over the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder. Prime MVP contender Shai Gilgeous-Alexander missed his first game of the season that night, true, but the hosts weren't about to apologize. With Dončić out, Irving had to shoulder much of the creative burden offensively for the Mavericks, who also capitalized on the fact that the Thunder were playing on the second night of a back-to-back.
"Best trade in the business, baby," Irving volunteered with glee, steering a question about teammate P.J. Washington to the subject of Nico Harrison's widely perceived gamble to acquire the mercurial guard from Brooklyn in February 2023.
"Who won that trade?" Irving continued, openly chuckling. "Who won that trade?"
"I was bad goods," Irving added with aplomb, putting some sauce on the last word to mimic the critical media tone that initially greeted the Mavericks' decision to try to atone for the crushing free agent departure of Jalen Brunson to the New York Knicks by pairing Irving with Dončić.
It was Jan. 17 and one of the last light and laughter-filled moments of a season in Dallas that has played out in unimaginable ways. Just two weeks after that gritty win over a Thunder team now running away with the Western Conference, Harrison sealed a deal to trade Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers shortly after midnight on a Saturday night in Cleveland that had technically become Sunday morning. A month after that league-shaking thunderbolt, with Anthony Davis in the midst of his own 18-game absence after succeeding Dončić as Irving's co-star, Irving sustained his own devastating ACL tear in his left knee that ended his season.
Harrison attributed the Mavericks' stunning and sudden desire to part with Dončić, at least in part, to getting ahead of a "tumultuous summer" before Dončić became eligible for a five-year supermax contract worth nearly $350 million.
Since the trade? Tumult has been the only constant in Mavsland for the past two months.
I have repeatedly referred to the grieving process for Luka's legions of fans in North Texas as The 77 Stages of Grief. The toughest stage yet arrives Wednesday night, when the Los Angeles Lakers visit American Airlines Center and Dončić takes the AAC floor as a visiting player for the first time.
How did we get here?
Read on for the fifth installment of FAQ-style examination to address that multilayered question … with a sixth entry coming Monday and a listing of all the previous chapters curated for you at the bottom of this piece.
How did Harrison emerge as Mark Cuban's choice to succeed Donnie Nelson as Mavericks GM?