“The return sucks” “It’s shortsighted” How NBA GMs reacted to Luka Doncic trade haul for Dallas Mavericks

NBA GMs could not process the recent Luka Doncic to Los Angeles Lakers trade deal, resulting in furious reactions.

“The return sucks” “It’s shortsighted” How NBA GMs reacted to Luka Doncic trade haul for Dallas Mavericks

Luka Doncic

The NBA community was shaken apart on Saturday. This was due to the blockbuster trade that went down between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks. NBA star Luka Doncic was traded to the Lakers in exchange for star defender Anthony Davis. This left many experts, players and even NBA GMs stunned.

Only minutes before the deal was finalized did fans, players from rival clubs, and even the players themselves and their agents realize what was going on. Front offices and other general managers were also in the dark, and they were furious about it. The Ringer’s Howard Beck provided some insight into the different perspectives of the league’s executives.

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“The return sucks. Your job is to get the best return,” said a Western Conference team executive. It’s shortsighted,” said an Eastern Conference team executive, adding: “If you want to do this, shop the guy. The deals you could have gotten for him are ridiculous.”

[Beck] The Luka Trade Leaves NBA Execs Baffled: “The Return Sucks.” What could the Dallas Mavericks have gotten if they had shopped Luka around the league? “It probably would have been the biggest haul in NBA history,” said one NBA executive.
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In addition, Tim MacMahon and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN claimed that CEOs were “jealous and enraged.” Aside from this, at the base of the statue of Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki put up a dejected emoji in response to the trade of a player. However, many thought that Doncic would one day be immortalized next to him with a statue.

Fans in Dallas protested the move by erecting a makeshift memorial outside the team’s arena. Players who were part of the deal, who had not been informed that talks at this level were even occurring, were among the NBA stars who were taken aback. As per ESPN Mavs GM, Nico Harrison called Doncic to let him know about the deal, but Doncic did not pick up or return his call. Instead, he sent a brief group text to his teammates.

Luka Doncic weighs in ‘shocked reaction’ to his trade to Lakers

No one expected Luka Doncic to be traded to the Los Angeles Lakers this NBA season. It’s safe to say that, Doncic agrees with this. When the deal was announced, Doncic knew nothing about it and was as shocked as the whole of the NBA community. He recently spoke about his move during the introductory press conference.

Luka Doncic said, “You can imagine how surprised I was. I had to check if it was April 1. I didn’t really believe it.”

After his first few days in Los Angeles, the superstar has started to get over the shock. Additionally, he is becoming more and more thrilled about starting a new chapter with LeBron James and his renowned new West Coast squad. For now, Doncic is currently out injured but is targeting a swift return when the Lakers face the Utah Jazz in the upcoming week.