Christian Clark
Appearances
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
That is a great question. I mean, they've been starting Kessler Edwards, who's a six foot seven forward on a two way contract at center, you know, just before the all star break. That doesn't obviously feel real sustainable to me. I think they're five and five since the Luka trade. Dwight Powell did come back tonight. You know, he only played 13, 14 minutes. Wasn't bad. Wasn't bad. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
I do know that. I looked that up. Then we're good.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
I mean, I think the Mavericks are are really fighting like Kyrie's locked in. He's playing amazing. You know, Jason kids got great by and it's just it's just really tough. You know, when you have probably like the best collection of bigs in the league and, you know, none of them can play.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
Yeah. This team had full health. Klay Thompson thinks that they're a championship-level team. He told you after the game that he's been around championship teams, which we know, and he feels like if they can just keep this thing going, keep it together, when everyone comes back, they got as good a shot as anybody. I actually happen to agree with him.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
How do you feel about this team and their championship chances?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
I think he's right. I mean, I do think they have a chance to come out of the West. I mean, they did it as a five last year without having a home court advantage in any of the series. I think that's got to give them some confidence. I know Luke has died here anymore, but... I mean, even doing it as an eight is harder than a five.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
I mean, we're probably looking at a scenario where they're going to have to win a play-in game this year. But I really like this team when they're at full health. I mean, we saw it for three quarters, that Houston game with AD. I mean, they blocked 18 shots. Like, you totally saw... what they wanted to do defensively. Like I think at full health, they're just absolutely ferocious defensively.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
You know, my, I think my big question with this team is like, it's, it's on Kyrie so much as a creator and just how does he hold up in the playoffs when, you know, it's him having to create like 75% of the possessions and the other team is throwing all their best perimeter defenders item.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
It's just a little bit different when you're number one, like most of the time, as opposed to like one a next to Luca, uh, But this is an awesome team. And, you know, when they're full out, they absolutely could come out of the West.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
Yeah, I would not say terribly encouraging. In the Mavericks' first practice after the All-Star break, I asked Jason Kidd, hey, with Anthony Davis, you guys said he's going to be reevaluated in two weeks. Does this mean he definitely will not have to have surgery? And Jason Kidd said, we can't say that right now. Basically saying, look, surgery is still a possibility.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
On March 6th, the Mavericks are going to give updates on Anthony Davis, on Derek Lively, on Daniel Gafford. I think
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
lively gafford are for sure going to be out for a while still i mean lively still walking around in a boot gafford's um knee injury looked pretty gnarly that was right before the all-star break so yeah i mean ad's been on this road trip he's been doing some real light shooting but i cannot stress enough like it is it is the lightest of shooting i mean he's not even jumping right now and you know i think the most telling thing of all is jason kidd said yeah i mean surgery's still on the table
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
That's insane. That is just insane. For this trade to have gone down the way that it did, again, the fallout with the fans, and now you have this whole thing. You mentioned the scene. I mean, there's Kareem there. What is it like for you covering this team and then watching essentially the rebirth of the Showtime Lakers with the Mavericks guy? I mean, what has that been like the last couple weeks?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
Yeah, I mean, I don't mind saying this. I grew up a Mavericks fan. Like, you know, Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki, Don Nelson is like what really got me hooked on the NBA. And I think I've lost a lot of that just covering the team. But I got to say, it's like seeing Luka in purple and gold. It's like somebody is just pouring battery acid in my eyes. Like, it's painful. Yeah. I don't like it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
I have like a physical reaction. I'm trying to be professional, but I don't like it. I'm just going to be honest. It doesn't feel right at all.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
They did the Jordan commercial today with the car, and they changed the license plate over. But was the car already purple and gold? Did I miss that? Did they get a paint job? Yeah, maybe.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
There's many people in L.A. who can do that for you.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
So so with the Mavericks, OK, look, they've got to get healthy, obviously. But how how do they hold up? Like, what does it look like in the meantime? You know, is it just a rock fight every single night, just hoping you score enough to to to hang in there? Or, you know, is there something that that maybe you've thought of that that you see that is just low hanging fruit for them?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
I mean, I feel like the adjustment is, hey, Dwight Powell, can you play 25 minutes a night? And I'm not even joking. That's just where they are. I mean, they just have no bigs. I brought up the Kessler-Edwards thing earlier. They signed Kyler Kelly, who's a 27-year-old who'd never played in the NBA before, to a two-way deal earlier this season. He has not been playing recently.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
They signed Moses Brown to a 10-day deal right after the All-Star break. He's playing sparingly. I mean, Jason Kidd just... Clearly doesn't feel great about either of those options. I mean, it's, it's Dwight Powell. I mean, really, who's like your only healthy true center who started, who started, you know, the season on this team. So more Dwight Powell is my serious answer. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
I think you need good bigs. Even though it is Luka and LeBron together and they're just so smart, they're going to figure it out. That's going to be great. They don't have the bigs that you need. I mean, they're rolling Jackson Hayes out there at starting center. I got a lot of Jackson Hayes in my time in New Orleans.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
I don't think you can win multiple playoff rounds with Jackson Hayes as your starting center. I mean, there's a reason they put all that stuff on the table for Mark Williams before that trade didn't go through. Form your own conclusions about why. Yeah. I don't think they have the bigs they need. I'm with Dave.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
Early Luca was, you know, contesting a foul call. Kyrie came out, had 12 quick points, which was awesome. It felt like an event. It did. It did.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
I think Dallas would probably beat them at full health just because they would kill them inside.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
Look, I like this Mavericks team. I liked them with Luca. I thought that they could come out of the West. I think when you throw Anthony Davis in there and the sort of defense that they can have,
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
