The trade that sent Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers was a blockbuster deal in every sense of the word. It was a move that no one saw coming, not even those involved in the trade, and completely changed the trajectory of both the Lakers and Mavericks franchises as a whole.
Mavericks fans have remained angry at the deal and that was on full display in Doncic’s return to Dallas as they cheered the now-Lakers guard every step of the way during his 45-point performance in the Lakers’ win. They also directed ‘Fire Nico’ chants towards Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison throughout the night.
Prior to the game, Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd addressed the deal and fans reaction to it, even going so far as to compare the trade to the Boston Red Sox trading Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees back in 1920, via Khobi Price of the Southern California News Group:
“Yeah, I think with 77 there’s a lot of hope right? With Luka there’s a lot of hope. This is a business. It happens right? Trades happen. This won’t be the last trade. Some have compared it to Babe Ruth which is kinda cool. But like when you look at just the business of sports, change happens. But when change happens, it’s the ones who can carry on and keep moving forward, those are the special people. Fans are gonna be fans, they have a right to boo, they have a right to cheer. Hope is still in that locker room. AD is not a bad player. I think he’s top-75 if I recall, has won at every level. There’s different opinions of how things were handled, that’s always gonna be a conversation. But when you see those guys in that uniform with the Mavericks, those guys play hard and they play together and they’re trying to find a way to win. And so there’s hope, there’s still hope, and there’ll be hope 10 years from now because the league will continue to go. That train doesn’t stop for anybody. And so just understanding that the fans will come to grips with this. That we’re gonna have a chance to win a championship here, hopefully so. And we believe in Nico and Patrick that they’re gonna do the right thing to put those pieces in that locker room to give us that chance.”
If Kidd wanted to get Mavericks fans to calm down about the deal, comparing it to the Babe Ruth trade likely wasn’t the best move. As many will recall, the Red Sox would not win another World Series ring until 2004, so the Mavericks going on an 84 year championship drought is likely something nobody wants to imagine.
Obviously Kidd still believes in the roster he has, and unfortunately injuries in the immediate aftermath of the Doncic trade severely hurt their season. But it can’t be easy to preach hope to the fanbase while watching Luka go to the Lakers and immediately turn them into a championship contender.
Austin Reaves glad Luka Doncic is on the Lakers
Austin Reaves is just like everyone else who loves the Lakers in just being happy that Luka Doncic is a member of this team and part of this franchise.
Reaves noted that he didn’t even want to look at Luka during the pregame video tribute as he knew that it would be emotional. But the Lakers guard added that he’s just happy Luka is a member of the Lakers now while saying he expected him to have the performance he did in his return to Dallas.
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