Let’s set the record straight.
The Luka Doncic trade was not a basketball move for the Mavericks.
Since Mavericks president of basketball operations Nico Harrison traded their franchise cornerstone late Saturday night, journalists and fans alike have speculated what possibly could have catalyzed such a transaction.
Was it his weight? His relationship with team ownership? His defensive ability?
None of the above.
For most players, any of these could serve as rational grounds for a trade.
Not for a top 5 player in the world, entering his true prime, who led you to the NBA Finals last year.
Devil’s Advocate
Before we dive into the real meat and potatoes of what should be considered criminal negligence on behalf of the Dallas Mavericks organization, let’s play devil’s advocate: Can this actually be a “win now” basketball move?
It’s unlikely.
Since taking over as President of Basketball Operations in 2021, Nico Harrison has made several successful trades. The commonality in each of the trades is that the Mavericks were on the bargain end of the deal, especially in hindsight.
For Kyrie Irving, they gave up Dorian Finney-Smith, Spencer Dinwiddie, one first-round pick, and two second-round picks. Harrison gave up even less for PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford, each of whom played vital roles in the Mavericks trip to the Finals last season.
Aside from letting Jalen Brunson walk, Harrison’s tenure has been better than most GMs’. It’s a run that’s been defined by great trades, team-friendly deals, and roster construction that complements Luka. That was until Saturday night.
In an interview with The Dallas Morning News, Nico Harrison said, “I think he [Anthony Davis] fits our time frame… And the future, to me, is three, four years from now.”
Are we honestly supposed to believe that a big man who turns 32 in March, who has played above 62 games just once since the 2017-18 season, will be playing championship basketball in three to four years? Are we supposed to believe that a man who built a team around a 25-year-old superstar, one of the greatest offensive talents the game has ever seen, changed his mind overnight?
Perhaps it would be much more believable if Nico Harrison didn’t have a track record of success.
Nico Harrison is a man of unquestionable competence. He was recruited by West Point. He landed a job at Nike, where he spent 19 years, eventually working his way up to Vice President of North American basketball operations. In 2021, he was promoted to GM and President of Basketball Operations of the Mavericks. In his first three seasons, the Mavs went to the Western Conference Finals twice and then the Finals.
As a reward for his success, Nico Harrison received a multi-year contract extension this summer when the Mavericks clinched a Finals appearance.
West Point. Nike Exec. Knocking on the doors of the NBA Finals in his first years in the front office. This doesn’t exactly fit the profile of a man who makes shortsighted decisions.
So what actually motivated Nico Harrison to trade a once-in-a-generation talent in a secretive deal and not field any other realistic offers in the process?
Here’s where it gets fishy
Here’s what we know to be true, much of which is based on an interview between Nico Harrison and The Dallas Morning News.
These are the facts; the conjecture will come later.
Nico Harrison and Lakers GM Rob Pelinka have been friends for two decades when Harrison was an executive at Nike and Pelinka was still an agent
Harrison and Pelinka began having conversations about a Luka Doncic trade “over a month ago”
Nico Harrison only approached “one other team” about a potential Luka trade
Rich Paul said back in June that “Nico Harrison is like an uncle to Bronny”
Jason Kidd didn’t learn of the trade from Nico Harrison until an hour before it happened
Harrison reportedly got the full support of Mavericks owner Patrick Dumont in the weeks leading up to the trade
Luka Doncic was due for a 5-year, $345 million Supermax extension in the offseason from the Mavericks
The “Personal Favor” theory
Nico Harrison is a very close friend of Rob Pelinka.
According to ESPN, Pelinka and Harrison’s relationship was forged by their efforts to market Kobe Bryant. In a recent article published by ESPN, Ramona Shelburne stated, “Pelinka and Harrison traveled the world together with Bryant on official Nike business and joint family vacations. They were members of Bryant’s inner circle, and they leaned on each other when Bryant tragically died in a helicopter crash in 2020.”
Not only is Harrison tight with Pelinka, but additionally has been seen publically with Rich Paul and LeBron James.
Owner Patrick Dumont’s initial reaction to Harrison suggesting they trade Luka was laughter.
Owner Patrick Dumont, who purchased a majority stake team from Mark Cuban in 2023 (alongside mother-in-law Miriam Adelson), is President of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (Patrick Dumont married into the Adelson family, who owns Sands)
Las Vegas Sands Corp is the third largest casino company in the world, trailing just MGM and Caesars. They generated $10.37 billion in revenue in 2023. That’s nearly 24x as much money as the Dallas Mavericks generated in 2023 ($437 million)
A shell company owned by Las Vegas Sands bought 259 acres near the now-demolished Texas Stadium in 2023
According to the Nevada Independent, Mark Cuban supported a “Sands-backed legislative effort that failed earlier this year that would have landed a single Las Vegas-style casino resort in each of Texas’ four largest cities.”
The Associated Press reported in November 2023 that Mark Cuban wanted to partner with Las Vegas Sands Corp on a hotel-casino complex that “would include a new arena for the Mavericks.”
