No matter how you look at it, the Mavs’ process in dealing Luka Dončić makes little sense

As everyone with a smartphone and just a modest interest in the NBA knows, Luka Dončić is now a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, and Anthony Davis will run the floor alongside Kyrie Irving with the Dallas Mavericks after a blockbuster Sunday morning trade.

The trade has drawn worldwide headlines, and fans are flabbergasted at the modest return Dallas got for the 25-year-old Dončić, who is just entering the prime of his career.

Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick is all Dallas received in the deal, which has left fans — and pundits — scratching their heads at exactly how that came to be.

Fortunately, courtesy of Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News, we have some insights as to how it all went down, as Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison laid it all out.

“I understand why they would be shocked, initially,” Harrison told the DMN regarding the overall reaction to the stunning deal.

“But I do believe that we positioned ourselves to win now and also win in the future.”

Harrison then got down to the actual conversation between himself and Lakers head honcho Rob Pelinka as they began discussing the parameters of this trade over a month ago.

This is where things take, uh, quite a turn.

Added Harrison: “And then it just built over time over the last three weeks.”

The Mavericks and Lakers were thus in heavy dialogue about Dončić for weeks and ended up making a deal.

This raises some crucial questions: Were the Mavericks even discussing Dončić-oriented trades with other teams? Or were the trade communications strictly with the Lakers?

When dealing a player of Dončić’s magnitude and skill-level, which ranks in the top five of the NBA, limiting communication with other teams means a drastically diminished trade return.

Let’s use Mikal Bridges as an example.

When the wing was still a Brooklyn Net, he was the darling of the NBA. Everyone wanted a plug-and-play wing with excellent durability, a strong defensive presence and the ability to score at a competitive level.

When the Nets finally did pull the trigger on a deal, finding common ground with the Knicks, the trade return was enormous. It included five first-round picks, a swap option, two second-round selections and players.

Should the Knicks have relinquished that type of package for Bridges, who’s good and but not necessarily great? No. Should the Nets have declined the deal they got offered? Hell, no.

The Nets, by virtue of having multiple interested parties, built up Bridges’ trade value.

Currently, the Sacramento Kings are undoubtedly trying to do the same with De’Aaron Fox, and the Miami Heat were hoping to do the same with Jimmy Butler before things turned sour.

If outside teams were not even remotely aware of Dončić’s availability, then it’s safe to say Dallas killed its own trade leverage — and oh, boy, did it have trade leverage.

Dončić had not asked out. There didn’t seem to be a lack of willingness from either side to sign a contract extension.

From what the outside world saw, everything in Dallas was, mostly, fine.

That’s leverage.

Dončić, still just 25 until Feb. 28, is a perennial MVP candidate and proven playoff performer who consistently raises his level of play.

That’s leverage.

By being as good as he is, Dončić’s financial compensation will always be a good deal. Under no circumstances could he be viewed as overpaid, given his importance to a team’s offense. Dončić performs at a level where his salary cap percentage cannot match his value.

That’s leverage.

If the Mavericks failed to do their due diligence and didn’t receive a mountain of trade offers from opposing teams, then their approach to this trade would be malpractice.

Let’s just bring up the San Antonio Spurs as a primary example.

The whole world knows they’ve been talking to the Kings about Fox, yet no deal has materialized. The likely reason? The Spurs are not willing to fork over as much as the Kings want back for Fox, and the two sides are trying to find an compromise.

This is perfectly normal and a part of trade negotiations. The Kings are, obviously, allowed to offer Fox elsewhere and drive up the price, just as the Spurs are allowed to play hardball by using the knowledge of Fox’s preferred destination being San Antonio to their advantage.

Had the Spurs known of Dončić’s availability, is it not fair to assume they would have shifted their focus toward the Slovenian and put a mega-package on the table for the superior player?

Everything we know about the Spurs would suggest that’s a player they’d go all-in for.

Or what about the Oklahoma City Thunder, a team that has both oodles of draft picks and players to trade for one more big chip? Would they not at least have entertained a scenario or two?

But all right, the Mavericks wanted to stay competitive, according to Harrison.

“We really feel that defense wins championships, and we think the players that we’re bringing in add to the culture, which is important to what [head coach Jason Kidd] and I have been building here from Day 1,” he said.

“And then obviously, when you get an All-NBA player who’s also a first-team All-Defensive player, we think that’s gonna help us where we need it the most, on the defensive end.”

Now it makes sense, right? They wanted someone established. Someone with a big name. Someone who could really help them, especially defensively. Davis clears all of that.

Only, then why limit themselves to a deal in-season when you have to consider elements such as available roster spots, or when draft picks for 2032 haven’t been freed up?

Historically speaking, trading superstars fetches the best returns during the offseason, when things are settled down and teams can make follow-up moves to build the roster anew.

Why wasn’t this the plan in Dallas? What exactly was the rush?

Let’s go back to Harrison.

“We really feel like we got ahead of what was going to be a tumultuous summer, him being eligible for the super-max and also a year away from him being able to opt out of any contract,” he said.

“And so we really felt like we got out in front of that. We know teams, they’ve had it out there, teams have been loading up to try to sign him once that comes available.”

Now we’re getting closer to the crux of the issue. The Mavericks were simply scared to lose Dončić, and panicked … 18 months before the potential problem might become a real problem.

(Also, did Harrison just hint that teams — plural — are loading up to go get Dončić, suggesting a ton of interest? If so, that makes his decision to accept the Lakers’ offer even more curious, does it not?)

Let’s get back to the panicking bit. What do you do in that situation? You call an old friend.

Harrison, who used to work as a Nike executive, has had a relationship with Pelinka, the former agent of Kobe Bryant, who was one of Nike’s marquee stars. According to Townsend, their relationship goes back two decades.

So, to recap. Here’s what the scenario looks like from the outside and based on Harrison’s comments.

Harrison panicked about a situation that’s a year and a half away, called up his old buddy on the Lakers, spoke only with the Lakers, pulled the trigger on a deal that fetched Davis and are now busy trying to convince Mavericks fans this was all a very smart move.

This all seems strange and enormously uncoordinated.

Harrison is using one side of his mouth to argue that the Mavericks want to win, talking up Davis as a player who fits their team, and on the other side of his mouth, he’s talking about the future challenges of retaining Dončić, while simultaneously admitting the level of enormous interest around the Slovenian.

So, which is it? What is the prime motivation here?

Whatever the answer, pulling this trade in the middle of the season, having seemingly not collected trade offers to compare, and to excuse it all by bringing up a potential problem 18 months away deserves push-back from fans, because the logic does not track, regardless of how much Harrison tries to lay it out.