How Mavericks GM Nico Harrison slowly pushed Luka Doncic out of the team

The Dallas Mavericks made arguably one of the biggest draft-day trades in 2018 when they acquired Luka Doncic from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Trae Young.

In just a couple of years, Doncic blossomed into a superstar and gave Mavericks fans hope of winning another NBA Championship after 2011.

Doncic also became a key figure in the Dallas community, getting nothing but love from fans. Usually, a team never lets go of a future Hall of Famer, who can bring an NBA Championship to the city at some point in his career.

Especially, when the star in question is just 25 years old and led the team to the NBA Finals in the previous seasons, well, Mavs general manager Nico Harrison broke all norms when he traded Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in a move that sent shockwaves through the NBA community.

While many believe it was a spur-of-a-moment decision, a recent ESPN report by Ramona Shelburne and Tim MacMahon proves Harrison was slowly pushing out Doncic out of the organization.

"If Doncic wasn't going to change his ways, the Mavericks figured they would prod him by making changes around him," the NBA insiders wrote. "In August 2023, the team fired former director of player health and performance Casey Smith, who has since been hired by Jalen Brunson's New York Knicks. After last season, the Mavs fired strength coach Jeremy Holsopple and manual therapist Casey Spangler. All three had been with the team since before Doncic was drafted and had strong relationships with him."

Luka Doncic reportedly had a frustrating response to the process: "'They get rid of everybody I like,' Doncic griped in recent months, one source said."

Doncic has now become a member of the Purple and Gold as he is expected to make his debut for the team this Saturday.

He will be playing his first game since NBA Christmas Day when he was ruled out due to a calf strain. Doncic had averaged 28.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 7.8 assists per game in 22 appearances for the Mavs before getting traded.