Nico Harrison will never live down the Luka Dončić trade.
If you want proof, look no further than the reaction to the Micah Parsons trade.
When the Dallas Cowboys traded Parsons to the Green Bay Packers last week for Kenny Clarke and two first-round picks, it was devastating for Dallas fans.
Yet over and over again, the Luka trade was referenced, whether to illustrate that the Parsons trade still wasn’t as bad as the Luka trade, or to point out the combination of (or)deals that Dallas fans have suffered through in the last seven months.
The Parsons trade was painful, but was also a doorway to an even more painful departure (if they were Mavericks fans). The Parsons trade was mocked, but led to more jokes about the Luka trade. It’s a cycle that was perpetuated, serving as proof that this issue will not go away.
The Trade, as it has come to be known, will not go away, not in a year, not in 10 years. It will burn and spread its ash over every Dallas sports fan for decades.
To add to the destruction it wreaked on the Dallas sports landscape, there’s an opportunity cost.
Cowboys fans will never abandon their team because the NFL creates loyalty unlike any other sports league in America. However, with the team’s continued decline and the growing despondency over Jerry Jones’ handling of this situation and others, the Mavericks could have become The Dallas Team with Luka.
The Mavericks could have become the best sports team in Dallas
Dončić was the drafted superstar who instantly garnered loyalty for his greatness. He was the guy that fans went to bat for, who battled online for MVPs for, who sparked fevered discussions of his being the Best in the World without having won a title.
This was what Harrison truly missed in trading Dončić: not just the basketball element and how great Dončić is, no matter his conditioning issues, but the cultural importance to his fanbase. Fans prefer to win with homegrown stars instead of mercenaries.
If they can’t win with the Favorite Son, then sure, they’ll take it. But he presented a binary alternative in taking “defense wins championships” with aging, injury-prone Anthony Davis over a player that fans loved, named their pets and kids after, and who sparked their joy.
When the Eagles take the field vs. the Cowboys on Thursday night after celebrating their latest championship, that will hurt Cowboys fans. If the Packers win the title with Parsons, that will be another dagger in the heart.
But if the Lakers raise the banner next season with Luka smiling, teary-eyed? That’s a dagger that will stay with fans forever.
Dallas sports fans have watched two generational talents leave their teams by their teams’ own assent in the last seven months.
Watching the Mavericks and Luka vie for the title could have been a soothing balm after the disappointment of losing Parsons in the fall. Instead, Luka and Parsons now are tied forever as two iconic stars their fans will never forgive their teams for letting go.