Luka’s emotional return to Dallas

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Athletic NBA Daily – "Luka’s Emotional Return to Dallas"

Release Date: April 10, 2025

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Introduction

In this episode of The Athletic NBA Daily, hosts Dave DuFour, Zena Keita, and Esfandiar Baraheni delve into the dramatic return of Luka Doncic to the Dallas Mavericks. The episode offers an in-depth analysis of Luka's standout performance, the controversial trade that sent him to the Los Angeles Lakers, and the broader implications for the Mavericks and other NBA teams as the regular season intensifies. Special insights are provided by Christian Clark, a seasoned NBA reporter from The Athletic.

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Luka Doncic’s Emotional Return to Dallas

The centerpiece of the episode is Luka Doncic's highly anticipated return to Dallas, where he delivered an electrifying performance by scoring 45 points. The discussion highlights the emotional weight of the game, underscored by a tribute video that left Luka visibly moved.

• Christian Clark reflects on Luka's emotional state:
  “It was really emotional seeing Luka react to the tribute video. I mean, I got emotional watching it because it did feel like he wanted to be a Maverick for the rest of his career... [03:38]

• Chris Haynes emphasizes Luka's ability to channel his emotions into his gameplay:
  “I thought the way that he kind of channeled that energy into the game, especially in the first half, he dropped 31 points. It was electric... [03:38]

• The hosts agree that Luka's performance was not just a personal triumph but a moment that will be remembered as a classic in NBA history.
  “I honestly think that's one of those games where you look back on five years from now and say, where were you when you watched Luka return to Dallas? [04:30]

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Game Analysis: Lakers vs. Mavericks

The episode provides a comprehensive breakdown of the game between the Lakers and Mavericks, focusing on both teams' strategies and performances.

• Brian Windhorst discusses the Mavericks' rise to the occasion despite being underdogs:
  “Even though the Mavericks, you know, this isn't a team that anyone has any expectations of, I thought that they rose to the moment... [04:30]

• Chris Haynes analyzes the Lakers' strategy, highlighting their adaptability during the game:
  “LeBron took over, had some huge possessions in that fourth quarter... they leaned onto their small ball lineup and I think that's going to be their calling card... [05:35]

• The hosts commend the Lakers for their resilience, especially LeBron James' pivotal role in the final quarter.
  “LeBron can actually guard some of these guys. [06:25]

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Warriors’ Loss and Playoff Implications

A significant segment is dedicated to the Golden State Warriors' unexpected loss, which jeopardizes their playoff hopes.

• Brian Windhorst criticizes the Warriors' end-of-game decisions:
  “This game is exactly why I don't trust the Warriors in the single game. Steph Curry can win you any game... [09:03]

• Chris Haynes praises Harrison Barnes’ strategic move:
  “Shout out to Harrison Barnes. He did a really professional basketball play... [08:23]

• The hosts express concern over the Warriors potentially missing out on the Play-In Tournament, emphasizing the importance of upcoming games for their postseason viability.
  “They need to win the rest of their games because they absolutely just... [09:45]

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Nuggets’ Performance Without Head Coach Michael Malone

The episode shifts focus to the Denver Nuggets, who recently played a game without their long-time head coach Michael Malone.

• Brian Windhorst notes Nikola Jokic's emerging leadership role:
  “Nicola Jokic post Michael Malone to have multiple times on the sideline where he's got the, you know, he's drawing up plays on the whiteboard... [11:01]

• Chris Haynes highlights the positive impact of younger players like Jalen Pickett:
  “I actually kind of like Jalen Pickett's game. Good defender, can knock down a shot, especially tonight. [11:25]

• The discussion touches on Russell Westbrook's decreasing minutes and his fit within the team's rotation:
  “He raised the level of intensity for this team. I actually think that as they go into the playoffs and they tighten up this rotation, we should see a lot less of Russell Westbrook... [13:11]

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Behind the Trade: Luka Doncic to the Lakers

A major portion of the episode delves into the controversial trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, exploring the organizational dynamics and fan reactions.

