Top Brass slowly pushed Luka Donsic out of the Dallas Mavericks and eventually traded him for the Los Angeles Lakers.
It’s been almost five months since the Dallas Mavericks shockedly swapped Luka Donsic with the Los Angeles Lakers. This decision has been criticized many times.
However, Mavs general manager Nico Harrison has always defended his decision, claiming he has no regrets about Doncic’s dealings.
Harrison might stick to that stance, but as usual, it’s once again proven that the Mavericks traded Don Sic and made a mistake.
In January 2025, the Mavs set out for the longest road trip of the season. However, Doncic was not on the roster.
why? Donsic had recovered from an injury to the left calf, which suffered during an NBA Christmas Day game. According to an April 2025 report by Athletic, this was the last straw for MAVS executives.
“Harrison has doubts about the wisdom of the 26-year-old Don Chick’s long-term investment, according to multiple teams and league sources, and the decision to skip the trip has reiterated what Harrison already believed.
Well, as we know, the Mavericks actually traded him for the Lakers in exchange for a trade package around Anthony Davis.
But Donsic’s decision to move forward now and skip the road trip could have saved him from a season-ending injury.
Tyrees Halliburton’s sensational 2025 postseason reached a sudden end as the Indiana Pacers star suffered a terrible Achilles tear injury in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
Even LeBron James of La Lakers had a distrust of Hari’s injuries. Halliburton could miss the entire 2025-26 NBA season as he recovered from one of his most frightening basketball injuries.
This could be the result of double NBA All-Stars pushing themselves through Game 5 calf injuries. Despite getting off, Halliburton not only completed Game 5, but also featured in the OKC Thunder in the Pacers’ Game 6 victory.
Hari’s efforts helped Indy push the series into Game 7, but he is on the sidelines for the longest period of his career.
In hindsight, this again proves that Donsic is right to sit for a long period of time due to a calf injury. Mavs should have trusted their cornerstone superstars, but the franchise betrayed him after more than five years of unparalleled loyalty.
As Victor Oladipo recently suggested, organizations need to take care of the superstar better, rather than forcing the superstar to insane injuries and ultimately shorten their NBA careers.