The Dallas Mavericks owner Patrick Dumont has finally come to the scene regarding the contentious Luka Doncic trade. Till now, it was all about GM Nico Harrison justifying his controversial call of letting the Slovenian off the hook, a move that met severe reaction from the fans. The continuous uproar picked further fuel as the Mavericks’ season ended just 77 days after the trade.
Despite the fact that a considerable time has passed since the trade took place, the dust hasn’t settled on the subject, and it has only grown intense over time. Luka Doncic, who was a talisman of the Mavericks, holds a massive fan following in Dallas. Thus, the departure of a generational talent like him was always going to be met with an extreme reaction from the fans. However, for some odd reason, Harrison and Dumont were not able to project the turmoil, and upon experiencing the eventuality, Dumont has reportedly lost trust in Harrison.
According to Tim Cato, Dumont is frustrated with Mavericks’ General Manager Nico Harrison and his unawareness of the reactions the move could make.
“However, those team sources consistently express belief that Dumont no longer sees Harrison as a figure with irreproachable basketball expertise,” Cato says.
“Most notably, team and league sources say, Dumont has had frustration with Harrison not warning him or, perhaps even more damningly, being unaware of the fandom’s outrage following the trade.”
“Those same sources say it had some influence over Dumont’s decision to make Harrison appear for last week’s closed media event, which Harrison did not want to,” Cato concluded.
Away from the commotion in Dallas, Luka Doncic has settled into his stride in Los Angeles, and it took him a little less than a month to emerge as a standout player for the LA Lakers. Courtesy of star guard’s continuous brilliance, the Lakers finished 3rd on the Western Conference and directly qualified for the playoffs, first time since the title-winning season of 2020. The Lakers are currently embroiled in a round 1 playoff battle with the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Timberwolves are presently leading at 1-0, and now the onus is on Doncic and the Lakers to come to level terms when the respective teams clash again on Tuesday.