• Chris Haynes questions the Mavericks' decision-making process and the impact of ownership changes:
  “How does that play into this decision to trade Luka Doncic and how that all unfolded? [21:47]

• Ethan Strauss provides insights into the ownership transition and Nico Harrison's role:
  “Mark Cuban hired Nico Harrison to compliment him in terms of basketball decisions in 2021. But the power dynamics of this organization changed... [22:24]

• Brian Windhorst offers a critical perspective on the trade, comparing it to historical sports trades:
  “You can make a lot of good moves, but then if you trade Babe Ruth, like it's a different story... [25:10]

• The hosts discuss the lack of adequate compensation in the Luka trade, leading to widespread criticism and fan backlash.
  “And Christian, you know, I'm not going to ask you to comment on this, but I don't know how a team comes back from a night like last night where the GM is... [26:42]

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Reactions and Future Implications

The episode captures the immediate reactions from players and analysts, as well as contemplating the Mavericks' future prospects.

• Ethan Strauss recounts the mutual respect shown post-game between Anthony Davis and Luka Doncic:
  “Number one, huge respect to Luka. Jason Kidd said, you have to tip your hat to him... [25:35]

• Chris Haynes observes the unusual fan behavior during the game, noting the overwhelming support for Luka despite his team affiliation:
  “It was the weirdest arena I think I've ever experienced in the sense that the away fan base was cheering for a player... [26:27]

• The hosts speculate on the Mavericks' summer moves and the difficulty of recovering from the Luka trade, especially with Kyrie Irving sidelined.
  “They have to do something just to address offensive initiation and I think they're going to have to make some big moves... [27:42]

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Conclusion

The episode concludes with a reflection on the tumultuous events surrounding Luka Doncic’s return to Dallas and the broader NBA landscape as the regular season winds down. The hosts express anticipation for future developments, including potential trades and playoff outcomes.

• Brian Windhorst invites listeners to stay tuned for ongoing coverage:
  “The Kevin Durant sweepstakes is going to be awesome. Christian Clark covers the Mask for us... [28:29]

• Chris Haynes and Ethan Strauss wrap up by emphasizing the need for strategic moves to salvage the Mavericks’ season and restore fan confidence.
  “We have to push more chips in and just hope and they have to do something to address the creation... [27:42]

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Key Takeaways

• Luka Doncic’s return to Dallas was both emotionally charged and athletically impressive, signaling his enduring impact on the Mavericks.
• The Lakers demonstrated resilience and strategic adaptability, with LeBron James playing a crucial role in their performance.
• The Warriors’ unexpected loss raises concerns about their playoff prospects and highlights strategic missteps.
• The Nuggets are navigating a coaching transition with Nikola Jokic stepping into a more prominent leadership role on the court.
• The controversial trade of Luka Doncic to the Lakers has sparked significant fan backlash and poses challenging questions about the Mavericks’ future strategies and ownership decisions.

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Notable Quotes

• Christian Clark on Luka’s emotional state:
  “It felt like he wanted to be a Maverick for the rest of his career... [03:38]

• Chris Haynes on Luka’s performance:
  “He dropped 31 points. It was electric... [03:38]

• Brian Windhorst on Warriors' reliability:
  “Steph Curry can win you any game... [09:03]

• Ethan Strauss on ownership changes:
  “Mark Cuban hired Nico Harrison to compliment him... [22:24]

• Chris Haynes on fan behavior:
  “The away fan base was cheering for a player... [26:27]

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This episode of The Athletic NBA Daily provides a comprehensive look into one of the most dramatic moments of the NBA season, blending game analysis with behind-the-scenes insights to offer listeners a multifaceted understanding of Luka Doncic's return to Dallas and its reverberating effects across the league.

Transcript

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[Brian Windhorst]

Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up Luka returned to Dallas. We talked to Christian Clark about it. After the game. The warriors lose on a buzzer beater, and the Nuggets play a game with Nicola Jokic, his head coach. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, S. Good morning, Dave. Got another wild night, man. Somehow we are. We're approaching the end of the regular season, and every single night is just nuts from here on out. We got to start with the big news of the day. Luca Doncic went back to Dallas and just dominated, put up 45 points. What did you expect coming into this squad? I, like, obviously, look, it's a huge deal. Yeah. I will just say straight up, I didn't think it was going to be as emotional to start with. I did feel like it was going to feel like a big moment, but I didn't expect what we started with.

