The Luka Doncic trade from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers remains one of the most shocking deals in the history of sports. The deal was so unbelievable, and so unpopular, that both of the major stakeholders in that trade on Dallas’ end — general manager Nico Harrison and head coach Jason Kidd — are no longer with the team.
When the trade happened, Harrison fell entirely on the sword. He said that the deal was fully his idea, and that only the owner knew about it before it happened. He asked that he be the one to be judged on the success, or failure, of the trade. However, Shams Charania of ESPN is now reporting that perhaps Kidd had some level of involvement in the deal.
“How involved was Jason Kidd? He wasn’t making the trade, but Mavs sources do believe that he had a level of support for that trade,” Charania reported on the Pat McAfee Show.
It’s unclear if this is true or if this is a justification for the Mavericks moving on from him under new top executive Masai Ujiri. Regardless, it seems as though Kidd’s time in Dallas had run its course, and they did not want him leading the new era with No. 1 pick and rookie of the year Cooper Flagg.
If he did have involvement in the deal, it would make it difficult for other franchises to give the green light to hire him as their coach, similar to Harrison with basketball operations. Everyone who had any involvement in the Doncic trade — from the Mavericks side — will have that as a black mark that follows them into their careers.
The Mavericks now get to move forward with a completely new era, while the Lakers get the pleasure of building around Doncic.
Lakers not expected to have best Giannis Antetokounmpo offer
The Lakers may be in the market to go big-game hunting once again this summer in the form of Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo. All rumors suggest that the two-time MVP and one-time NBA champion will finally be on the move, and the Lakers have registered interest.
However, it seems that the Lakers are destined to get outbid for the star’s services. They have close to nothing in terms of players to trade him — they have upwards of 11 free agents this summer — and only three tradable first-round picks. Neither seem particularly appealing for a Bucks team looking to maximize their return for one of the game’s all-time great players at 31 years old.
If you love our reporting, choose LakersNation.com as a preferred source on Google.
