The Dallas Mavericks have seen a massive backlash after their general manager, Nico Harrison, traded former franchise star Luka Doncic to the LA Lakers in February. The trade was one of the most shocking trades in NBA history that even the Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd resented the move, according to reports.
According to Tim Cato, Kidd resented the Doncic trade, who felt that the entire team’s roster construction was wasted after the deal. Notably, the Mavericks were playing a heliocentric offensive style centered around Doncic.
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Additionally, Kidd got so frustrated about the front office that he skipped a postgame press conference in February following the trade.
With the latest insider information, fans were quick to react to Kidd’s involvement in the trade. Some fans sympathized with Kidd as it proved that he did not sign off on the trade.
“Maybe Jason Kidd isn’t the snake we all thought he might be now that we know he didn’t support the Doncic trade. It wouldn’t surprise me if he resigned at some point,” one fan said.
“Kidd had issues with Luka at times, he didn´t want him gone,” one fan wrote.
“Surely Luka could annoy Jkidd at times but I could never imagine Kidd would even think of Luka leaving,” one fan said.
Other fans did not believe the news, still suggesting that Kidd played a part in the Doncic deal as they alleged that the Slovenian superstar avoided his former head coach when the Mavericks and the Lakers met following the trade.
“But why is Luka avoiding kidd after games he’ll only talk to his ex teammates,” a fan wrote.
“so why has there been no interaction whatsoever between Luka and Kidd?,” one fan said.
“Now the question is why did Luka block Jkidd if it is true that Jkidd didn’t like the trade and resented Nico?,” one fan said.
Doncic was unceremoniously traded for Anthony Davis among other players last February, pairing him up with LeBron James on the Lakers.
Doncic brought the Mavericks to the Western Conference finals in 2022, and the NBA Finals just last year.
The Mavericks fell to the 10th spot in the Western Conference following the trade, before losing in the play-in tournament against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Jason Kidd hails players for “incredible season” despite trading away Luka Doncic
The Luka Doncic deal shifted the Dallas franchise in a different direction. While it remained in the playoff hunt after the trade, the team missed on the postseason after reaching the finals last year.
Despite the lost chance, head coach Jason Kidd found the positives in the season, hailing his players for reaching the play-in tournament in spite of the challenges they faced during the past three months. He said after the loss to the Grizzlies:
“Incredible season. When you look at the injuries that we’ve had, the change, for us to even be here playing in this game tonight, it’s incredible.”
Dallas saw numerous players get injured after Doncic left, such as Kyrie Irving, PJ Washington, Dereck Lively, Daniel Gafford and Anthony Davis, among others.
With the way the Mavericks handled the situation about Doncic, they are expected to continue to bear the backlash, especially as they navigate their future without their former superstar.
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Edited by Rajdeep Barman