[Chris Haynes]

It was really emotional seeing Luca react to the tribute video. I mean, I got emotional watching it because it did feel like he wanted to be a maverick for the rest of his career, to live in Dallas for the rest of his life type of thing. And you could see in that moment sort of a bit of closure from him, understanding that this is over and this is just part of the chapter. Move on. And now I'm going to drop 45 points on you guys. Like, that's. I thought the way that he kind of channeled that energy into the game, especially in the first half, he dropped 31 points. It was electric. It was. I honestly think that's one of those games where you look back on five years from now and say, where were you when you watched Luca return to Dallas? Because it just. It felt like one of those hardwood classic type of moments to watch.

[Ethan Strauss]

That.

[Brian Windhorst]

That's a great point. They. They will talk. We will talk about this when he's inducted into the hall of Fame. We'll talk about the game. The fact is, he always steps up, it seems, for these big games. And this had a playoff feel to it, number one. It was surreal. Just watching the atmosphere inside the arena seemed amazing. We talked to Christian after the break, and he really describes it in great detail, what it was like to be in the building. But, you know, watching at home, I mean, I felt it. It felt like a weight was on this game. And even though the Mavericks, you know, this isn't a team that anyone has any expectations of, I thought that they rose to the moment, obviously, like, trying to. You know, they have a lot to prove, too, here. Right. Like, it's the Luca Dodget trade, but there's a lot of other Dallas Mavericks. So I thought, you know, I tip the cap to them. They're not as good as the Lakers. What did you see out of the Lakers in this game? Again, this is another big game that the Lakers rise to the occasion for. It could have been a letdown. Look, they had the two big games against the Thunder. Obviously this is a back to back and, and they were, they were in the game until they weren't, you know, against the Thunder. So what did you think about how the Lakers performed?

[Chris Haynes]

I first of all love the fact that they played everybody in the back to back. They played OKC last night, everybody played and they played everybody tonight against Dallas. And I thought that was a big indication of like how we're trying to prep for the rest of this season in the postseason. Like they are ready to play. And on top of that, I think the fact that they lost the lead in the fourth quarter and found a way to recalibrate. LeBron took over, had some huge possessions in that fourth quarter, got a couple of van ones, made a few defensive stops. They leaned onto their small ball lineup and I think that's going to be their calling card. You look at that lineup with, yeah, with LeBron James, with Austin Reeves, Dorian, Finney, Smith, re Hachimora. They have a lot of functional size with that group and they just dominate every time they put it out there. It's awesome.

[Brian Windhorst]

I like even more when they go with, with Jared Vanderbilt, Dorian, Fanny Smith and LeBron is essentially the five. And you know, we saw this a little bit against the Nuggets. LeBron can actually guard some of these guys. You know he can, man. He's did pretty well against Gafford inside against the Mavericks again, the Jokic stuff, I mean he's, he is like I don't know, 275 against the Rockets.

[Chris Haynes]

That one. Yeah.

[Brian Windhorst]

And I do think I'm with you. I think that, you know, look, Jackson Hayes is going to have to give him 25 good minutes. But between Vando Dorian, Finney Smith and LeBron and with the way that they've been moving on defense, I, I give him a pretty good chance against, even against the Nuggets, like with a, a center like Jokic, that is. They can fly too.

[Chris Haynes]

They won those minutes by 30 points. They played 18 minutes together. That starting five or that, that small ball unit, they by 30 points tonight they had a 78 in that rate. Like it was just.

[Brian Windhorst]

Well, Anthony Davis is a 4, right. So you know. Yeah, he couldn't, couldn't do that when he was There. Look, we. We got to talk about the warriors because they suffered a very bad loss for their playoff hopes. Huge. Look, Harrison Barnes had a hilarious sequence in this game. He intentionally fouls Draymond Green to put him on the line. With the warriors down two with three seconds left. Great move. That is a high IQ basketball play. Draymond nails both of those free throws. Yeah. Three seconds left. The. The Kings have advanced the ball sideline out of bounds. And the warriors, look, they know they're not. No one's calling a foul here. Draymond is, you know, is on his man like a backpack. You got Jimmy Butler grabbing and pulling at Harrison Barnes. Harrison Barnes breaks free, takes a. Like a wild falling back. Yeah, it was a tough shot with Jimmy Butler in his face. And it's cash money. And the. The spurs win. Warriors were just so sloppy down the stretch, but shout out to Harrison Barnes. Professional basketball.

