The top brass slowly pushed Luka Doncic out of the Dallas Mavericks, eventually trading him to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Nearly five months have passed since the Dallas Mavericks shockingly traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. The decision has been criticized a plethora of times.
However, Mavs general manager Nico Harrison has always defended his decision, claiming he has no regrets over trading Doncic.
Harrison may stay firm on that stance, but as usual, it was once again proven that the Mavericks made a mistake by trading Doncic.
In January 2025, the Mavs left for their longest road trip of the season. However, Doncic wasn’t on the roster.
Why? Doncic was recovering from a left calf injury that he suffered during the NBA’s Christmas Day game. According to an April 2025 report by The Athletic, this was the final straw for Mavs executives.
“Harrison had doubts about the wisdom of investing in the 26-year-old Doncic long-term, according to multiple team and league sources, and the decision to skip the trip reiterated what Harrison already believed: The Mavericks would be better off without him,” The Athletic reported.
Well, as we know it, the Mavericks indeed traded him to the Lakers in exchange for a trade package around Anthony Davis.
But fast forward to right now, and Doncic’s decision to skip the road trip may have saved him from a season-ending injury.
Tyrese Haliburton’s sensational 2025 postseason reached an abrupt end as the Indiana Pacers star suffered a terrible Achilles tear injury in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
Even the LA Lakers’ LeBron James was in disbelief over Hali’s injury. Haliburton will likely miss the entire 2025-26 NBA season as he recovers from one of the most horrific basketball injuries.
This was likely a result of the 2x NBA All-Star pushing himself through a Game 5 calf injury. Despite going down, Haliburton not only completed Game 5, but he also featured in the Pacers’ Game 6 win over the OKC Thunder.
While Hali’s efforts helped Indy push the series to a Game 7, he will now be sidelined for the longest period of his career.
In hindsight, this once again proves that Doncic was right to sit out for an extended period due to a calf injury. The Mavs should have trusted their cornerstone superstar, but the franchise backstabbed him after more than five years of unmatched loyalty.
As Victor Oladipo recently suggested, organizations need to take better care of their superstars rather than forcing them to push through insane injuries and ultimately shortening their NBA careers.
