Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki was stunned by the franchise’s decision to trade Luka Dončić. On Friday, in his first public comments about the blockbuster, during an appearance at 96.7 The Ticket’s Ticketstock event, Nowitzki said that he was far, far removed from the trade discussions.
“When I saw the news, I was actually all across on the other side of the world,” Nowitzki said (via YouTube user Chitown Hustler). “I was on vacation with the family in the Maldives.”
Nowitzki said that he and his family were about to go to lunch when his phone started “blowing up left and right,” at which point he looked at social media. It was 11:01 a.m. in the Maldives when he posted his reaction: a flushed face emoji.
“I think I was as shocked and surprised as everybody was, and actually just spent the next hour kind of just following everything on social media, just making sure this is real, this is happening,” Nowitzki said. “I was just, I would say, as in awe as everybody and as surprised as everybody was. And I was trying to wrap my head around what was really happening. And yeah, just really couldn’t believe it. Couldn’t believe it that this is what happened.”
Nowitzki was a Maverick for his entire 21-year career. He said, according to The Stein Line’s Marc Stein, “I’m sure [Dončić] wanted to finish his career like I did.”
When Dončić made his Los Angeles Lakers debut, Nowitzki was in attendance. Nowitzki said that Dončić had asked him to be there.
“Obviously, Luka, we texted a bit, of course,” Nowitzki said. “I felt a little disappointed and sad for him. I think he obviously didn’t see this coming. So he invited me to come out to his first game in LA and I felt like I had to support him. I felt like, you know, I played with him my last season, we’ve gotten close, I’ve tried to mentor him, I’ve tried to help him as much as I can these last few years and he’s just, he’s a good kid. So I felt like I had to go out there and support him in this new chapter ’cause, you know, I think — I mean it was reported that he was pretty obviously down and disappointed at how it went down, and so I wanted to be there for him, I wanted to be there for his family and show support.
“But, I mean, you guys saw my face. It was weird. It was surreal to see him play for the Lakers. So at the end of the day, I’ll never be a Lakers fan, but I’ll always be a Luka fan.”
As weird as it was to see Dončić “in the purple and gold,” Nowitzki said it was good to be there for him.
“I was happy I did it,” Nowitzki said. “I’m happy I went to support him, and I think, now, after a few weeks, I think he’s looking forward to the opportunity there. He’s playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world, so I think he’s seeing the opportunity now. And obviously he needs to wrap his head around that, that he’s with the Lakers now and he needs to obviously move forward and do his thing out there. We all, of course, wish him well.”
In Dallas, there has been backlash to both the trade itself and the way the organization has handled the fallout. Nowitzki expressed empathy for Anthony Davis and Max Christie, the players the Mavericks received from Los Angeles.
“I kind of feel bad about AD and Christie here in this deal,” Nowitzki said. “They’re both great players, fun to watch, and of course they get it all, they get the news and they see it. And I just hope they feel welcome still and still be able to obviously contribute here to a good team.”
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