[Chris Haynes]

No. Shout out to Harrison Barnes. You actually saw him when he fouled Draymond. He did the. Yeah, that's all right with me. That's okay with me. He had the little nod, and so it's cool. Because of the history that Harrison Barnes has with the warriors, it kind of gets revenge in a tough situation for them. This, like you said, is a must win for Golden State. They now move to seventh in the east in the Western Conference. Things are always fluid, but it's just. It puts them on uneven ground a little bit when it comes to that play in. And we've talked about how important it is for them to not be in the play in tournament. Miss a week, get a week off, give Steph Curry's knees some rest. And now this puts that in danger.

[Brian Windhorst]

This game is exactly why I don't trust the warriors in the single game. All right? Steph Curry can win you any game. But also, the warriors have this habit of not necessarily valuing the basketball down the stretch of games.

[Chris Haynes]

The turnovers, man, yeah, it was.

[Brian Windhorst]

It was brutal. And some of them just. They were nonsensical. They directly threw the ball away a couple of times. So, you know, the warriors got to tighten this stuff up. I mean, you know, again, this is. We could throw this one out because it's just a one off loss. And they're 22 and 7 since the Jimmy Butler trade or whatever, but they need to win the rest of their games because they absolutely just. I would be very scared if I were them to get into the play.

[Chris Haynes]

Do you remember when the spurs beat the Nuggets last year and it kind of ruined the Nuggets chances of winning the west. And now the warriors lose to the spurs and might ruin their chances of getting a top.

[Brian Windhorst]

Spurs beat the Nuggets last week, didn't they?

[Chris Haynes]

They did.

[Brian Windhorst]

They did. I mean, the spurs, look, that's the harbinger of doom for your franchise. Speaking of the Nuggets. The Nuggets, they played a game, first game without former head coach Michael Malone and. And they won. They beat the Kings. The Kings have been hot and you know, the, the Nuggets have not. And so we've got a little bit of a reversal of fortune there. No Malik Monk for the Kings and he's going to be out for the rest of the year and probably the play in. Yeah. So, I mean, likely just done for the year because I don't think we expect the Kings to. To make it into the playoffs. But look, the Nuggets, I. There's nothing to say they're not going to make any wholesale changes really. There, There were some rotation changes that we should get into. But I do want to point out it took one game for Nicola Jokic post Michael Malone to have multiple times on the sideline where he's got the, you know, he's drawing up plays on the whiteboard. I mean, like we're, we're borderline at the point where it doesn't. Does it matter who the coaches.

[Chris Haynes]

Right. Yeah, he's just, he's the player coach at this point. He's gonna do the, the whole thing where he. Yeah, I mean, look, I could see it. It's not a bad idea. And Adelman is more of just a consultant at this point for what they want to do. Look, I, I think one of the more interesting things that I saw from the. The Nuggets was. And look, no Jamal Murray here, so this is a caveat to all this thing, but more Jalen Pickett than Russell West.

[Brian Windhorst]

Jalen Pickett.

[Chris Haynes]

A lot of Jalen Pickett. And I actually kind of like Jalen Pickett's game. Good defender, can knock down a shot, especially tonight. Job. But Russell Westbrook ended up playing 16 minutes in this game and he played 25 in their last game, 19 in the one before that. Seems like his minutes are going down. I don't know if that's necessarily a coaching decision or just he was having a bad game tonight and they decided to go a different direction. But I do like what Jalen Pickett provides for this team and maybe that's the directive from the front office. Play these young guys more, to give them opportunity to get Some money.

[Brian Windhorst]

I think Jalen Pickett directly was a point of contention between the front office and Michael Malone. I mean, it is. I do think that that was pretty clear. I mean, the young players in general were potential. Michael Malone wanted to play the veterans. And just in this game, look, Jalen Pickett, you. You know exactly how he fits plus 12 in the game. Five of seven from three. And in particular when Jamal Murray is out. But the thing is, the hope is you're going into the playoffs and you're going to have Jamal Murray. Having a Jalen Pickett come off the bench, that's not a bad thing. Net positive for you because it's another guy who can do stuff off of Jokic because of his. His ability to shoot. And you mentioned physicality on defense. Look, Russ has gotten them to the point where they're at, right? He. He raised the level of intensity for this team. He has created a lot of leadership. I actually think that as they go into the playoffs and they tighten up this rotation, we. We should see a lot less of Russell Westbrook. And you bring them in when you need a high energy moment or you've got a nice lead. And you just want a guy out there who can be a caretaker because it is Russell Westbrook, like he still is an effective player who can change the game. The problem is you have too much Russ and changes the game in the wrong way.

