Nico Harrison probably did not want to drag the name of Luka Doncic through the mud after achieving the NBA box office of the NBA in the middle of the night before the exchange deadline of 2025. The main executive of the Dallas Mavericks had no choice but to explain a decision that seemed indefensible from all angles, so he went to the record to discuss the deficiencies of Doncic.
Minutes after Harrison changed Doncic to Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a future first round selection, he was summoned on his reasoning to make the agreement. Additional explanations continued to spill in the days after the exchange, painting a photo of why the Mavericks gave their franchise star months after the toks to the NBA finals of 2024.
Doncic’s trade was rompido straight of each corner, and Harrison became the largest line of force in American Pro Sports. At the same time, no one really real with Harrison’s feelings about the defense and conditioning of Doncic. It is only that a 25-year-old with five consecutive noddings of the first All-NBA team should have a little more long tabs, and that Harrison could have returned much more in an exchange for approaching the league instead.
The Dallas Mavericks season is over for week after being eliminated in the game tournament. The Lakers season is over, after an impressive game of five games of the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the NBA playoffs of 2025. After the wolves left the floor Lakers, many of Harrison’s concerns about Doncic were discovered so that everyone saw it.
Doncic’s final numbers in the series look great: 30.2 points, 5.8 assists and seven rebounds per game in 52.9 percentage of effective field goal. This simply felt like the same version of Doncic that has terrified the league in the playoffs before, and there is no doubt that the wolves took advantage of their unstable defense of all the long series.
In general, the Lakers were much better with Doncic on the floor of this series, publishing a network of -7 in its 208 minutes of game time, with a net rating of -19.8 in its 32 minutes in the bank. The reality is that the Lakers were smoked with Luka on the floor, and the greatest culprit was his defense.
The defensive qualification of the Lakers with Luka on the floor of the series was 120.41. That would have classified the dead load in the NBA in the regular season (Jazz finished the No. 30 with a defensive rating of 119.4). Part of the problem was that Doncic had to play 41.6 minutes per game because Chief coach Jj Redick did not trust his bank. That is a minute ton for the best conditioned players in the world. Doncic does not fit that category.
Luka could not face anyone defensively the entire series. The wolves constantly hunted Doncic when they had the ball, and produced an advantage when putting the defense of the Lakers into rotation almost and every time.
I can’t imagine that Luka’s Blowby numbers are significantly improved last year, when it recorded the highest Blowby %in multiple playoffs series
Here’s game 3 pic.twitter.com/vydBL7NV2S
– Jeremias Engelmann (@jerrygelmann) April 26, 2025
Duration The NBA finals of 2024, I wrote a story entitled “Luka Doncic’s terrible defense is Anchor Fishe Down Mavs in the NBA finals.” The Lakers have just learned this lesson in the difficult way.
Doncic has the habit of being absolutely terrible to the defensive for the beginning of the games until he is ashamed enough to start trying. To be fair with Luka, it was Kured at the end of the first half in game 5, but stayed in the game and had a third electric quarter offensively. Doncic played hard in the last game of the Lakers season, but it was still good to the defensive and seemed tired of all series.
Here are two sets of numbers that show how Doncic simply was not at their best physical moment in this series. Doncic was fly by a 16 -occasion defender in game 5, which definitely coincides with the eye test.
Doncic was also constantly formed with his backward sweater instead of attacking the edge. His setback was effective for much of the series, but at least he felt as if he was rescuing the defense of the wolves because he was too tired to drive the ball to the paint.
Luka tried 29 backward bridges (11-29) and 17 RIM FGA (12-17) in Round 1.
He took first place in the backward FGA and took 32 in RIM FGA.
– NBA University (@nba_university) May 1, 2025
It is difficult to be too critical or maid in a medium Lakers list. This Lakers team was built for Anthony Davis, and was in the end when they had the opportunity to acquire Luka. Doncs trade was always tried to find the next generational star of the Lakers after LeBron James retires. The exchange to obtain Doncic is still a master stroke of Rob Pelinka, and yes, it is still a Harrison disaster.
He is in Doncic worsening of his career and becoming a better way next season. Doncic lost in the NBA finals with the Mavericks a year ago and it was still reported that he camped out. His poor habits may have contributed to a clog tension that left him aside during the longest period of his NBA career before the Mavericks changed him.
The Lakers also need to build a better team around Doncic and LeBron James. It was clear in this series that Luka could not defeat anyone of dribble without a screen. Obtaining a big man who can project well and roll on the edge for Doncic lumps should be the priority no. 1 for the Lakers. It is easy to ask if they now regret having retired from the Mark Williams agreement. Lakers also only need more defensive mentality fronts that can stretch the floor. Harrison did a wonderful job when creating a solid team of role players around the elite creation of Doncic in Dallas, and now that work begins in Los Angeles.
The first round of the Lakers does not mean that Harrison was wise when trade with maid. The exchange has been absolutely horrible for the Mavericks, and it is difficult to see where to go here after the torn acl of Kyrie Irving, shortly after the deal. Doncic is still 26 years old and has a lot of time to respond to his greatest question signs. The Doncic trade response could be totally different if Harrison would look for an agreement for a lot of future draft selections and promising young players. Instead, he only got Anthony Davis, 32 years old and a selection. How did not come out of that agreement with a second selection of draft of the Lakers and Austin Reaps?
Nico Harrison made a terrible exchange, that’s safe. He thought that his conerns about the defense and conditioning of Doncic were justified. Before Harrison put the trigger for the Lakers agreement, Doncic informed Lobos for Anthony Edwards. Edwards was clearly the best floor player in this first round series. Harrison might seem like a genius at this time if Minnesota had accepted that sacrifice.
Doncic should have all the motivation you need to inform the training camp in the best form of your life next season. You should be ready to proud your defense. For now, Harrison’s problems with Luka are valid, but it still does not mean that he has made a good exchange.