i think they could just as easily come out of the west if they get back to full health but they have to be 100 healthy if if they don't have gafford and lively i i think it's it's much more difficult um you know say what you will about anthony davis's shot creation i think that this is a team that's gonna be built to win on defense yeah plain and simple i mean christian you mentioned it 18 blocks in that game if they play that sort of defense christian what's the ceiling is it a title
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
I mean, look, the 2019-20 Lakers, a team that Jason Kidd was an assistant coach on, which played Anthony Davis at power forward and stretches, that's kind of the model for this team. And it is Kyrie Irving kind of in the LeBron primary creator role. And I mean, Kyrie is playing out of his mind right now, but he's not LeBron because nobody is LeBron.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
But we saw that 19-20 Lakers team win the title and their identity was defense. So there's a recent example.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
Yeah. All right. Well, Christian, thank you very much for staying up late and hanging out with us. I know you got to get out of there and write this big game story. That's going to do it for today's show, folks. Thank you guys for listening. For Christian Clark and S. Baraheni, I'm Dave Dufour, and this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with us.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
Yeah. I mean, the first six minutes of the game before they took away one of the three pointers that Luka had made. I mean, Luka puts up 10 points, had like. Yeah. what, four rebounds, a couple of assists, a steal and a block. And he's chirping. I thought he was chirping at Jason Kidd, but I'm not sure. I wasn't in the arena, so I don't know. We'll have to wait for the reporting on that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
But, you know, just he came out, I thought, fired up. But the other guy that was really fired up – we'll get to the Kyrie side of this when we talk to Christian Clark after the break, but man, LeBron James, he continues this run that he's been on for a little while now. And I've been saying this and S I think you agree with me here.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
Been playing like a top five, you know, top eight, whatever we want to, wherever we want to set that line of delineation, but he's been playing out of his mind for especially his age. But the defensive end, This guy has been pretty incredible. And this is another game where LeBron steps up defensively.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
I mean, in lieu of a really strong defensive big man, LeBron James is doing a more than credible job.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, Luka gets revenge on the Mavericks. Cleveland Cavaliers win another one and the Magic are struggling right now. And we got Christian Clark to talk about the Dallas Mavericks and their side of the loss to Luka. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, S. Good morning. How about those Lakers, S? Yeah. Wow.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
One aspect is Luca. Yeah, go ahead. I was going to say, well, this is a fourth straight game. They've held their opponent to 102 points or less. That's right. Yeah, that's pretty good.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
Well, and Wuka's defense, by the way, we should point that out. I mean, there were times where his defense, I thought, on Kyrie Irving was excellent, even chasing him out like 30 feet from the basket and contesting all the way to the rim. I mean, this is what it's going to take, I think, for the Lakers if they're going to try to contend. They did not solve their problem in the middle.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
But they do have defenders, and I think that J.J. Redick deserves a lot of credit for the way that he has set the rotation up. You mentioned LeBron being able to step up a little bit more because of Luka. But also look at the way that he's staggering these lineups so that when Luka sits and it's LeBron out there, they've got a little bit more of a defensive presence to make up for that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
So I'm not one of these people that's saying that J.J. Redick is coach of the year or anything like that. But I will say that I think that he's done a pretty good job of integrating Luka into Luka. What the, you know, the existing structure of this team and making the most of it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
I mean, Luca just getting more and more healthy, I think is going to be the most important thing for the offensive side of this. And let's not forget that Austin Reeves has benefited greatly, not, not only from this, but just this season in general and has sort of taken a leap. Feels so comfortable. He looks 100%. I think JJ Redick plays a part of that too.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
Yeah, he's a good tertiary, secondary playmaker, but also can run your offense too. Okay, well, there was some more stuff last night. The Cleveland Cavaliers, 48-10 now. They just crushed the Orlando Magic. They beat them by 40, which we talked to us for weeks about how well the Magic were holding up when they were missing Paolo, how well they were holding up when they were missing Franz Wagner.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
And then they got both of those guys back just as they lost Jalen Suggs. And that's really when the wheels fell off for them. They just can't score period.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
I think Paolo's not the guy to initiate the offense. I think if he's secondary or third guy, maybe that's okay. I don't know if he is as effective. A little bit of like a Julius Randall situation for him, I would say. Anyway. We'll see.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
Without Suggs, though, it is hard to judge anything. because Suggs really just stirs the drink for them so consistently. The Rockets held off the Bucs in, again, it's the Rockets, so it's a close fourth quarter. But the difference is Jalen Green, I thought, did a really good job of getting under control and taking over down the stretch of the game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
They had a big three to put them up, you know, three or four points. I think it was four points. And then they held off from there. But the Rockets, that's a pretty big win to beat the Bucs. I mean, the Bucs are kind of up and down, but they found their footing here since the deadline. They were five and two coming into this game. So pretty big win for the Rockets. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
What would you think about them last night?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
It had to be. Yeah. Absolutely. That, I mean, it was Luka's debut was probably the one right before that. Yeah. Yeah. The Mavericks in L.A. facing Luka Doncic for the first time. And... The Lakers get the win, 107-99. Luka Doncic records his first triple-double as a Laker, which I believe, I didn't look this up, but I'm guessing because it's such a rare thing.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
What are these guys doing? What did the Hornets do? Honestly, look, the Hornets got beat by the Warriors. So the Warriors, we're not going to talk about them beating the Hornets because it's basically an off night for them. But the Hornets become the first team in NBA history to lose three straight games by 35 or more points.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
They have had an embarrassing stretch since they beat the Lakers their first game out of the All-Star break.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
Listen, I got to ask you, what are they doing right that the Raptors are doing wrong, S?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
Look, we're just going to get through the season healthy. They won the Mark Williams Bowl, though. They did. Never forget. Hang the banner in Charlotte. And finally, I hope you guys took the over in Grizzlies Suns because they did not play any defense. 151 to 148. The Grizzlies, actually, they win the game on, you know, just the Suns just blew it defensively. An inbound pass that leads to a layup.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
