At the 2025 NBA trade deadline, the Dallas Mavericks did the unthinkable. Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison decided to trade away superstar guard Luka Doncic, despite coming off an NBA Finals appearance.
In return, the Mavericks received star forward Anthony Davis, but they ultimately missed the playoffs after losing to the Memphis Grizzlies in the play-in tournament.
Since the addition of Luka Doncic, the Lakers have cemented themselves as championship contenders, but his playoff debut in LA did not go as planned.
The Lakers got matched up with the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs, the team that Doncic and the Mavericks beat in the Western Conference Finals last year. The Lakers hosted the Timberwolves for Game 1 on Saturday, but got crushed in a 117-95 defeat.
Doncic dominated with the ball, scoring 37 points with eight rebounds but had just one assist and five turnovers. After the Lakers’ loss, four-time NBA All-Star and former New Orleans Pelicans big man DeMarcus Cousins asked whether or not Nico Harrison was wrong for trading Doncic.
“As far as Luka goes, was Nico [Harrison] wrong?” Cousins asked.
“As far as Luka goes, was Nico wrong?”
Boogie Cousins has a some questions for the Lakers after Game 1 vs. the T-Wolves 😬@boogiecousins | @MichelleDBeadle | @TeamLou23 | @ChandlerParsons pic.twitter.com/qanrq5jyWF
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) April 21, 2025
After trading Doncic for Davis, Harrison hammered the idea that defense wins championships. Of course, Davis is a better defender than Doncic, but the 26-year-old superstar guard certainly gave Dallas the best chances of winning a championship in the long run.
Doncic and the Lakers will figure things out as the playoffs go along, although they certainly cannot afford to fall too far behind a very talented Timberwolves team.