[Chris Haynes]

Yeah, it's kind of like a scientific formula. You're trying to find the perfect balance to be able to get the right amount of Russ in any single game. Like he's. He'll be able to give you 25 on a random night, but how are you going to punch in for the 15 minutes that you're on the floor? That's the next phase days for Russ and this Nuggets team for sure.

[Brian Windhorst]

And. And we didn't even say this, but Jokic, in addition to coaching the team, put up his 33rd triple double of the season. Yeah, not too bad, not too bad. Added Ford steals.

[Chris Haynes]

Hey, by the way, OKC locked up home court advantage throughout the playoffs with a win over the Suns today, which is mad.

[Brian Windhorst]

Andrew, I know you're listening right now. Look, if they make the finals, make some driveway space. I'm bringing the van. We're gonna hang out. We're gonna barbecue in the front yard. Guys, stick around. After the break. Christian Clark's here to break down what it was like, the building and some of the weird quotes that came out of last night's game between the Lakers and the Mavericks.

[Adrian Wojnarowski]

This message is brought to you by Apple Card.

[Brian Windhorst]

If you're like us on the show, you're always on Triple double watch. That's why we were impressed when we learned that Apple Card was posting numbers of their own.

[Chris Haynes]

That's right, with Apple card, you can earn 3% daily cash back at Apple and 2% back on everything you buy.

[Brian Windhorst]

Using Apple Pay, not to mention 1% back on everything else. That's a stat line that any fan can appreciate.

[Chris Haynes]

Apply for Apple Card in the Wallet app on your iPhone today and start using it right away with Apple Pay.

[Adrian Wojnarowski]

Subject to credit approval. Apple Card issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA Salt Lake City Branch terms and more at applecard.com as we head into.

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[Brian Windhorst]

Last night, Luka Doncic returned to Dallas and did not disappoint. He put up 45 points. He showed all the reasons why the Mavericks definitely made a huge mistake by trading him there to cover it. And who covers the Mavericks for us? Christian Clark. What the heck was it like in the building, watching on television? It was electric and emotional, and obviously the chants were just out of this world. But what was it like to be in the building for Luca coming home?

[Ethan Strauss]

Yeah, a mixture of love and hate. I would say that. That the love outweighed the hate. It was a lot of love for. For Luka Doncic. As soon as he stepped on the court, I thought it was a cool little moment. You know, the Lakers took the floor for warm ups, and he comes in and he just banks the shot off the shot clock, you know, like, shoots it 10ft above the basket. It just drops in. It was like. It was a little moment of Luca magic. I mean, he was just on the entire night, 31 in the first half. I mean, anytime he touched the ball, the crowd loved it. And then, yeah, the hate, I mean, really just directed towards one person, you know, Nico Harrison, who. Who made this trade. I would say, overall, fun night. I mean, I would say overall, like, more positive than negative. I think the fans love this.

[Brian Windhorst]

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, look, this was actually my big takeaway, is that if you're gonna have to go through something like this, that was honestly a really nice moment. You know, Luca, obviously, he was never gonna leave. It felt like, you know, when he's watching that video and kind of going through those moments, s. I mean, you know, we're. We're kind of texting on the side during this, and we're saying there's no way, like, how is he gonna come? Tears in his eyes, how is he gonna do anything? And then, you know, has that.

[Chris Haynes]

Well, I was surprised that they did a tribute video in the first place. I'm not necessarily surprised that they did it because I knew it was expected, but it was a sort of damned if you do, damned if you don't type of situation from the Mavericks. After the last couple of months of, you know, kind of conversation around why they traded him, what was the reasoning? Was it out of shape? All that type of stuff that kind of went around. And you see the emotion on Luca during That tribute video. And to me, I was like, oh, man, what response are we going to get from Luka Doncic with the amount of emotion that he's showing 25 seconds before we do tip off. So I was surprised that. That he jumped out to such an incredible start. Christian, from. From your perspective, do you feel like this was made to be a moment for Luca? You know, the thank you shirts, everything that you saw, like, was this the Mavericks organ trying their best to maybe mend ties with Luka Doncic?