At the opposite end of the court. This Suns team is just beyond embarrassing. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
I think his finishing, you know, as you and I, we talked about a little bit in the pre-show, his finishing is not what we're used to from John Morant. I mean, the shooting is never really all that great. And, you know, in this game last night, he gets 14 free throws.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
That's, that's an excellent way to make a living if you're an NBA player, but you know, how much, how much juice is that going to have come playoff time for this team? And this is why I'm not that high on the Grizzlies. I think that they're, they're just kind of sitting there waiting for a first round out. And I think John Moran's part of that problem.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
Could be a playoff matchup. And I think, you know, like,
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
know we'll talk with christian about this after the break but last night's game to me is not indicative of what it would be in a playoff series because i think the mavs are better at full strength than this lakers team but how do you go against davis back and yeah that's a different right question but then how do you bet against luca and lebron i mean this is but that's where i go with with ja and the grizzlies i think the other side does matter quite a bit but ja is just not a guy come playoff time puts a lot of fear in my heart if i'm the opposing team
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
Guys, stick around. After the break, we got Christian Clark live after the Mavericks lose the Luka Bowl. Well, the Mavericks, they're probably disappointed to lose the Luka Bowl, but I think that they're a better team than the Lakers. And here to talk about it, Christian Clark from The Athletic, our Dallas Mavericks beat reporter. Christian, how was the game for you?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
I think he's probably the first guy to record his first triple-double with his new team against his old team. I believe it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
Yeah, it was a lot of fun to be in L.A. for this game. I mean, today was just a scene. I mean, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was sitting courtside eating cotton candy. He had a great cane, by the way. That's what kind of game this was. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was sitting courtside eating cotton candy. So that's what it was like to be there.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
You said when we were talking right here before the show started, you mentioned that you only really got to see Luka play like five times as a Maverick. So how was the sixth time in person seeing Luka Doncic covering him?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
Yeah, I started this job December 9th. He gets hurt on Christmas. The trade is February 2nd. It was great to see him play today. I mean, I'm just a huge fan of his game. I mean, a magician. I don't know if you guys saw the NBA tweet a 51-minute highlight video of Lucas' time with the Mavericks, but I think I watched like 30 minutes of it today when I was just killing time.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka Doncic triple-doubles over Mavericks
He's just a spectacular player. He didn't shoot the ball at all. He didn't shoot the ball well at all today, but I still thought he played a pretty good game. And then the Lakers just defended really well. I mean, they really got the defense cranked up these last 10 games.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
Anthony Davis was with the team on their most recent road trip doing the lightest of shooting possible. And I'm saying he wasn't even leaving his feet on any of his shooting jumpers. I mean, to me, he did not look like a guy who was especially close to being back.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
And I do think it's fair to wonder, does Kyrie's injury impact, you know, AD and if he tries to make a return this year, because at this point it's like, for what? You're going to try to rush back for what?
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
I think they would probably understand it. I mean, it's like, what more can you do? I mean, we were redlining Kyrie and he tore his ACL. I mean, if that's not a sign to just kind of punt, I don't know what is. I mean, it's kind of amazing. I mean, all of this has unfolded in about 10 weeks. On December 23rd, the Mavericks beat the Trailblazers at home. Kyrie and Luka both played in that game.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
They were 19-10. They had a No. 4 offense and a No. 11 defense. Kind of a profile of... They might not have been the favorites to come out of the West. That's probably OKC all year long. But they had a profile of, this can be a contending team. Two days later on Christmas, Luka... Left calf strain. And then they kind of kicks all this off.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
You know, the trade is early February and then this Kyrie thing. And it's like, it's a scenario where in a matter of 10 weeks, it's like you had a great short-term outlook and a great long-term outlook. And now you have neither of those things.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
It's going to be really interesting to see. I mean, Kyrie Irving has a player option for, I think, about $46 million. What kind of deal is he going to sign? Will he align himself contractually with Anthony Davis, who's got two more years after this, plus a player option? Will he just take the most money possible and go for five years? Will he just take the player option?
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
I genuinely don't know at this point.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
And look, that's what people were saying like minutes after they made the trade. It's like, you know, you guys don't want to invest in this guy. And I think, you know, the Athletic has reported they had concerns about Luka's availability long-term. It's like, yeah, but we're building this around two guys with worse injury histories than Luka. You know, Luka...
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
he's in there 65 plus games every single year. I mean, until this year, he'd never missed a double digit amount of games consecutively. I mean, it just didn't make sense in the time. And now it feels like they are almost going to be forced in the situation where it's like, I think, I think they have to pay Kyrie because it's like, I mean, what else do you have in terms of ball handling?
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
I mean, without Luca, it's like, it's,
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
spencer dinwiddie i mean it's um jayden hardy jayden hardy yeah like naji marshall got a start at point guard you know at one point like there's just not like the the creation that you would want uh maybe that's something they can address with the trade this summer but i mean it feels like they got to do something to just add more on ball creation to this roster in time for next year
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
Yeah, from everything I've heard, Dallas has kind of downplayed this KD idea, but I totally get why people see it. I mean, Team Nike, first of all. It's also kind of interesting that right after they made the Luka trade, Kyrie talked about, hey, back in 2018, me, Kevin Durant, and Anthony Davis talked about playing together in Boston. He said, we wanted to be teammates in 2018.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
That was something that Kyrie brought up on his own in the days right after the trade, which I thought was kind of interesting. I guess KD helps you win creator score, but having to hollow out your depth to get there. The Mavericks' medium-sized salary pieces are Daniel Gafford, Klay Thompson, PJ Washington.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
Does that make you better if you are getting rid of these good players in these medium-sized deals and bringing in KD?
