‘Originally multiple first round picks’: Shock new details of Luka trade as NBA rivals left ‘furious’

It’s been described as the most shocking trade in NBA history. And the Luka Doncic trade just gets crazier and crazier as the days pass and more information comes to the light.

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Some of it is downright hard to believe.

The NBA world has been anticipating some clearer rationale as to why the Mavericks would’ve moved their generational superstar in the middle of the night as part of a shock three-team trade for an underwhelming return with no prior warning and without first gauging the market, instead only dealing with the Lakers.

There had to be a greater reason to move a top five NBA player under such circumstances, right!? Well if anything, the perception of the deal has become more damning on Dallas’ part, and general manager Nico Harrison in particular.

For starters, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reports Harrison was determined to only deal with one team only and was clearly targeting Anthony Davis in return.

“Harrison decided early on, team sources said, that the best way to trade a player of Doncic’s caliber was to pick the trade that he wanted, rather than open up the process, to avoid Doncic and his agent exerting their own leverage,” Shelburne wrote.

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Talks between Harrison and Lakers counterpart Rob Pelinka, who have a relationship from when Harrison was a Nike executive and Pelinka was a player agent including both working closely with Kobe Bryant, happened throughout January and were kept tight to ensure word didn’t get out.

That longstanding relationship was evidently key in getting a deal done.

If you, like many people, thought the trade was some kind of joke or fake news when it first emerged, you’re not alone. Pelinka himself thought as much when Harrison first approached him to discuss a deal, according to Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News.

“Harrison told The (Dallas Morning) News he and Pelinka began having ‘basketball’ conversations more than a month ago,” Townsend wrote.

“Then all of a sudden we’re like, ‘Would you ever do this?’

“‘Nah, you’re joking, right?’

“‘Hmm. Interesting. Maybe I would.’

“Added Harrison: ‘And then it just built over time over the last three weeks.’

“A person familiar with the Mavericks-Lakers negotiations told The News that Harrison got full support from team governor Patrick Dumont in the weeks leading to the trade and when it was time to pull the trigger late Saturday night.”

A big criticism of the trade is that Doncic only yielded the Mavericks Davis a single first-round pick despite the Lakers having another first rounder and appealing players like Austin Reaves and Dalton Knecht. Not only that, but the Mavericks actually sent a second-round pick back to LA.

Well, according to NBA analyst Kirk Goldsberry, Dallas was initially going to receive a bigger haul for the Mavs before Pelinka somehow convinced Harrison to whittle down the assets.

“The Luka Doncic deal originally included multiple first-round picks, Dalton Knecht, and more, but was chiseled down after Rob Pelinka was able to convince Nico Harrison that taking on Luka Doncic was a big risk due to his weight and injury history,” Goldsberry said on The Bill Simmons Podcast.

Goldsberry revealed Pelinka was also able to convince Harrison not to shop Doncic around to the rest of the league and convinced him that the Lakers were the only true suitor to give Dallas the best possible player for a “win now” move.

Wow.

ESPN’s Tim McMahon reports executives around the NBA are “furious” the Lakers were the only team allowed to bid for Doncic.

“Executives from around the league were both furious and jealous that the glitzy, star-driven Lakers had been the only team given an opportunity to bid for Doncic’s services,” McMahon wrote.

It’s also emerged via Shelburne and McMahon that Jazz general manager Danny Ainge, the third party in the deal, “had about only 30 minutes notice” LA was landing Doncic to be the new face of the Lakers and “by then it was too late.”

Former Mavericks player Chandler Parsons has also shed some interesting light on the matter.

Luka Doncic was in tears after finding out he was being traded to the Lakers, according to Parsons.

Adding salt to the wound of the surprising NBA blockbuster that sent Anthony Davis to the Mavericks, Parsons said the 25-year-old had recently closed on a multimillion-dollar house in Dallas.

“(Doncic) just bought a $15 million house, just closed like last week in Dallas,” Parsons said on FanDuel’s “Run it Back” show Monday. “He cried when he found out.”

The brutality of the trade sent the ex-NBAer into shock — and he wasn’t alone. It prompted a text to Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban.

“I said, ‘I’m so confused,’” Parsons said. “He wrote back, ‘That makes two of us.’”

Parsons, who spent two of his nine NBA seasons with the Mavericks before’s Doncic arrived on the scene, noted that the organisation is keen on its player relations.

“Dallas, of all franchises, they do their due diligence on personality traits, on medical, on friends you hang out with,” Parsons said.

But it appears the diligence may have been what caused a rift with Dallas and Doncic if you believe Parsons.

“There had been some murmurs about what Luka was doing early on in his career,” Parsons said. “Then obviously with the weight and the off-the-court activities.”

Doncic has certainly gained some weight since entering the league at just 19 years old, but considering he was just three wins away from an NBA title less than a year ago, his weight hasn’t seemed to affect his overall play.

When a video surfaced last playoffs of Mavericks vice president Michael Finley taking a beer directly out of Doncic’s hands as he celebrated a victory that sent them to the NBA Finals, speculation arose of Dallas’ feelings towards Doncic’s off-court habits.

The Mavericks had “major concerns” about Doncic’s conditioning and lifestyle potentially hindering him from reaching his full potential, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon.

Despite the potential concerns about Doncic, Parsons doesn’t agree with the trade.

“I find it extremely disrespectful,” Parsons said. “I find it horrific — bad business.”

-Parts of this story were originally published in the New York Post and reproduced with permission.