Nico Harrison got fired mostly because of the Luka Doncic trade, but Doncic isn’t concerned with that anymore. The Dallas Mavericks have parted ways with their embattled GM, and all eyes understandably turned to Doncic. He just wants to focus on the Los Angeles Lakers, though, and figure out how to close the gap between them and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Luka Doncic no longer worried about Mavs, Nico Harrison
Nico Harrison stunned the entire basketball world, and maybe the world itself, by shipping Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a first-round pick in 2029. As expected, that trade aged terribly, and Harrison’s luck ran out. He has been fired.
Doncic was asked a ton last year about the trade, and he admitted that it took him by surprise.
“The city of Dallas, the fans, the players, they’ll always have a special place in my heart,” Doncic said per ESPN. “I thought I was going to stay there forever, but I didn’t. So that will always be a special place for me. I will always call it home. But right now, I’m focused on the Lakers and trying to move on. But obviously, always there will be a part of me there. But just trying to move on and focus on what I’m doing here.”
Doncic will forever be linked to the Mavericks, but he’s got a job to do with the Lakers. Harrison moving Doncic might’ve cost him a job and cost the Mavericks their best player and closed the title window, but that’s all in the past. What’s in the present and the future is the Oklahoma City Thunder, the team Doncic is attempting to dethrone and catch in the West. The Thunder just dominated the Lakers, who are still without LeBron James, in a way the superstar guard has really never experienced.
Doncic finished with a season-low 19 points on 20 shots, with just one three made in seven tries to go along with seven rebounds, seven assists, and four turnovers. Doncic was a staggering -31 on the night, and Doncic has never faced a halftime deficit (32 points) like the one the Thunder put on him in his eight-year career. He said again that he is focused on the Lakers and has no further comments on Harrison or the Mavs, and that may be for a good reason. The Thunder look once again like the team to beat, and the Lakers were incapable of doing that.
“Definitely wasn’t our best game,” Doncic said. “Probably one of the worst this season, but they did a great job. I think they all did a great job on me. They’re champions for a reason, so they showed that today. I think we need to be more ready. Obviously, it starts with me. I need to be way better than that and just got to figure out.”
The guard also said it’s “not concerning” that there’s a huge gap between OKC and LA right now. He views it as motivation, saying they’re the champions for a reason and that it should motivate the Lakers to try and figure out how they can stop them from winning another title. Doncic has just one Finals trip in his career, and both he and the Lakers are hopeful that he’ll get more. To do that this year, the Lakers are going to have to close the gap between themselves and the Thunder, which may be the most difficult thing they’ve had to do in some time. But good news: Doncic is fully committed to that goal and is clearly not looking back at his time in Dallas anymore.
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