Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki got real as he finally broke his silence on what he felt about the most shocking trade in NBA history and why he went out of his way to watch Luka Dončić‘s debut with their Western Conference rival Los Angeles Lakers.
Nowitzki revealed that Doncic personally extended his invitation to him as he was coming home from a vacation in Maldives where he was as stunned as everyone else — except for Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison and team governor Patrick Dumont — that the franchise he’s only played for had the guts to trade the 25-year-old generational player.
“Then fast forward to coming home, obviously Luka, we texted a bit,” Nowitzki said on 96.7’s “The Ticket” on Friday, Feb. 21. “Of course, I felt a little disappointed, sad for him. I think he obviously didn’t see this coming. So, he invited me to come out to his first game in L.A. and I felt like I had to support him.
“I played with him my last season. We’ve gotten close. I’ve tried to mentor him. I tried to help him as much as I can the last few years and he’s just a good kid. So, I felt like I had to go out there and support him in this new chapter. Because he was — it was reported — that he was pretty obviously down and disappointed how it went down. And so I wanted to be there for him.”
From the Anointed Successor to Getting Discarded
Doncic was the anointed Nowitzki’s successor. That all changed when Mark Cuban, who once famously said he’d divorce his wife first before trading Doncic, sold his majority stakes to the Adelson family and kicked him out of the basketball operations.
With Cuban just a minority owner and no longer has a say on the Mavericks’ basketball decisions, Harrison got Dumont’s approval to jettison Dončić to the Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and an unprotected 2029 first-round pick.
The nasty rumors and shade about him being out of shape because of lack of self-discipline off the court left a bitter taste in Dončić’s and his family’s mouths.
Luka Appreciated Dirk’s Support
Getting Nowitzki in the Lakers’ home crowd gave a bad look to the Mavericks organization.
It only heightened the anger and vitriol the fan base felt for the organization for the shocking trade which they viewed as an act of betrayal. But Nowitzki, whose status as the greatest Mavericks player in history is now unchallenged with Dončić no longer there, maintained that he was only there for his protege.
“I wanted to be there for his family and show support,” Nowitzki said. “But you guys saw my face. It was weird. It was surreal to see him play for the Lakers. And so the other day, I said I’ll never be a Lakers fan but I will always be a Luka fan. It was good to see him and good to be there for him.”
Dončić appreciated Nowitzki’s support in the darkest days of his NBA career as he knew that doing so would put him in such a tough spot with the Mavericks’ new regime.
“Just for him to show up, a great friend, always looked up to him,” Dončić said after his Lakers debut. “A great mentor. So for him to show up, fly all the way from Dallas, was amazing.”
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Mavericks Legend Dirk Nowitzki Drops Truth Bomb on Luka Dončić Trade appeared first on Heavy Sports.