From the second the Dallas Mavericks acquired Luka Doncic, the comparisons to Dirk Nowitzki have been inevitable.
Each have been European sensations who got here to the U.S. earlier than they have been sufficiently old to drink there legally.
Each boasted extremely distinctive ability units, with Nowitzki being a sharp-shooting 7-footer with a lethal one-foot fadeaway, and Doncic being a cumbersome 6-6 level guard with elite imaginative and prescient and play-making.
And each ended up with Dallas, a franchise recognized for its endurance and methodical method to roster constructing. The Milwaukee Bucks drafted Nowitzki ninth total in 1998 earlier than buying and selling him to the Mavericks the identical night time. The Atlanta Hawks chosen Doncic third total in 2018 earlier than doing the identical.
Doncic’s rookie 12 months overlapped with Nowitzki’s remaining season, and Nowitzki emerged as a mentor for the then-19-year-old phenom.
It made sense, then, that Doncic would comply with an identical trajectory as Nowitzki, who spent his total 21-year profession with the Mavericks, led the franchise in 2011 to its solely championship, and entered the Corridor of Fame in 2023 in his first 12 months of eligibility.
However the Mavericks ended that dream Saturday.
In maybe probably the most surprising commerce in NBA historical past, Dallas basic supervisor Nico Harrison agreed to ship Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and, by some means, just one first-round choose.
It was the form of commerce that simply doesn’t occur.
At 25, Doncic is within the coronary heart of his prime and should not have reached his peak. He earned first-team All-NBA honors in every of the final 5 seasons. His profession common of 28.6 factors per recreation ranks third in NBA historical past — behind solely the 30.1 averaged by Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain — to go along with 8.7 rebounds and eight.3 assists.
“We think defense wins championships, and we’re bringing in one of the best two-way players in the league,” Harrison stated Sunday in reference to Davis.
Nobody denies Doncic’s flaws. He’s a poor defender, and his inconsistent conditioning — and accompanying weight fluctuations — was reportedly a supply of rivalry amongst Mavericks brass.
Doncic has not performed since Christmas, when he suffered a left calf pressure. It was Doncic’s fourth harm to that calf since 2022.
Regardless of these shortcomings, Doncic is a confirmed winner. He took the Mavericks to the Western Convention Finals in 2022, then carried them to the NBA Finals final 12 months.
The Mavericks, who had simply rebuilt their roster with midseason trades for P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford, misplaced in 5 video games to the Boston Celtics, whose core had spent years collectively.
Dallas retooled within the offseason, signing Klay Thompson and Quentin Grimes to handle the dearth of 3-point capturing that proved detrimental in that Finals defeat. These additions, coupled with different shrewd strikes lately, gave Doncic the deepest, most balanced and finest supporting forged he’s ever performed with.
However as an alternative of pursuing a Finals encore with Doncic, the Mavericks shipped him away.
“I understand the magnitude of it,” Harrison stated. “The easiest thing for me to do is do nothing, and everyone would praise me for doing nothing. But we really believe in it, and time will tell if I’m right.”
It’s a huge gamble the Mavericks by no means made with Nowitzki.
Nowitzki didn’t win a championship till his thirteenth season. It took greater than a decade of tinkering to determine which co-stars complemented Nowitzki finest.
Like Doncic, Nowitzki misplaced in his first journey to the NBA Finals, falling to the Miami Warmth in 2006. And like Doncic, Nowitzki was by no means recognized for his protection.
However every little thing got here collectively in 2011.
Tyson Chandler proved to be the lacking piece as an elite rim protector. Shawn Marion did the soiled work as a defender and rebounder. Jason Terry gave a scoring punch off the bench.
Jason Kidd, who’s now the Mavericks’ head coach, offered a gentle presence on that 2011 staff as a 38-year-old flooring basic.
Make no mistake, although. It was Nowitzki’s heroics that gained the Mavericks that unlikely championship over a superstar-powered Warmth staff in its first 12 months of the LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh period.
Dirk Nowitzki (left) gained the 2011 NBA Finals with Jason Kidd (proper), who’s now the top coach of the Mavericks. AFP PHOTO/Mark RALSTON (Picture credit score ought to learn MARK RALSTON/AFP by way of Getty Pictures)
That run, nonetheless, occurred with Mark Cuban as the bulk proprietor. In 2023, Cuban bought his majority stake to on line casino mogul Miriam Adelson and her household.
Doncic would have been eligible this offseason for a supermax extension of 5 years, $345 million, and it’s unclear if the brand new possession was keen to pay it. Below his present contract, Doncic can decide out after the 2025-26 season and turn into a free agent.
“We had to take all that into consideration,” Harrison stated, “and I feel like we got out in front of what could have been a tumultuous summer.”
Doncic by no means indicated he would decide out or reject a supermax provide, Harrison stated.
“Seven years ago, I came here as a teenager to pursue my dream of playing basketball at the highest level,” Doncic stated Sunday in a message to Mavericks followers. “I thought I’d spend my career here and I wanted so badly to bring you a championship.”
The Mavericks stay outfitted with a championship-caliber roster. Kyrie Irving takes over the first ball-handling duties, whereas the 6-10 Davis, who’s averaging 25.7 factors and 11.9 rebounds, returns to his pure energy ahead place.
However Dallas’ championship window acquired a lot shorter. Davis turns 32 subsequent month. Irving turns 33 lower than two weeks later.
The Mavericks dealt the most effective participant in a commerce that’s supposed to assist them win now, whereas receiving minimal upside for the longer term.
“He fits our timeframe,” Harrison stated of Davis. “If you pair him with Kyrie and the rest of the guys, he fits right along with our timeframe to win now and win in the future. And the future to me is three, four years from now. The future 10 years from now, I don’t know. They’ll probably bury me and [Kidd] by then. Or we’ll bury ourselves.”
The commerce devastated Mavericks followers, a lot of whom described feeling betrayed.
On this period of participant mobility, followers typically complain a few lack of loyalty. This time, it was the Dallas entrance workplace that turned disloyal to Doncic.
Followers protested by turning the American Airways Heart right into a makeshift shrine to Doncic, congregating outdoors the Mavericks’ dwelling area with jerseys, indicators and even a coffin.
Maybe fittingly, they left these gadgets by a statue of Nowitzki, whose Mavericks legacy Doncic won’t ever get an opportunity to match.