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
That was one team he was looking at. You know, I wonder if you gave Klay Thompson truce here, what he's thinking about these past 10 weeks.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I'm sure he was thinking, hey, I'm going to spend my mid to late 30s getting these sweet feeds from Luka Doncic. Like, this is a great basketball situation. I mean, it's like, whoops, you know, you played with him.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
Yeah, I mean, I got to cover Luka for five, six games, and I thought I was signing up for this for the long haul. I mean, look, it's sickening to me to see Luka Doncic in purple and gold. It's like, how did the Lakers... end up with this. And when you just think about the sequence of events that led to this happening, it's like, okay, the Mavericks really wanted Anthony Davis.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
Well, why was Anthony Davis a Laker? Because LeBron James was a Laker. Why was LeBron James a Laker? Just because he wanted to spend the final chapter of his career in Los Angeles. I mean, a lot of this happened.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
I mean, the Mavericks never had to make this trade and I don't think they should have, but a lot of this happened because LeBron James just decided, I just want to spend the last chapter of my career in Los Angeles.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
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The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
Und die Zeit und das Geld, das ich dadurch spare, kann ich anderweitig investieren. Vor allem in Wachstum.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
Yeah, I was sitting super close to the court when it happened. I mean, it was very emotional. He immediately knew something was wrong. He immediately signaled, hey, I need medical attention. It looked like his teammates were going to help him into the tunnel. They kind of wheeled back around. He made those two free throws, and then he left the court.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
They called it a knee sprain, and you could tell right away. It's like, it's probably something worse than a knee sprain. medical imaging, confirmed torn ACL. I think the outlook for this team is when they made the Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis trade, Nico Harrison went on the record and says, look, we've got a three to four year window.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
I don't care about 10 years from now, but we've got three to four years here to contend. And Kyrie Irving's left knee injury not only erases one of those years, it likely erases two of those years from that contention window. You know, this is something that's likely going to impact him into next season if we're talking about a nine to 12 month recovery timeline.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
There's not a good pivot move forward. I mean, it's just go with what you got and try to get the 10 seed. I mean, they got a three and a half game lead over the Suns. I mean, it's a pretty big lead of 20 games to play, but I mean, I could definitely see them getting past at this point. There's just not really any hope for them in the postseason.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
I mean, you know, I think one of the obvious effects of the Luka Doncic trade was this puts an enormous creation load on Kyrie Irving, who's going to turn 33 years old later this month. You know, I think... It's just a lot of responsibility on the court. But I think the other factor was it's a lot of wear and tear on his body too.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
I mean, you know, he's averaging 39 minutes per game in his 10 games before he got hurt. I mean, that's just a huge workload on a guy who's, I mean, obviously a brilliant basketball player, but has not been the most durable guy in his career. He's not the biggest guy either. I mean, Luca was just a tank. Luca was a workhorse.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
I mean, you could just give him the ball, so many possessions and count on him for 70 games every year. And it's like, he's going to be good just because he was so big. I mean, he's built like an SEC tight end. Like Kyrie is not built like that. You know, he's just not been as durable in his career. And I mean, this was beyond unfortunate.
The Athletic NBA Daily
LeBron first to 50k points | Kyrie out for the season
So yeah, I asked Jason Kidd, the Mavericks' first practice after the All-Star break, hey, what's going on with AD? Have you guys ruled out surgery? His answer at the time was, no, we have not ruled out surgery. He said, we're going to give you guys an update on March 6th. So that means on Thursday, we should have an update on Anthony Davis, Daniel Gafford, Derek Lively.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
Look, I think one of the really interesting parts about if they do make the pick is, you know, the Mavericks have like kind of a two to three year window here. I mean, really, if they've got two years, if you look at the age of their stars. So, you know, do they feel like Cooper Flagg can be the third, fourth, fifth best player in a championship team right away?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
I think that's a question that they have to ask themselves. And also, you know, do they want to do this two timeline thing? You know, do they like Nico Harrison to me has not seemed focused on the long term. You know, they don't control their picks 27 to 2030. That's, you know, even with Cooper and you got to retool like those would be really valuable pieces.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
Um, you know, Nico Harrison said at that closed door round table, I've got three years left in my deal. You know, he like, it was kind of like one way to read that was, look, I got three more years left. We're going to try to win a championship. And then who knows after that? I mean, I think, you know, just does this make the Mavs think longterm a little bit more?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
I'm not the most knowledgeable salary cap person in the world. I don't know how difficult it would be to fill out that team if you've got guys on the 55, the 45, the 42 million or whatever it is. But if your goal is to win a championship in the next two to three years...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
I mean, there's an argument to be made that you do, but you can also tell yourself, we could be a championship contender team next season as long as Kyrie Irving looks like Kyrie Irving. That's the big thing. And I still think there are things they've got to go out and do at guard because the Mavericks have one healthy point guard
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
Under contract for next season, he'd be healthy at the start of next season. That's Brandon Williams, who's a two-way guy next year. So, you know, even if they take Cooper Flagg, this team has to do something at guard, you know, to adjust to, I guess, fix like initiation creation.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
I think the funniest outcome would be Nico trading the pick for an underwhelming return. You know, like if he does trade it and he's like, yeah, but we put it on the floor for like Kevin Durant. It's like, we didn't get Giannis, we got Kevin Durant. You know, I mean, that would be the funniest outcome. I hope that doesn't happen because it's not fun dealing with that pissed off fan base all year.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
But that would be the funniest thing Nico could do is like move it for a guy who's got like
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
You know, I've been dealing with a lot of conspiracy theories down here. One that was floating around and that will not die. And it's a ridiculous one is that, hey, you know, ownership. This is a long con to move the team to Vegas.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
They don't want to do that. I mean, it's like the fourth biggest media market in the United States. there's just going to be expansion teams, you know, like I'm sure the other owners want to get that big old check that comes with an expansion team. Like it's not going to, it's not going to happen.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
