‘Time will tell if I’m right’: Mavs GM’s chaotic Luka trade call explained… and ‘key driver’ behind it

The initial shock has subsided. It’s starting to sink in; Luka Doncic now plays for the Los Angeles Lakers. With LeBron James. But while the Lakers have understandably been thrust into the spotlight, the focus must be shifted to the Dallas Mavericks, general manager Nico Harrison, and new defensive anchor Anthony Davis.

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The concept of Doncic no longer doing damage in Big D is barely fathomable, a day on. A top five player in the sport, not yet at the peak of his powers at just age 25, inexplicably dealt not one year after an NBA Finals berth. The league and its fans are incredulous.

But Harrison and new majority owner Patrick Dumont evidently have a plan in place, otherwise a move of this astronomical magnitude would simply not have been made. Not for a team three games over .500 and in the playoff picture.

Fronting curious media in the aftermath, Harrison, who has been in the GM role since June 2021, revealed head coach Jason Kidd was unbeknownst to trade negotiations going on in the shadows but added he knew the ‘archetype’ of players Kidd desires.

“(Jason) Kidd didn’t know about it, but ‘J-Kidd’ and I are aligned, and we talk about archetypes, and we talk about the culture that we want to create,” Harrison said.

“I know the type of players that he likes without actually talking to him.

“Let’s be clear; I’m the one making the decision (to trade Doncic), and ‘J’ (Kidd) is supportive of it. So, it’s me. But we really believe in it, and time will tell if I’m right.”

Harrison said the 31-year-old Davis, a five-time All-Defensive team member and 2020 NBA champion, “fits our timeframe if you pair him with Kyrie (Irving) and the rest of the guys … to win now and win in the future”.

One thing you can’t say is that it’s not a bold assertion.

But while Davis might fit such a timeline and be a desirable ‘archetype’ for Kidd, he also intriguingly has a ‘longstanding working relationship’ with Dallas’ GM.

Harrison was formerly vice president of Nike’s North American Basketball Operations, and his paths are understood to have frequently crossed with Davis’.

“The front office’s comfort level with players Harrison knows well — like recent acquisitions Kyrie Irving and P.J. Washington — was another key driver in his specific pursuit of Davis from the Lakers,” NBA insider Marc Stein reported on the situation.

“Harrison knew exactly who he wanted and never wavered from trying to land him … With Davis, Harrison has a longstanding working relationship dating to Harrison’s lengthy stint at Nike.”

Further, Stein says after ‘processing’ the initial shock of the trade, Davis ‘duly waived’ the US$5.9 million (AU$9.6 million) trade kicker in his contract to help his new team’s tax standing.

After signing a three-year, US$186 million (AU$302.9 million) maximum extension with LA in August 2023 while still having two years left on his deal, Davis is signed through the 2027-28 season with the Mavs. He is earning an average of US$62 million (AU$100.9 million) per season.

The decision not to engage with any teams outside of the Lakers on a Doncic deal tells you everything you need to know about the personnel that appeals most to Harrison.

Doncic’s fit alongside Irving had been questioned from the start, and while the unexpected partnership produced a spirited Finals run last season, the absence of an All-NBA-calibre rim presence was clearly too glaring to keep ignoring.

To reiterate the quality of player the Mavs have sought out: Davis is a nine-time All-Star, a five-time All-NBA team member, a three-time league-leader for blocked shots, and was named in the NBA’s 75th Anniversary team. He is averaging 25.7 points on 52.8 per cent shooting, 11.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game.

Those accolades and figures aren’t to be taken lightly, despite injury taking its toll throughout.

Davis played 60 or more games in a season just twice in the past six years. In his 12-year career, he has managed 70 or more just three times. And nearing age 32, it is only downhill in terms of wear and tear on his body and overall conditioning.

But, provided ‘The Brow’ can be available during the defining months of April, May and June — and provided Dallas is around the mark again in terms of contention — Harrison and Co. might have a shot at seeing their audacious plan come to fruition.

None of this is to say that Harrison’s justification for trading a generational talent in Doncic will prove correct. Rather, that a clear blueprint was formulated, aiming at acquiring specific talent to aid a return to the Finals in a chock-full-of-contenders Western Conference.