Dallas Mavericks normal supervisor Nico Harrison turned arguably probably the most reviled individual in skilled sports activities when he determined to commerce Luka Doncic, a perennial first-team All-NBA participant and MVP candidate, to the Los Angeles Lakers for a return deemed to be pennies on the greenback for a celebrity in the course of his prime. However Harrison could possibly be feeling a bit vindicated in his controversial resolution after seeing the Lakers flame out within the first spherical of the playoffs in opposition to the Minnesota Timberwolves courtesy of a 103-96 Sport 5 loss.
Make no mistake about it, the Lakers made the precise resolution to commerce away what they needed to simply to deliver Doncic in. Doncic is barely 26 years of age and supplies them with a roadmap to rivalry even after LeBron James hangs it up. However on social media, everyone seems to be a prisoner of the second and Harrison’s resolution to commerce Doncic away seems to be receiving some type of validation after the Lakers’ playoff exit.
Doncic’s protection, to place it frivolously, was dangerous all through Lakers’ five-game stint within the 2025 NBA playoffs. He was gradual to maneuver laterally and was a serious goal for Anthony Edwards and firm to reap the benefits of on switches. And with Harrison being a serious champion of the outdated basketball adage that “protection wins championships”, some followers could also be beginning to consider that the Mavericks GM might need been on to one thing.
“Nico Harrison was proper in spite of everything!” X consumer @jerzguyindenver wrote.
“Nico Harrison undoubtedly is aware of one thing that we do not,” @zck_ft9 mused.
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“Nico Harrison deserves an apology. The whole lot he stated about Luka was true and he did the precise factor getting up off of him,” @yung_jiggy_nig added.
Followers of Doncic could also be higher off staying away from social media for not less than the following few days, permitting the information cycle to shift the eye away from the Lakers’ playoff exit.
Nico Harrison nonetheless blundered and the Lakers nonetheless benefitted
There should not be any revisionist historical past concerning the Luka Doncic commerce even when the Lakers did not make it previous 5 video games in opposition to the Timberwolves. Nico Harrison didn’t need to commerce Doncic when and the way he did, and he is nonetheless very a lot deserving of being on the new seat for conducting enterprise with such a crippling shortsightedness.
On the very least, the Lakers can repair their points by buying a rim protector or two this offseason. In the meantime, the Mavericks may be toast, even subsequent season; it isn’t a lock that Kyrie Irving will return to 100% rapidly after a torn ACL, and Anthony Davis isn’t any spring hen himself both.