And you know, a team that has won a championship here fairly recently in the fourth biggest media market, it's not going to get uprooted, but I've been dealing with that one and that one's not dying. Um, Look, I get why people want to have fun with it. You know, I obviously don't believe it. The NBA just works this way.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
I mean, look, I covered a Pelicans team that had a 6% chance of the number one pick in 2019, and they hit on that and got Zion Williamson. I mean... This is just, I mean, the flattened odds have made it a little crazier, and I kind of like it.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
Sometimes it's not about justice and what's right.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
They do say that, the basketball gods work in mysterious ways.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
If you make the choice to go out in the wilderness, you might be out in the wilderness for a long, long time. Absolutely.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
There is, there's a lot going on at the Clark household right now. A lot going on personally, a lot going on with this team. I mean, look, maybe this, this helps. Maybe this goes a long way towards this incense fan base. I mean, I was just dreading having to cover this team at the start of next season here in the fire, Nico stuff, just dealing with anger from like day one of next season.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
And, and maybe just, maybe this helps with that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
I feel like that's at least a legitimate question. Do they move this pick? Because if you look at Milwaukee, it's like, hey, Cooper Flagg, under team control for seven or eight years. That's got to be attractive. I think if I had to make a prediction today, I think the Mavericks just make this pick. I think Cooper Flagg is good enough to contribute to winning right away.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
I mean, you know, he does it on both ends of the floor, which you know is important to Nico Harrison. Defense does win championships. Defense wins championships. I mean, Cooper Flagg, like dog, two-way player, gets after a defense, plays hard. Like he definitely, he seems like a Nico Harrison Mavericks style player to me.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Mavs Get Cooper Flagg, Tatum Injured + Where Will Giannis Go?
I mean, he seems like a, he seems to get Nico Harrison guy, except for one thing, the new balance, new balance.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Better future: Kings or Bulls? + Mavs move on
Hallo, etwas Glück to go bitte.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Better future: Kings or Bulls? + Mavs move on
Hallo, etwas Glück to go bitte.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s emotional return to Dallas
That's exactly right. I mean, look, the Mavericks shortened their title contention window when they traded Luka. And they're like, look, we got two, three, maybe four chances at that. I mean, when Kyrie went down, that automatically erased their chance this year. That maybe erases their chances next year, depending on how you look at that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s emotional return to Dallas
I mean, that's two of the three or four chances that they had right there. I mean, that's... Huge gut punch. I mean, they just you're right. They don't have enough to compete right now. I mean, they they tried starting like Najee Marshall, basically a lead guard, and he played really well. Yeah, but that's that's the place they're at. You know, it's like we don't have Kyrie.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s emotional return to Dallas
We're already really dependent on him. Like they've just got to they've just got to try stuff like that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s emotional return to Dallas
Yeah. I mean, they needed Kyrie to like carry a huge load in terms of just the half court offense.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s emotional return to Dallas
Christian, I want to ask you about the behind the scenes of this whole situation, because I imagine much like myself, there are a lot of people wondering how in the world Luka Doncic is a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. I mean, it's two months in and I'm still surprised. And, you know, there's been reporting. Obviously, you've reported it as well, that there's
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s emotional return to Dallas
That's one of those games where you look back on five years from now and say, where were you when you watched Luca return to Dallas? Because it just it felt like one of those hardwood classic type of moments to watch.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s emotional return to Dallas
Obviously, a behind the scenes situation between Mark Cuban and the now president of operations and Patrick Dumont, Nico Harrison. How does that play into this decision to trade Luka Doncic and how that all unfolded?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s emotional return to Dallas
Yeah, I mean, Mark Cuban hired Nico Harrison to compliment him in terms of making basketball decisions in 2021. But the power dynamics of this organization changed in December 2023 when Mark Cuban had to sell. I mean, when Mark Cuban sold his team to Miriam Alderson, you know, he said, hey, look, I'm still going to have a lot of influence over basketball decisions.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s emotional return to Dallas
But that's not what happened in reality. You know, I mean, Patrick Dumont is this team's governor. And Patrick Dumont listens to Nico Harrison on basketball decisions. I mean, this was always a Nico Harrison decision. And the sale of the team just created a situation where suddenly Nico had all the juice. Yeah.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s emotional return to Dallas
I don't really view it as a money thing. I mean, Mary Maddison is worth like $32 billion, and I think they're still even in the luxury tax right now. Sure. I think it's more just an experience thing, and I think what you brought up is Patrick Dumont's first experience running this team was, oh my gosh, Nico Harrison makes trades for P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s emotional return to Dallas
The reaction nationally to that is mixed, and it turns out they're great trades. These trades help us go to the NBA Finals. So one of the first... really key piece of information he gets about Nico Harrison's decision making is, oh, wow, this guy can really read the board. You know, he really sees the board correctly. So, of course, I'm going to trust this guy.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s emotional return to Dallas
We got to the finals in my first year owning this team. And, you know, I think Nico Harrison has made a lot of good moves as Mavericks GM. It's just this is a situation where it's like, Don't do it like this. And if you're going to do this, you have to get everything. And they didn't get everything.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s emotional return to Dallas
You know, you got to get Reeves connect multiple first round picks like they didn't even come close.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s emotional return to Dallas
You can make a lot of good moves. But then if you trade Babe Ruth, like it's a different story. Right. I mean, look, I know there there was that quote from Jason Kidd. What was said postgame or what's the feeling like after the game? You know, from the Mavericks perspective after this, it was just a very bizarre and awesome basketball game from the Lakers.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s emotional return to Dallas
Yeah, I would say two things mostly. That was the messaging from the Mavericks. Number one, huge respect to Luka. I mean, Jason Kidd said you have to tip your hat to him. There was a moment after the game where Anthony Davis and Luka Doncic hugged at midcourt that I thought was a cool moment.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s emotional return to Dallas
You know, right after that game, I asked AD about it in the locker room afterwards, and he was basically like... Yes, we kind of did go through similar things that neither of us asked for this, but really it was a respect thing. I just think that greatness respects greatness, and that was kind of what that was about. And there was frustration, too.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s emotional return to Dallas
