Luka Doncic competed for an NBA title in 2024, carrying the team to the finals on his back. His offensive play is off the charts, even if his defense is less than top tier.

Doncic, a 25-year-old star has many good years left in his career, just not in a Dallas Mavericks uniform. So what caused the Mavericks to pull the trigger and trade the young superstar?

That is a question that will probably never be answered to the satisfaction on Dallas fans. They’ll come up with reasons, they probably even have reasons for real, but the fans will never know the truth.

Fans Reactions:

Mavericks fans on X (formerly twitter) were not happy when the news broke. “the Mavs traded Luka and you think you’re irreplaceable at work” was posted by @ExcelHumor.

‘“We really traded Luka.” – me every 5 minutes’ said @MasterTes.

“The Dallas Cowboys are the most valuable sports franchise in the world, and yet, Luka Doncic was the face of the city. You just don’t trade someone like that.” @MichaelJBier posted, and @EmmauelAcho poster “As a Dallas native, who went to the Mav’s first NBA finals in 2006 and the parade in 2011. I can confidently say trading prime Luka Doncic is one of the biggest mistakes in the history of sports. This is organizational malpractice. I am sick.”

Is There Any Logic Behind it?

Fans have a right to be upset. Luka has many years left to be a generational talent, he is only 25. He has so much basketball left to be played.

Was there a rift between Luka and the front office? It didn’t appear so, as Luka just bought a $15 million house in the Dallas area. He seemed to plan on being a Maverick.

While we will never know what impact Doncic staying in Dallas would have had on the franchise, if they don’t win a title in 2025 it was a failed trade in my opinion. They had all the pieces to win with Luka here, as proven by how close they were in 2024.

As a casual basketball fan from the Dallas area, I just can’t see them making it back to the finals in 2025 without Doncic. They helped improve the Lakers while hurting their own franchise and fan base.

Will this help the Mavericks?

I know the rumor has been swirling around of a move to Las Vegas since the new ownership team took over from Mark Cuban, so maybe they are trying to alienate the Dallas fan base?

A good comparison would be if the Buffalo Bills traded Josh Allen for Aaron Rodgers, thinking that would be a move to help them win now. It wouldn’t be.

It was a disappointing day for Dallas sports fan, more for what he meant to the city than anything else. Mavericks fans now get to watch Luka play for the Los Angeles Lakers for the foreseeable future. I don’t get it personally, and many fans seem to agree with me.