Weeks before trading Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers for a package headlined by Anthony Davis, Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison reached out to the Minnesota Timberwolves, according to The Athletic’s Sam Amick. Harrison reportedly inquired about swapping Dončić for fellow superstar Anthony Edwards, but the “informal” discussion didn’t go anywhere. A Wolves executive told Harrison they weren’t interested in trading their franchise player, per The Athletic.
At a press conference on Feb. 2, Harrison told reporters that he hadn’t spoken to any other teams about a potential Dončić trade and credited Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka for maintaining secrecy despite their “really intense conversations over the course of three or four weeks.”
Does The Athletic’s report contradict what Harrison said? Well, that depends on how you define trade talks. If the hypothetical framework is shut down immediately, did the two sides really talk about it? What if one side isn’t even sure if the other is serious?
Remember, before the Dončić trade, there was zero buzz about Dallas potentially moving him, and there is no precedent for a franchise deciding it doesn’t want to be in business with a player of his caliber a few weeks shy of his 26th birthday. (Thursday is Dončić’s birthday, by the way. Happy birthday, Luka!) Pelinka even doubted that the Mavericks were for real when Harrison broached the subject. According to Harrison, Pelinka initially said, “Nah, you’re joking, right?”
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It is interesting to imagine a world in which, instead of winding up in Los Angeles, Dončić finds himself in Minneapolis and Dallas gets a younger superstar in return. Would Dončić have been open to spending his prime with the Wolves? Does Harrison believe Edwards would be a better fit for the Mavs’ “culture” than Dončić? Did Edwards have any idea about this when he said (seemingly only semi-seriously) that he was “scared” in the aftermath of the Dončić trade because it meant “anybody” could get traded?
This, however, will not go down as one of those what-ifs that almost changed the course of NBA history. For that, the talks have to get close to the finish line, and in this case, they never even got going.
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