The Dallas Mavericks' polarizing decision to trade Luka Doncic is already proving to be a colossal failure.
I don't think we may ever understand the Dallas Mavericks' decision to trade Luka Doncic. You just don't do that. Ever. It never happens in the NBA or any team sports. Nevertheless, the Mavs believed, perhaps somewhat foolishly, that they were making the right decision. Less than a week after the big move, it's hard not to consider it a colossal failure.
In fairness, it's probably too early to call it a complete failure but it's certainly trending in that direction. A big part of that is the fact that Anthony Davis, the centerpiece of what the Mavs got in return for Luka, went down with what appears to be a pretty severe groin injury. The early indications are that he could miss up to a month of the season. That means the next time we see him in the lineup for Dallas, there may only be a month of the season remaining.
Even though it's certainly an untimely and unfortunate injury, this is exactly what the Mavs knew they were getting into. For as talented as a player AD is, the injury bug is something that he's rarely been able to avoid throughout his career. In fact, his debut for the Mavs was the epitome of his career in the NBA. During the first half of his debut for Dallas, AD was amazing. Then, he suffered a non-contact injury late in the third quarter. AD would finish with 26 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists, and three blocked shots. He would also suffer an injury that would keep him out for multiple weeks.
The Luka Doncic trade may never make sense for Dallas Mavericks fans
But it's not even just about AD's injury. Even if AD would've finished with a magnificent debut for the Mavs, the fact still remains that the team still traded away a top-5 player, at 25 years old, and in the very early stages of his prime for an often-injury big (at 31 years old) on the backend of his. It's not even as if Dallas got this huge draft haul either. More than a week after the shocking deal, this overall decision continues to not add up.
As Luka prepares to make his debut for the Los Angeles Lakers, I'm not sure how Mavs fans can stomach any of this. There's a scenario that could play out over the next few years in which Luka wins a championship with the Lakers and Dallas is right back in a rebuilding stage. With Kyrie Irving's uncertainty, Father Time bearing down on Klay Thompson, and AD's injury woes, I'm not sure how the front office believed all of this was better than continuing to build around Luka.
Even if all the stories are true and Luka was a bit of a headache inside the organization, that's what you take as long as the winning continues. And you can't argue with the results. When Luka is healthy, he's been a winner in the NBA. In six full seasons with Luka, Dallas made the postseason four times. During those four occasions, Luka helped lead the Mavs to the Western Conference Finals twice and the NBA Finals once (last season).
This is one of those trades that the more you think about, the less sense it makes. Dallas may have made one of the biggest transactional decisions in NBA history.