The former Maverick superstar kept his comments short and sweet, but they carried the weight of his own anxiety with the situation
Luka Dončić has never been one for prolonged public speaking, but the 1,000-yard stare etched into his face during Tuesday’s press conference introducing the 25-year-old superstar to the Los Angeles Lakers media gaggle said it all.
It looked like he didn’t want to be there. The circumstances seemed as surreal and absurd to Dončić as the past 72 hours have been to fans of his former team, the Dallas Mavericks. The smiles were few and far between at the UCLA Health Training Center in El Segundo, Calif. He kept his comments brief and reverted back to the public relations party line when it looked like he was getting even the slightest bit flustered.
Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka, on the other hand, was clearly thrilled with himself throughout the 35-minute affair. He carried the conversation with a certain matter-of-fact air about him and just a pinch of hubris expertly mixed in, clad in a brown bomber jacket to match the high-flying tenor of the moment when Dončić ended his answers more abruptly.
“I think Luka Dončić joining forces with the Los Angeles Lakers is a seismic event in NBA history,” Pelinka said in his opening remarks. “We have a 25-year-old global superstar that’s going to get on the stage of the most popular and influential basketball brand on the globe. When those two forces come together, it brings basketball joy to the world because that’s how Luka plays. He plays with joy.”
Bringing basketball joy to the world is obviously not something that Mavericks GM Nico Harrison values very highly. As more and more comes out about Harrison’s motivations in getting rid of Dončić in favor of an older big man, a young up-and-comer and one first-round draft pick all the way in 2029, it’s becoming clearer that the move the Lakers celebrated today was on Harrison’s end more about cleaning house of the pieces of the Mavericks franchise he did not personally assemble.
When asked questions directly, Dončić fell back on the standard line of just being “excited to be here to start this journey” and really appreciating “all the support.”
“It’s a dream come true,” Dončić said about the opportunity to play alongside LeBron James, with that blank stare still covering his face. “There are so many things I can learn from him. It’s an amazing feeling.”
Harrison said in the immediate aftermath of the trade that Dončić’s conditioning and injury history played a part in his willingness to deal Dončić, who, through it all, remained one of the top three players in the universe.
“It’s a motive,” Dončić said when asked about the reports that this perceived lack of conditioning was a factor in Dallas’ motivation to trade him.
That could be taken to mean that he thought Harrison was using that as an excuse to trade him, but as Dončić continued his answer, it became clear in context that Dončić meant that he would use the claim that he doesn’t focus on conditioning enough as “motivation” to be better in his time as a Laker. That should be a scary proposition to the Mavs, who travel to play the Lakers on Feb. 25 in a game the entire basketball planet will be watching closely. Dončić may try to break his personal single-game scoring record of 73 points just to spite the front office of his former team in that one.
Dončić also said that the first couple of days after the trade were “really hard” for him emotionally. In the aftermath of the trade, the Dallas Morning News reported that Dončić had been shopping for a new home in the DFW area before the shocking news broke that he was going to be a Laker. He was reportedly under contract on a home purchase when the trade was announced, though the sale had not been completed.
“That first day was really hard,” Dončić said. “These last 48 hours felt like a month. Emotionally, it was really hard. Today was much better. I’m just very happy to be here, for this opportunity. This is the Lakers — one of the best clubs in history, so I’m excited to be here.”
The excitement was not palpable in his voice, but the leftover pangs of the emotional distress he spoke about sure were.
Mavs fans were sure to note Pelinka’s repeated and effusive praise of Harrison’s “partnership” throughout the process. In a landscape where GMs are supposed to be cutthroat with one another in trade talks, Pelinka made it seem like this was a friendly deal between two friends who started as friends and who will one day walk off into the sunset together, hand in hand to live happily ever after, as even stronger friends.
“I want to thank the Dallas Mavericks, led by their GM Nico Harrison, who was also very instrumental in bringing this opportunity to us,” Pelinka said early on in the presser. “Trust was at the center of all those negotiations.”
Photo by Harry How/Getty Images
He later referred to the mood between negotiating partners as, something to the effect of, a spirit of partnership. That doesn’t sound very cold, calculating or ruthless, now, does it?
Harrison, it came out after the deal, didn’t bring this friendly little idea to any of the league’s 28 other GMs, in part because he didn’t want the concept of the Mavericks shopping one of the game’s greatest current players to get out, and in part because he had already identified another one of his friendly relations, Anthony Davis, as the target to acquire in return. This piece from ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne and Tim MacMahon does a great job of putting the previously established friendship between Harrison and Pelinka in perspective, vis a vis the dumbest trade fleecing in NBA history. Apparently, the deal was much more Dallas-friendly in earlier iterations, but Pelinka successfully whittled down what the Lakers sent the Mavs’ way in return as a month’s worth of talks between the two buddies in shoe sales unfolded.
Pelinka likened his own deal-making chops throughout this process to Dončić’s on-court prowess, saying, “I don’t think in terms of shock or surprise [about Harrison putting Dončić on the table]. I think of it in the moment. Figure out the read and make the play. My gears were turning about the deal the same way [Dončić’s] mind processes a basketball play. By staying in the moment, it helps get to the end.”
Basically, Harrison took this deal to his friend and let his friend take advantage of him to a comical degree. That is, unless, of course, you happen to be a fan of the team on the wrong end of one of the most boneheaded trades in sports history.
Dončić answered a couple of questions from DMN writer Brad Townsend, about his feelings toward Harrison following the move: “That’s their decision. No comment. They made that decision. I don’t know why.”
And on whether he or anyone in his camp had informed the Mavericks that there was a chance he may not sign the supermax deal he would become eligible for this offseason: “Absolutely not.”
Mavs fans will remember that Harrison said in the Mavs’ presser on Sunday that by dealing Dončić now, that the team had “gotten out in front of what could have been a tumultuous summer.”
Way to go, Nico. We wouldn’t want you to have to suffer through a tumultuous summer. Mission accomplished, you unwitting rube.