I mean, I asked Anthony Davis about the Fire Nico stuff, and he was just like, I just don't want to comment on that. Jason Kidd got asked, how does this fan base move past this? And it was kind of an interesting answer. So a lot of respect to Luca and... I think, frustration. And what can you even say after you trade this guy and he has 45 points? I mean, what can you say?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s emotional return to Dallas
arena i think i've ever experienced in the sense that the away fan base was cheering for a player when he caught the ball you usually see boos when a player catches the ball i've never seen that never seen the number of the number of luca lakers jerseys i think spoke yeah spoke volumes i mean when it it looked like a laker home game when in some of those tight shots on tv and i think that
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s emotional return to Dallas
Yeah, when you ask Jason Kidd and Nico that question, I mean, how do you guys come back from this? How do you repair this? They say winning, and you can kind of quibble with that. It's like this is almost deeper than winning. But I think of just how to move forward. You know Kyrie's going to miss significant time next season. They have to do something just to address offensive initiation.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s emotional return to Dallas
And I think there are big moves you could look at. I think there are medium-sized moves you could look at. I mean, they're already all in, and it's almost like, You, you almost have to go more all in. I mean, they don't control the draft picks 27 through 2030, all those years, but it's almost a situation where it's like, we're already all in.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s emotional return to Dallas
We just have to, we have to push more chips in and just hope. And they have to do something to address the, the creation and like, you know, half court offense. Yes.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s emotional return to Dallas
I, first of all, love the fact that they played everybody in the back-to-back. They played OKC last night, everybody played, and they played everybody tonight against Dallas. And I thought that was a big indication of how we're trying to prep for the rest of this season and the postseason. They are ready to play. And on top of that, I think the fact that
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s emotional return to Dallas
They lost the lead in the fourth quarter and found a way to recalibrate. LeBron took over, had some huge possessions in that fourth quarter, got a couple of and ones, made a few defensive stops. They leaned onto their small ball lineup. And I think that's going to be their calling card. You look at that lineup with LeBron James, with Austin Reeves, Dorian Finney-Smith, Rui Hachimura.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s emotional return to Dallas
They have a lot of functional size with that group, and they just dominate every time they put it out there. It's awesome.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s emotional return to Dallas
Yeah, took on Shang-Goon against the Rockets that one time.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s emotional return to Dallas
They won those minutes by 30 points. They played 18 minutes together, that starting five, or that small ball unit. They won them by 30 points tonight. They had a 78 in that rate. Like, it was just... Well, Anthony Davis is a four, right?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s emotional return to Dallas
Yeah, no, shout out to Harrison Barnes. You actually saw him when he fouled Draymond. He did the, yeah, that's all right with me.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s emotional return to Dallas
He had the little nod. And so it's cool because of the history that Harrison Barnes has with the Warriors. It kind of gets revenge in a tough situation for them. This, like you said, is a must win for Golden State. They now move to seventh in the Western Conference. Things are always fluid, but it just puts them on uneven ground a little bit when it comes to that play-in.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s emotional return to Dallas
And we've talked about how important it is for them to not be in the play-in tournament. They can't do it. Miss a week, get a week off, give Steph Curry's knees some rest. And now this puts that in danger.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s emotional return to Dallas
Do you remember when the Spurs beat the Nuggets last year and it kind of ruined the Nuggets' chances of winning the West? And now the Warriors lose to the Spurs and might ruin their chances of getting a top six spot.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s emotional return to Dallas
Yeah. He's just he's the player coach at this point. He's going to do the whole thing where. Yeah. I mean, look, I could see it. It's not a bad idea. And Adelman is more of just a consultant at this point for what they want to do. Look, I think one of the more interesting things that I saw from the Nuggets was and look, no Jamal Murray here. So this is a caveat to all this thing. But.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s emotional return to Dallas
More Jalen Pickett than Russell Westbrook. A lot of Jalen Pickett. And I actually kind of like Jalen Pickett's game. Good defender, can knock down a shot, especially tonight. He did a good job. But Russell Westbrook ended up playing 16 minutes in this game. And he played 25 in their last game, 19 in the one before that. Seems like his minutes are going down.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s emotional return to Dallas
I don't know if that's necessarily a coaching decision or just he was having a bad game tonight and they decided to go a different direction. But I do like what Jalen Pickett provides for this team. And maybe that's the directive from the front office. Play these young guys more to give them opportunity to get some money.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s emotional return to Dallas
Yeah, it's kind of like a scientific formula. You're trying to find the perfect balance to be able to get the right amount of Russ in any single game. He'll be able to give you 25 on a random night, but how are you going to punch in for the 15 minutes that you're on the floor? That's the next phase for Russ and this Nuggets team, for sure.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s emotional return to Dallas
Hey, by the way, OKC locked up home court advantage throughout the playoffs with a win over the Suns today, which is massive.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s emotional return to Dallas
It was really emotional seeing Luca react to the tribute video. I mean, I got emotional watching it because it did feel like he wanted to be a Maverick for the rest of his career to live in Dallas for the rest of his life type of thing. And you could see in that moment sort of a bit of closure from him.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s emotional return to Dallas
Yeah, a mixture of love and hate. I would say that the love outweighed the hate. It was a lot of love for Luka Doncic as soon as he stepped on the court. I thought it was a cool little moment. The Lakers took the floor for warm-ups, and he comes in and he just banks the shot off the shot clock, like shoots it. 10 feet above the basket, and it just drops in.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s emotional return to Dallas
It was like a little moment of Luka magic. I mean, he was just on the entire night, 31 in the first half. I mean, anytime he touched the ball, the crowd loved it. And then, yeah, the hate, I mean, really just directed towards one person, you know, Nico Harrison, who made this trade. I would say overall, fun night. I mean, I would say overall... like more positive than negative.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s emotional return to Dallas
Well, I was surprised that they did a tribute video in the first place. I'm not necessarily surprised that they did it because I knew it was expected, but it was a sort of damned if you do, damned if you don't type of situation from the Mavericks after the last couple of months of, you know, kind of conversation around why they traded him. What was the reasoning? Was it out of shape?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s emotional return to Dallas
