NBA – The franchise that was ready to give up its entire roster for Luka Doncic in February revealed

Par Mathieu Seguin | Rédacteur sport

Apart from the fact that trading Luka Doncic wasn’t a good idea, it’s the way Nico Harrison went about it that has fans debating. The Lakers made an offer, but other teams were desperate to negotiate.

Traded to everyone’s surprise in February, Luka Doncic has since bounced back well with the Lakers. The Mavericks? They didn’t make the playoffs, but remain confident they’ll have a shot at the 2026 title. With Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis or young rookie Cooper Flagg, they’ll be a great team to watch either way.

Does this prove Nico Harrison right? For the web, the answer is a resounding no. Trading the player is already highly questionable from the outset, but the GM proceeded in a very strange way when looking for a counterparty. He discussed the trade with Rob Pelinka of the Lakers and… that was it. No one else was able to make an offer.

The Mavericks’ dubious handling of the Luka Doncic case

Harrison should have contacted almost the entire league in order to obtain the best consideration or at least raise the stakes with the Lakers, but the GM preferred discretion, believing that the deal wouldn’t have seen the light of day without it. And yet, some franchises were willing to do anything to get the Slovenian.

We don’t know if this is the case for many franchises, but it is for the Bulls, fascinated by the player’s talent. But like the others, the organization wasn’t aware of the Slovenian’s availability, so it never had the opportunity to negotiate with Dallas. Joe Cowley reports this about the front office in his latest article.

Joe Cowley : “A source told the Sun-Times that Karnisovas and his front office would have offered anyone and everyone on the roster had they been notified by the Mavericks that Luka Doncic was available in February.”

Are the Bulls the only ones in this situation? Not sure. It’s not every day that someone like Luka Doncic finds himself available on the market, and Chicago would have liked to take advantage. But the Mavericks negotiated with the Lakers and only the Lakers. We imagine that the fact that Nico Harrison is a good friend of Rob Pelinka had its influence…