More than three weeks after the trade that shook the NBA, when the Dallas Mavericks shipped their 25-year-old franchise superstar Luka DonÄiÄ to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for nine-time All-Star Anthony Davis, DonÄiÄ faced his previous team for the first time as an opponent on Tuesday night.
The game at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles was a big one for both teams. The Lakers, winners of eight of their last 10 coming into the showdown, are fighting to pull away from the Houston Rockets for sole possession of the fourth seed in the NBA Western Conference, a position that would guarantee them home court advantage in at least one playoff series.
As for Dallas, the Mavericks limped in at 31-27, barely hanging on to the third of four play-in positions in the West. But the must-win significance of the contest for both squads was overshadowed by the drama of DonÄiÄ facing the team that acquired him in a draft-night trade in 2018. (The Atlanta Hawks took him with the No. 3 overall pick and immediately traded him for Trae Young.)
Trade Hit DonÄiÄ in Stunning Fashion
DonÄiÄ lived up to the hype immediately, winning NBA Rookie of the Year in 2018 and five straight All-NBA first team selections after that. In his sixth season, last year, DonÄiÄ led the Mavericks to their first NBA Finals since 2011.
And then, less than eight months after the Mavericks came up short to the Boston Celtics in those Finals, DonÄiÄ was gone.
Dallas traded him away without any warning or indication that any deal was coming. Now, according to his former teammate and fellow Mavericks’ superstar Kyrie Irving, DonÄiÄ is still “grieving” over the trade.
Following Tuesday’s game, won by DonÄiÄ and the Lakers 107-99, Irving revealed to ESPN.com reporter Ramona Shelburne that he has maintained contact with his Slovenia-born former teammate since the February 1 trade, for the purpose of “checking on his emotional state more than anything,” according to Shelburne, who wrote on Wednesday that Irving “feels protective of DonÄiÄ.”
Irving, 32, who won Rookie of the Year in 2012 after the Cleveland Cavaliers made him 2011’s No. 1 overall draft pick, told Shelburne that DonÄiÄ’s emotional state has not been great.
DonÄiÄ Just Glad Game Against Dallas is Over
“I don’t think he expected the change, and I think that’s probably what leads to him feeling his emotions even more so in a deeper way,” Irving told Shelburne. “Rejection, I think that’s a strong word … but sometimes it can feel like that.”
Irving said that DonÄiÄ is going through a “process of grieving,” adding, “‘grieving’ … is not a word we use in NBA circles â it’s like, ‘Just be tough, bro.’ Everybody expects you to turn over the next page and get over it. The reality is, man, we’re human too.”
As for DonÄiÄ, he said after the game, “Iâm just glad, glad itâs over, honestly.â
Playing only his 27th game of the season due to a nagging calf injury, DonÄiÄ called the experience of playing against Dallas “weird” and “different,” acknowledging that he approached the game with “a lot of emotions and not much sleep.”
Nonetheless, DonÄiÄ notched his first triple double in the purple and gold of the Lakers despite an awkward shoting night. He collected 19 points while shooting just six for 17 from the field, including only one successful three-point shot in seven attempts. DonÄiÄ did much better when it came to feeding his teammates, with 12 assists, and crashing the boards. He gathered 15 total rebounds to complete his triple-double.
Lebron James led the Lakers with 27 points while collecting 12 boards.
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