“Defense wins championships.” That three-word phrase has consistently been Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison’s reasoning for trading Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. Doncic’s Lakers were defeated by the Minnesota Timberwolves 116-113 in Game 4 of their playoff series on Sunday, however. The defeat led to eye-opening remarks from Kendrick Perkins of ESPN on Monday morning, via ClutchPoints.
“Watching the fourth quarter, the second half, the fourth quarter in particular, I saw what Nico Harrison was talking about,” Perkins said on ESPN First Take. “When it comes down to the reason why he traded Luka. He traded Luka because he felt that the Dallas Mavericks were not going to be able to win a championship with Luka. We all know this.”
Perkins continued to explain why he “didn’t feel that way” watching Anthony Edwards in the game. Edwards dropped 43 points in the Timberwolves’ victory, and Perkins believes the Minnesota star will “win a championship before Luka Doncic.” Additionally, Perkins called Edwards a “better all-around player” than Doncic.
The Edwards comparison is only a small element of the entire picture here, though. Perkins’ comments stemmed from Harrison’s words. Was Doncic scrutinized before the trade? Absolutely. His defense and consistent arguing with the referees drew backlash from plenty of media members.
However, Harrison’s comments have begun a new type of ridicule. When the Doncic trade initially happened, the general consensus around the NBA was that dealing a 25-year-old (now 26-year-old) superstar away for an injury-prone veteran in Anthony Davis and an unproven young player with promise in Max Christie along with only one first-round pick was nothing short of preposterous.
But Perkins’ comments highlight the new ridicule we will see. Some analysts may begin to side with Harrison on the trade.