[Ethan Strauss]

Yeah, there's. There's no question about it. I think the organization realized that their messaging was really bad right after the Luka Doncic trade. It's like, however you actually feel about him, the reasons for this trade, he still led you to the finals and won a ton and, you know, had this genuine connection with the fan base. I mean, they. They, I think, correctly decided we need to change our messaging and we need to show appreciation for this guy, which he absolutely deserves. And he was super emotional before the game. I mean, that was a beautiful moment with him, tears welling in his eyes when he was watching that tribute video. And then he was able to stay really even keeled during the game. I mean, the night before in Oklahoma City, you know, got in a yelling match with the fan, got ejected. You know, emotions. His emotions sometimes run too hot. But I thought he did a really good job of just, you know, staying even killed. I mean, there was definitely some talking, like he was saying some stuff to the bench in the second half, but he stayed pretty even. And I mean, he was just unbelievable. The step back three is working.

[Brian Windhorst]

Yeah. You know, the Lakers, I thought they. They didn't have any flow to start. Seemed like the entire team was actually affected, w. Which, you know, is pretty rare. I. I would say they obviously were trying to force the ball to Luka to start, but once they got into the flow of things, that offense started to click, you know, for the Dallas perspective. You know, this is a team that obviously they've dealt with injury stuff, but it just felt like they didn't really have a chance to compete with the Lakers, just without Kyrie. No real ball handler out there. And you can see the vision with Anthony Davis and some ball handling around him, but they just don't have it right now.

[Ethan Strauss]

That's exactly right. I mean, look, the. The Mavericks shortened their title contention window when they traded Luca. And they're like, look, we got two, three, maybe four chances at that. I mean, when. When Kyrie went down, that automatically erased their chance this year. That maybe erases their chances next year, depending on how you look at that. I mean, that's. That's two of the three or four chances that they had right there. I mean, that's huge gut punch. I mean, they just. You're right. They don't have enough to compete right now. I mean, they. They tried starting like, Najee Marshall, basically a lead guard, and he played really well.

[Brian Windhorst]

Yeah.

[Ethan Strauss]

But that's. That's the place they're at. You know, it's like we don't have Kyrie. We're already really dependent on him. Like, they've just got to. They just got to try stuff like that.

[Brian Windhorst]

It's like Najee Ad has no space to operate in, you know, at all.

[Ethan Strauss]

Yeah, I mean, they needed Kyrie to, like, carry a huge load in terms of just the half court offense.

[Chris Haynes]

Christian, I want to ask you about the behind the scenes of this whole situation, because I imagine, much like myself, there are a lot of people wondering how in the world Luka Doncic is a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. I mean, it's two months in and I'm still surprised. And you know, there's been reporting, obviously you've reported it as well, that there's obviously a behind the scenes situation between Mark Cuban and the now president of operations and Patrick Dumont. Nico Harrison, how does that play into this decision to trade Luka Doncic and how that all unfolded?

[Ethan Strauss]

Yeah, I mean, Mark Cuban hired Nico Harrison to. To compliment him in terms of bet making basketball decisions in 2021. But the power dynamics of this organization changed in. In December 2023 when. When Mark Cuban had to sell. I mean, when Mark Cuban sold his team to Miriam Aldous and, you know, he said, hey, look, I'm still going to have a lot of influence over basketball decisions, but that's not what happened in reality. You know, I mean, Patrick Demont is his team's governor, and Patrick Demott listens to Nico Harrison on basketball decisions. I mean, this was always a Nico Harrison decision. And the sale of the team just created a situation where suddenly Nico had all the juice.

[Brian Windhorst]

Yeah. I mean, the thing is though, to. To play devil's advocate here, the guy has made some really great moves. I mean, he. He's like 9 for 11 or something. Like on. On the moves that he's made, you consider bringing in Kyrie, you know, drafting Derek Lively, getting PJ Washington. PJ Washington, he. He has done a pretty good job. I think the Luca trade obviously stands out, and then the Quenton Grimes trade maybe stands out. But if you're the new owner and this guy has just taken you to an NBA Finals, you know, with the team that he, he built and he says, hey, we should move on from this, and. And I think we can be better. I totally can wrap my head around living, you know, by his word. But that being said, the NBA business doesn't operate that way, Christian. And so how much of this is new ownership that's not looking at an NBA team as, you know, something that's a passion for them, like Mark Cuban was. And it's an ownership that's looking more of it as, what does it mean to our balance sheet overall throughout all of the entities that we may invest in?