All that type of stuff that kind of went around. And you see the emotion there. on Luka during that tribute video. And to me, I was like, oh man, what response are we going to get from Luka Doncic with the amount of emotion that he's showing 25 seconds before we do tip off? So I was surprised that he jumped out to such an incredible start. Christian, from your perspective,
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s emotional return to Dallas
understanding that this is over and this is just part of the chapter move on and now i'm gonna drop 45 points on you guys like that's i thought the way that he kind of channeled that energy into the game especially in the first half he dropped 31 points it was electric it was i honestly think
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s emotional return to Dallas
Do you feel like this was made to be a moment for Luka? You know, the thank you shirts, everything that you saw. Like, was this the Mavericks organization trying their best to maybe mend ties with Luka Doncic?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s emotional return to Dallas
Yeah, there's no question about it. I think the organization realized that their messaging was really bad right after the Luka Doncic trade. It's like, however you actually feel about him, the reasons for this trade, he still led you to the finals and won a ton and had this genuine connection with the fan base.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s emotional return to Dallas
I mean, they, I think, correctly decided, we need to change our messaging and we need to show appreciation for this guy, which he absolutely deserves. And he was super emotional before the game. I mean, that was a beautiful moment with...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Luka’s emotional return to Dallas
him tears well in his eyes when he was watching that tribute video and then he was able to to stay really even keel during the game i mean the night before in oklahoma city you know got in a yelling match with the fan got ejected you know emotions his emotions sometimes run too hot but i thought he did a really good job of just you know staying even killed i mean there was definitely some talking like he was saying some stuff to the bench in the second half but he stayed pretty even and i mean he was just unbelievable the step back three is working
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
I mean, the fans cheered Anthony Davis loudly. The Mavericks got off to a good start, which I think I mean, my general take on it is that I think the fans are going to be OK if they win a lot. And if they don't, I don't think they are. Like, I think if yesterday had gone differently and they've lost by 15 points, it could have gotten ugly in there.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
So I think a lot of this is going to be dictated by by what happens on the court. And I will say this, too. I think they took kind of subtle measures to. to help nudge like fan sentiment towards positivity yesterday. Like they weren't paying to the crowd at any point in the game because they didn't want people to get riled up, I guess. So there was subtle things they did.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
I think they're also, you know, taking signs when people were coming in. So there were steps taken to like tamp down some of that stuff.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
Yeah, Anthony Davis was fantastic when he was actually on the court. I mean, I think the most revealing statistic number from that game was 18 blocks. That was a franchise record for blocks. Literally game one of Anthony Davis at power forward and Daniel Gafford at center. I mean, they made this move because they wanted to be an elite defensive team.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
I think you have to view this through the context of the 2019-20 Lakers. Anthony Davis played a lot of power forward that season. Jason Kidd was an assistant coach on that team. That team was more defensive-oriented than offensive-oriented, and that was why they were able to win the title that season. AD was incredible on both ends of the floor. You totally saw the vision defensively.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
And then with like a little less than two minutes remaining in third quarter, he has to come out and he never returns. They officially listed him as doubtful. He talked after the game and insisted it was nothing serious.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
I mean, I'm going to closely be watching the injury report tonight because AD missed five games in a row before he made his Mavericks debut with what they said was an abdominal strain. I know what he said, but I'm still watching the injury report to see what happens.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
Yeah, totally. I think, you know, I think he's pretty OK with coming to Dallas. I mean, I think it's like a market he's comfortable in. He's got a he's got a friendship with Kyrie Irving. You know, Kyrie Irving said during the road trip that he Anthony Davis and Kevin Durant actually talked about playing together back in 2018.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
So, you know, the idea of Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis playing together is not anything that's that's new at all. But to your point, I mean, not only is Luka Doncic six years younger than Anthony Davis, he's got a better track record of actually being available on the court. I mean, you know, an older guy and a guy who misses a lot more time.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
I mean, that's part of the reason the reaction was what it was.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
Yeah. He's, he's put together three really nice games with what the Mavericks, I think he's going to turn 22 years old, you know, later this week. So he's been awesome. I mean, he was, he was in his starting role with the Lakers before he got traded. I mean, seems like, like a super bright young guy. I totally get why the Mavericks wanted him in this trade.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
You know, I think one of the things you heard immediately after they made the Luka trade and got back AD, Max Christie was like, they got too many guards, you know, and they're probably going to make another move for the deadline. And that's what they ended up doing. Trading Quentin Grimes, who's going to be a restricted free agent this summer and getting back Caleb Barton.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
You know, I think Max Christie being brought in here and Dante Exum getting healthy, kind of set the stage for that Quentin Grimes trade. But yeah, Max Christie's a really nice player. And I mean, not even 22 years old yet.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
I think you're getting at one of the most important questions or concerns with this trade. You know, moving on from Luca puts an enormous creation load on Kyrie Irving, who's going to turn 33 years old in March. He's been honest that he's dealing with a bulging disc in his back. I mean, he's really... The drop-off between Kyrie and the Mavericks' next best guard creator is massive now.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
Jason Kidd likened Luka Dutchess and Kyrie Irving to quarterbacks. The Mavericks had this two-quarterback offense. Well, the difference between QB1 and QB2 now is enormous. And I think that's got to be scary and a little bit of concern for the Mavericks. And I think when you look ahead to the playoffs, it's like... Okay, let's say they play the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
I mean, it's 48 minutes of Lou Dort, Alex Caruso, Jason Wallace, on Kyrie Irving, who's 6'1", 180 pounds, if we're being real about it. I mean, that's a huge ask for him. You know, like... I think there's going to be a lot of comparisons between this Mavericks team and the 2019-20 Lakers. They played two bigs. I mean, Kyrie is really in that LeBron creator role.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
It was LeBron plus guys who could really defend on the perimeter plus those two bigs. Kyrie is the LeBron on this team, and how's that going to go?