Gambling is not legal, but according to Northstar, “Las Vegas Sands has actively been lobbying for that to change in the past few years.”
Las Vegas Sands created a PAC called Texas Sands to lobby the Texas legislature and has spent more than $12 million in lobbying. All of these attempts have failed, as sports begging and gambling remain illegal in the state of Texas
Northstar reported that “the lobbying efforts will continue until the state’s legislature meets again in 2025”.
The 89th Texas Legislature began on January 14th, 2025. The deadline for filing bills and joint resolutions without restrictions is March 14th
Now that we have some facts on the table, let’s get into the theories.
The “Personal Favor” theory
Nico Harrison is a very close friend of Rob Pelinka.
According to ESPN, Pelinka and Harrison’s relationship was forged by their efforts to market Kobe Bryant. In a recent article published by ESPN, Ramona Shelburne stated, “Pelinka and Harrison traveled the world together with Bryant on official Nike business and joint family vacations. They were members of Bryant’s inner circle, and they leaned on each other when Bryant tragically died in a helicopter crash in 2020.”
Not only is Harrison tight with Pelinka, but additionally has been seen publically with Rich Paul and LeBron James.
It’s safe to assume that if Nico Harrison “is like an uncle to Bronny,” he has a friendly relationship with LeBron as well.
We know that Nico Harrison started the trade discourse surrounding Luka at least a month ago, and only talked to one other team. According to Ramona Shelburne, “Harrison decided early on, team sources said, that the best way to trade a player of Doncic’s caliber was to pick the trade that he wanted, rather than open up the process.”
As an NBA GM, it is basic due diligence to field multiple offers when trading any player. This is the case now more than ever, as teams like the Nets were able to get five first-round picks for Mikal Bridges. And Mikal Bridges has never made an All-Star game. Luka has made five All-Star games… and five All-NBA teams… and he’s three years younger than Mikal Bridges.
To make matters worse, The Athletic reported that Pelinka actually convinced Harrison to take a lighter package for Luka.
Let’s get this straight. Nico Harrison calls up one of his best buds in Rob Pelinka. He tells Rob he’s interested in trading Luka, but the deal needs to be kept completely secret. Coaches can’t know, agents can’t know— and neither can players. Then, even after Pelinka lightens the offer for Luka, Harrison refuses to field competitive offers from any other team?
This is either gross negligence at a level we’ve never seen at the front office level…. or a personal favor. My bet is on the latter.
Let’s deploy Occam’s Razor. What is easier to believe? That someone who has shown extreme competence in his professional life up to this point forgot all methods of negotiation and leverage creation in the biggest deal of his life? Or simply that he wasn’t operating in good faith because he’s friends with Rob Pelinka and Lebron? My bet, again, is on the latter.
LeBron is the most influential player in the NBA. Rich Paul is the most influential agent in the NBA. Rob Pelinka is a close friend of Nico Harrison. Los Angles is the second-biggest NBA market and arguably the most iconic NBA team.
Regardless of what the Mavericks’ internal catalyst was that led to trading Luka (many speculate it was the owners’ not wanting to pay Luka the supermax), this thing doesn’t just smell fishy; it smells rancid. And Adam Silver and the NBA have an obligation to investigate it.
Now let’s move on to theory #2.
The “Casino” Theory
What if I told you that the Luka Doncic trade is a last-ditch attempt by Patrick Dumont and the Aldeson family to persuade the 89th Texas Legislature to overturn their previous ruling and legalize sports betting and casino gambling in Texas?
This one is admittedly far-fetched, but it should, at the very least, be entertained.
When Mark Cuban sold the team to Patrick Dumont and the Aldesons in 2023, there was a mutual understanding that the pair would continue to work together in pursuit of a massive casino-hotel development in Texas (look at the bullet points above for details).
Aldeson-owned Las Vegas Sands Corp has already spent $12 million on lobbying for Texas gambling legalization, but to no avail. If lobbying isn’t working, what other form of leverage do the Aldesons have? One of the best basketball players in the world in the 4th largest media market in the United States.
Would Patrick Dumont really trade away Luka Doncic as a show of force to the state legislature? It’s unlikely, but the timing is suspicious. The 89th Texas Legislature began just two weeks ago, and the deadline for filing bills without restrictions is March 14th.
Luka was traded in the short window in which the lawmaking body responsible for the economic viability of a multi-billion dollar hotel-casino-arena development will make its decision. The same development that Mark Cuban and the Aldesons previously discussed going in on together.
This is all, of course, conjecture. There is no smoking gun—yet.
But with all of this circumstantial evidence (Harrison’s relationship with Pelinka and LeBron, the secrecy of the trade, the lack of due diligence in fielding offers, and the third-largest casino company on the planet vying for gambling legalization in Texas), Adam Silver has an obligation to launch an investigation.
In the meantime, we’re calling on internet sleuths to find the smoking gun. This trade was anything but a “basketball decision”, and the NBA needs to get to the bottom of it.