[Ethan Strauss]

I don't really view it as a money thing. I mean, daddy, Mary Madison is worth like 32 billion. And I think they're still even in the luxury tax right now. Like, I don't. I think it's more just an experience thing. And I think, you know, what you brought up is Patrick Dumont's first experience, like, you know, running this team was, oh, my gosh. Nico Harrison makes trades for P.J. washington and Daniel Gafford. The reaction nationally to that is mixed. And it turns out they're great trades. These trades help us go to the NBA Finals. So, you know, one of the first really key pieces of information he gets about Nico Harrison's decision making is, oh, wow, this guy can really read the board. You know, he really sees the board correctly. So of course I'm going to trust this guy. We got to the finals in my first year owning this team. And, you know, I think Nico Harrison has made a lot of good moves as, as Mavericks gm. It's just this is a situation where it's like, don't do it like this. And if you're going to do this, you have to get everything. And they didn't get everything. You know, yeah, we got to get Reeves, connect multiple first round picks, like, they didn't even come close.

[Chris Haynes]

You can make a lot of good moves, but then if you trade Babe Ruth, like, it's a different story, right? I mean, look, I know there, there was that quote from Jason Kidd. What was said post game or what's the feeling like after the game? You know, from the Mavericks perspective after this, it was just a very bizarre and awesome basketball game from the Lakers.

[Ethan Strauss]

Yeah, I would say two things. Mostly that was the messaging from the Mavericks. Number one, huge respect to Luka. I mean, Jason Kidd said, you have to tip your hat to him. There was a moment after the game where Anthony Davis and Luka Doncic hugged at mid court. That I thought was a cool moment. You know, right after that game. I asked AD about it in the locker room afterwards and he was basically like, you know, yes, we. We kind of did go through similar things that neither of us asked for this, but really it was a respect thing. I just think that, you know, greatness respects greatness and that was kind of what that was about. And there was frustration too. I mean, I asked Anthony Davis like, about the fire Nico stuff and he was just like, I just don't want to comment on that. You know, Jason kid got asked, how does this fan base move past this? And it was kind of an interesting answer. So a lot of respect to Luca and I think frustration and what can you even say after you trade this guy? He has 45 points. I mean, what can you say?

[Chris Haynes]

It was the weirdest arena I think I've ever experienced in the sense that the away fan base was cheering for a player when he caught the ball. You usually see boos when a player catches the ball. I've never seen that number of.

[Brian Windhorst]

The number of Luka Lakers jerseys, I think spoke. Yeah, spoke volumes. I mean, when it. It looked like a Laker home game when in some of those tight shots on tv. And I think that essentially what you've got is that instead of Mavs fans for life, a lot of Luka Doncic fans probably are going to leave that team. I'm not sure. And Christian, you know, I'm not going to ask you to comment on this, but I don't know how a team comes back from a night like last night where the GM is, I mean, essentially openly being called to be fired by, you know, 18,000 people on national television to the point where the broadcasters have to comment on it. And it is the single worst trade in sports history. Chris, is the doctor like, look, this is a play in team. It looks like, you know, I mean, Phoenix is still alive maybe, but it looks like they're going to be in the play in. I don't think they're going to make a lot of noise for the reasons that we've sort of laid out. But, you know, what's the summer going to look like for this team?

[Ethan Strauss]

Yeah, when you, when you ask Jason Kidd and Nico that question, I mean, how do you guys come back from this? How do you repair this? They say, they say winning and you can kind of quibble with that. It's like this is almost deeper than winning. But I think of just how to. How to move forward. You know Kyrie's going to miss significant time next season. They have to do something just to address offensive initiation and I think they're big moves you could look at. I think there are medium sized moves you could look at. I mean they're already all in and it's almost like you, you almost have to go more all in. I mean they don't control the draft picks 27 through 20, 30 all those years but it's almost a situation where it's like we're already all in. We just have to we have to push more chips in and just hope and they have to do something to address the the creation and like you know half court offense.

[Brian Windhorst]

Yes. The Kevin Durant sweepstakes is going to be awesome. Christian Clark covers covers the Mask for us. Thank you for hanging out Esperahenny. He does this quite often. I'm Dave Duford. This has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.