According to the owner of Dallas Mavericks, Patrick Dumont, the trade of Luka Dončić – to which they sent the face of the franchise to the Los Angeles Lakers just in front of his 26th anniversary in exchange for a star who was about to be 32 years old, a third year wing and a single first -round choice – was about the person about future.
Dumont used the word four times separated During a commitment to the speech put by a real estate organization in the Dallas region::
- “It was a decision on the future. If you look at our list today and who we have, we have the impression that we positioned ourselves to be incredibly competitive against the best teams of Nba. And if you are a basketball fan – I’m just going to throw that over there – you have Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, PJ Washington, Anthony Davis and Daniel Gafford or Dereck Lively (II) as your first five. It will put fear in many teams in the League, if we can start. “”
- “The objective was:” How to create a list for the future that allows us to be the most competitive team? “”
- “We want to win championships, we want to be a winning franchise for the city of Dallas and we want to be one of the characters, one of the community implications and only once we look at what we have made the inheritance, which Ross (Perot Jr.) to continue this management.
- “It’s really about improving the team for the future.”
Dumont made these comments a month ago, long before Irving’s torn ACL actually returned 2024-25 a lost season for Dallas. The speaking commitments were after Davis injured in his beginnings, and after Dumont Cité Shaquille O’Neal as a model of work ethics and resolved concentration (while implying that Dončić was not cut off from the same fabric). It was also after the Mavericks had ejected several fans Who had brought panels calling for the dismissal of the managing director Nico Harrison to American Airlines Arena (the same evening that Dumont was hué while he was sitting in his courtyard). There had been a lot of time to find an explanation that made more sense than that.
Anthony Davis tries to calm Maverick’s fans after Luka Dončić’s trade, says Dallas won a superstar in myself ”
Sam Quinn
Maybe Dumont used the definition of “the future” that Harrison Used at the press conference after trade. The quotation is already sadly famous: “The future for me is three, four years old. The 10th anniversary in the 10 years, I do not know, they will probably shove me and (coach Jason Kidd) at that time. Or we will bury ourselves.”
Dumont recognized that Dončić is a “phenomenal player” and a “generational talent”, adding that the trade was “hard” and “emotional”. He said that the decision did not concern the salary ceiling – Dončić could have signed a supermax extension with the Mavericks this next summer – and the franchise will not leave Dallas for Las Vegas or elsewhere. He was well aware of The anger of fans and the feeling of betrayal The day after the profession, and he undertook to try to gain their confidence.
“I heard fans, I respect their voices, I listened, we know that it was not easy,” said Dumont. “If we have lost the confidence of our fans, it was difficult and I apologize, but I hope that over time, we can find this confidence thanks to hard work and it is our plan. And I hope that people will believe in the long term that what we have done was the right decision. Time will tell us.”
This message, however, was delivered alongside a justification for trade which does not resist a meticulous examination. “Part of the leadership consists in examining the risks and examining all the factors of a decision and being willing to act at that time,” said Dumont. “And look at the long term and not only think about the short duration or the way it can be received immediately, but also to think about the long -term advantages and what it can allow you to achieve if you give all the right considerations.” He then underlined the 2024 commercial deadline, how much the MAVs “were a team linked to the playoffs”. The trade for Washington and Gafford has changed this, when they had a tear at the end of the season and qualified for the NBA final.
Before making the business of Dončić, Dumont said: “We examined our trajectory during the season and we realized that we did not improve, but the teams against which we competed, which we beat (last season), we went better.” He said Dallas determined that the title champion Boston Celtics had also improved, so it was necessary to take a step.
Dončić was sidelined with a calf injury at the time, and MAVs were would have been frustrated by his approach to conditioning. The way Dumont framed, they were not satisfied with the way things happened and thought that trade would put them on a better trajectory. But this is not what long -term sight looks like. From a long -term point of view, with a large of all time which is still approaching its peak on the list, a slower start than expected in a particular season does not justify an extreme reaction. This is particularly true since the team was not withdrawn from an appearance in the final which served as proof of concept.
The decision to negotiate Dončić concerned the future in a single way: Dallas made a massive and long -term bet against him by continuing on the route he has been drawing since he was appointed MVP of Euroleague at 19. Despite the first All-NBA team every year since its second season and dominating several playoffs, Dončić was simply not the guy that the Mavericks wanted to build more.
Even if you accept the unprecedented conclusion to which they arrived, however, this does not justify the decision they made. As Cuban said on WFAA last week“If the MAVs will exchange Luka, that’s one thing. Take a better deal. No lack of respect for Anthony Davis, but I still firmly believe that if we had obtained four unprotected choices (first -round choice) and Anthony Davis and Max Christie, it would be a different conversation.”
In the light of Dumont’s attempt to explain the profession, another of this Cuban interview stands out.
“I think the biggest challenge that MAVs have at the moment is that there is no one who is really out of communicating,” said Cuban. “And that’s not so much what you do, that’s how you communicate why you do what you do.”
