This Luka Doncic trade fallout has more layers than that bean dip you buy for Super Bowl Sunday. Since Dallas Mavs executive Nico Harrison shipped Luka Doncic to Los Angeles for Anthony Davis, more details have leaked about other options he considered. Specifically, the fact that Harrison reached out to the Minnesota Timberwolves about Anthony Edwards and was immediately shut down.
Apparently, Minnesota’s front office couldn’t believe such a deal was even proposed like the rest of us, as Sam Amick of The Athletic ($) reported on Friday.
"League sources tell The Athletic that the Mavericks and Timberwolves informally discussed the prospect of swapping Dončić for 23-year-old, three-time All-Star Anthony Edwards in the weeks before the Lakers deal went down. More specifically, Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison reached out to the Timberwolves and asked if there was any chance, they’d be willing to trade Edwards. He was promptly told no. The Timberwolves, league sources say, were stunned that Dallas was contemplating parting ways with Dončić."
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Nico Harrison's incompetence only grows after reported failed Luka Doncic-Anthony Edwards trade
Maybe Harrison just had to have a player named Anthony as the headliner for his team. Had the Lakers deal not worked out; would he have talked Carmelo Anthony out of retirement? But seriously, this whole debacle only confirms how insane Harrison and Mavs owner Patrick Dumont are for going through with this trade.
Speaking of which, Dumont isn’t getting enough blame for this travesty. He’s been booed by fans but also had to give final approval for this player swap and could have nixed it. He decided to trust Harrison’s judgment and go through with it. For that, Dumont deserves just as much blame as anyone in this scenario.
What the dynamic front office duo of Harrison & Dumont have done is set their franchise back. It’ll be a long time before they even sniff an NBA Finals let alone appear in one like they did last June. Had the Timberwolves not been caught off guard by Harrison’s proposal, they may have thought a little harder about it. They may still have declined but their initial response in quickly shutting down any talks speaks to how absurd the idea was from the start.
Good luck to all the Mavs fans. You’re going to need it.