Luka Doncic has been very open about how shocked and hurt he was at finding out he had been traded from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers. While he has now accepted it and embraced being a member of the Lakers franchise, even signing a max extension this summer, he considered Dallas home and planned on playing his entire career with the Mavericks.
Because of the absolute shock of the deal, and the reaction of Mavericks fans after the trade, Luka’s return to Dallas as a member of the Lakers became one of the most anticipated games of the entire regular season. It was also an emotional affair that saw Doncic in tears during a pregame video tribute before dominating on the court with a season-high 45 points in a Lakers win.
The Mavericks pointed to their belief that Luka was not always in the best of shape and questionable work ethic as reasons they felt the need to move on from the superstar and the tension between the two sides remains present. In fact, Doncic feels things will always be strange between himself and the Mavericks and is unsure he will ever receive closure, via Jason Gay of The Wall Street Journal:
“I think it will always be strange,” Doncic says. “I don’t know if someday I will have closure or not. For sure, it will always be weird.”
This trade really affected Doncic on a personal level as he really believed that he would be in Dallas forever. It simply wasn’t meant to be and he seems to be unsatisfied with the reasoning that was put out there, not to mention the secrecy of the deal. Luka had a connection with that city and their fans, but it was all thrown to the side once Dallas traded him to the Lakers.
But he has been embraced wholeheartedly by both the Lakers organization and the fans who have full belief that he is the next great superstar who will lead this franchise to multiple NBA Championships and while he may not get closure on his Dallas tenure, he can leave a lasting legacy with the premier franchise in basketball.
Adam Silver praises Luka Doncic for handling of trade to Lakers
Being traded from the Mavericks to the Lakers was deeper than basketball for Luka Doncic and he didn’t try to hide his feelings upon news of the deal. And NBA Commissioner Adam Silver praised the Lakers’ superstar for his handling of the trade and being open and honest about everything.
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