Luka Dončić was a member of the Dallas Mavericks less than a month ago. The widespread presumption at the time was that he would remain one for the foreseeable future, perhaps even the rest of his career. It was a bit of a shock, from that perspective, to see him play against those Mavericks — and defeat them, 107-99 — on Tuesday as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving summed up the situation effectively in three words after the game: “awkward as s—.”
That awkwardness permeated throughout the entire arena. How often, for example, do you hear an opposing general manager praised in a road arena? That happened on Tuesday, as Lakers fans reportedly yelled “thank you Nico” during a timeout as Mavericks GM Nico Harrison, the controversial architect of the trade, looked on from the stands.
Luka Dončić posts first triple-double with Lakers as L.A. tops Mavericks in first meeting since trade
Sam Quinn
Those same fans showered love on the player they traded away to get Dončić, Anthony Davis, during a tribute shown by the Lakers. The entire evening was surreal.
That was true, most of all, for Dončić himself. “Sometimes I didn’t know what I was doing,” he told reporters after posting his first triple-double as a member of the Lakers. The game was just his fifth in purple and gold, and the shock of the move is still settling in for him as he adjusts to his new team.
“The closure’s gonna take a while, I think,” he added. “You know, it’s not ideal. But like I said, I’m glad this game is over. You know, there’s a lot of emotions. But we go little by little, and every day is better.”
Until recently, Dončić expected to re-sign with the Mavericks on a super-max deal and perhaps even remain in Dallas for the rest of his career. He was instead dealt in perhaps the single most surprising trade in NBA history and now is part of a team that was so eager and surprised to get him that it is still very much figuring out how to use him. All of this is going to take time. He’s going to need to get into shape and get acclimated in Los Angeles and work with the Lakers to put the right players around him going forward.
But the early returns are promising. The Lakers are 35-21 and tied for the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference. The Mavericks, meanwhile, have fallen to No. 9 in the West after reaching the NBA Finals with Dončić a year ago.
He may still be adjusting to Los Angeles, but at least for the time being, he has seemingly found himself in a better situation.