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
Yeah, so, you know, I think I watched Luca play 10, 11 games since I started this job. The Mavericks were playing really well going into Christmas Day. I think they'd won 14 of 16. You know, I was looking at that. I was like, OK, top 11 in offense and defense.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
you know they're they're winning a lot like they look like you know they could be one of those teams they that's in contention at the end again you know maybe oklahoma city thunder like the favorites in the west but like they're right there at least and then luca strains his calf on christmas day you know it gets kind of quiet about his return and then boom middle of the night during this five game road trip the mavericks trade him the guy who has the second highest postseason scoring average in nba history the only guy ahead of him is michael jordan
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
Yeah, I think with hindsight, there were maybe some signs of tension. I mean, there just wasn't a whole lot being said about when Luka was going to come back from the calf injury. I mean, people just... They weren't saying the stuff you would expect when it's like, yeah, our superstar player is going to be back in the lineup soon. But I'm going to be honest.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
No, it caught me completely by surprise. I mean...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
the day that they made the trade you know i woke up that morning and wrote like 1200 words about hey some backup centers some some wings who could defend three fours like those could be potential acquisitions at the trade deadline um you know filed that had dinner i was getting ready to go to bed and then they traded luka donchich so wow no i mean i think the the circle people who knew was coming was was really small and i mean i was i was shocked
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
Yeah, so the Mavericks have this afternoon game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. This is, you know, like 12 hours after the Luca trade actually happens. You know, Jason Kidd is going to talk like an hour and a half before the game, and Nico Harrison joins him, and he talks to the media that was there in Cleveland. Just a weird mood. You know, I...
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
Man, I mean, you know, Nico said at the time, hey, he seemed to confirm, at least that was my reading of it, the only team he talked to was Los Angeles Lakers. I think our colleagues at The Athletic have since reported that there was, you know, at least one other team he talked to. Right, right.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
he also talked about, you know, meeting with Rob Belinka, um, you know, about three, four weeks before the trade went through and kind of how that happened. They, you know, the Lakers were in town playing the Mavericks and they, they met at a coffee shop and, and Nico said, Hey, look, you know, what, what would you think about this? Um,
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
And, you know, it was kind of kept between Rob Lincoln, Jeannie Boss and and Nico Harrison and Patrick Dumas. You know, I think there are probably a few others who knew about it. I mean, I thought one of the more telling comments was Nico Harrison to Patrick Dumas. The Mavericks governor laughed when he was first presented with the trade scenario.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
I mean, imagine taking a potential trade to your to your owner and the owner laughing.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
Yeah, Patrick Dumont, who's Maverick's governor, Miriam Ollison's son-in-law. He did an interview with the Dallas Morning News. And he basically said, yeah, we don't want guys here who are going to go on vacation. He used the word vacation in that interview. He talked about great players with... His take was that these guys had an incredible work ethic. One of those guys was Shaquille O'Neal.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
That was kind of interesting. Here was my reading of what Patrick Dumont said. I think he was publicly trying to show he was in lockstep with Nico Harrison. And my read on the situation is that Patrick Dumont trusts his basketball people to make decisions. Patrick Dumont is just not going to meddle. And the context here is,
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
The two trade deadlines before this one, Nico Harrison made moves where publicly I don't know that they had 100 percent approval rating. Right. He traded for Kyrie Irving two years ago. The public opinion at the time was like Kyrie Irving. I mean, you know, his his stint with the Brooklyn Nets was a disaster. This will never work out. And that actually worked out last year.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
He sends first round picks out for P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford. I don't know if the public reaction to that was as negative, but like there was definitely some people looking at it with the skeptical eye. And what happened? Well, the Mavericks catch fire after they make those trades. They end up going all the way to the NBA finals.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
So the two trade deadlines before this one, Nico Harrison made moves where the public was like, I don't know about this. And they really worked out. You know, I think this time it's like he's taking this to Patrick Dubon and it's like, look, I've made these moves where people were unsure about them. They've really worked out. I want to do this one. And I think Patrick Dubon just just trusted him.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
He's just not a he's not a guy with a basketball background.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
Yeah, I think ESPN reported that Nico Harrison received death threats over the Luka Doncic trade. I was out there outside the Dirk statue watching the protest. I did not come away with that thinking it was scary. I mean, it was 100 Mavericks fans. They weren't happy. Obviously, their chin. Sell the team. Fire Nico. We love Luka. Things like that.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Davis’ roller coaster debut | Jimmy Butler cooks with Curry
But I did not look at that and was like, this was scary. I was never for a moment yesterday like, oh my gosh, I'm worried for my own safety or there's something that might happen. I mean, there was a police presence out there. They had like a, you know, a canine dog which can sniff for drugs or bombs or whatever. And the mood inside the building was not really that negative at all.