Luka Dealt to Lakers: Nico Harrison is a Basketball Terrorist

[LukaMVP]

give Christie a more significant role on this team and he can also put up good numbers imho. glad to see luka back in form. Christie may not be as good a play maker and a scorer as luka, but in Christie we have a younger two way player who doesn't demand supermax. Nico was an idiot to make this trade but Christie will gradually mitigate people's anger at this trade as he plays better and better.

[nicholasthefan]

give Christie a more significant role on this team and he can also put up good numbers imho. glad to see luka back in form. Christie may not be as good a play maker and a scorer as luka, but in Christie we have a younger two way player who doesn't demand supermax. Nico was an idiot to make this trade but Christie will gradually mitigate people's anger at this trade as he plays better and better.

I agree that he has been a bright spot so far after the trade, but trying to compare him to Luka in any way shape or form is unfair to both of them.

[audiosway]

I'm very happy to see that he's finally getting it back. I'm in a weird spot right now where I can enjoy watching Luka play but still like the team in Dallas. I didn't think I could get there.

I love defense though. Offense is fun to watch but there is nothing like watching a team impose their will on another team. I love that PJ will grab the ball in mid air after a whistle to make sure the opposing player can't see the ball go in even if it doesn't count. Watching the frustration of an offensive minded player struggle to score on your team is just fun to me.

Then again, I grew up watching Larry Bird's Celtics. I watched them for Larry's entire career. After he retired I got out of watching for a while. It wasn't until I was living in Dallas and they drafted this lanky German kid that I enjoyed watching basketball again.

[SleepingHero]

Are we really going to start comparing Christie to Luka....?

I mean at their respective ages, Luka was averaging 28/8/9 and took the Kawhi Clips to 7 games with KP intentionally trying to lose all the while averaging 36/8/10.

Meanwhile we're happy Christie has hit 15 points in each game he's played thus far.

There's no mitigating this disaster. We're at bedrock. Not trying to be rude or crass. It's just the situation. There are no silver linings to this.

[audiosway]

Are we really going to start comparing Christie to Luka....?

I mean at their respective ages, Luka was averaging 28/8/9 and took the Kawhi Clips to 7 games with KP intentionally trying to lose all the while averaging 36/8/10.

Meanwhile we're happy Christie has hit 15 points in each game he's played thus far.

There's no mitigating this disaster. We're at bedrock. Not trying to be rude or crass. It's just the situation. There are no silver linings to this.

I think Christie can be a 22-24 ppg starter that is a high performing defender. To me, that's his ceiling. The kind of guy that makes an all star game once or twice in his career but is a very solid fan favorite/lower tier star. His floor to me is a 2 way player 3&D that averages 20 ppg as a starter.

Luka is an offensive generational talent. I agree with you there.

[burekemde]

A great game from Luka, like we all knew was coming. But he also went 8/8 from the FT line, and only turned it over once. Gonna be a long time we have to live with this. A long, long time.

The Hawks, Kings, Suns fans are regretting it still and probably will for life for passing him. Their GMs are all fired. I never thought in a million years that Mavericks were going to regret it as well.

[LukaMVP]

I never tried to justify the luka trade or to exonerate Nico the cocksucker, what I want to do is appreciate the good youngster the trade brought and give him the admiration and support he deserves. luka when healthy and fit is one of the best players to have ever played this game, and I do wish him the best even though he's no longer a mav. moving to LA and playing with Bron for a few years will only turn out to be good for his career in the long run imho. Christie was a second round pick while luka was drafted no.3 overall so it's safe to say luka has a much higher starting point, Christie may not be as talented but it doesn't deny him the chance to be a great player given his work ethic imho.

[loki]

The purple jersey gave Luka his power back. Keep that ugly yellow off him.

[hakeemfaan]

I never tried to justify the luka trade or to exonerate Nico the cocksucker, what I want to do is appreciate the good youngster the trade brought and give him the admiration and support he deserves. luka when healthy and fit is one of the best players to have ever played this game, and I do wish him the best even though he's no longer a mav. moving to LA and playing with Bron for a few years will only turn out to be good for his career in the long run imho. Christie was a second round pick while luka was drafted no.3 overall so it's safe to say luka has a much higher starting point, Christie may not be as talented but it doesn't deny him the chance to be a great player given his work ethic imho.

You mentioned the anger towards Nico will lessen as Christie keeps improving. That won’t happen for me or for a lot of fans.  As others have said, Nico has lost the trust of fans by showing how terrible a negotiator he is. Trade Luka or not can be argued back and forth, but there is no debate to me in even trying to remotely justify the haul that came back. 

I said after that first day of anger subsided, that I realized I can never support another team. I will always support players who are playing for us fans of their team. I will not betray the team like Nico and Dumont betrayed the fans. 

At the same time, Nico has to go for any real healing to begin. 

Dumont is another story. The cherry on the cake would be the Adelsons selling the team but I wished for a long time for Cuban to sell and look what I got.  It would at least start accelerating the healing more with Dumont firing Nico and saying he was fed bad info by Nico and apologizing to the fans

[Winter]

There may be a distinction between Nico's decision being justified and Nico's decision being forgiven.

[Smitty]

The purple jersey gave Luka his power back. Keep that ugly yellow off him.

Funny you say that. The first thing I noticed when I flipped to the game is that the jersey color made Luka look slimmer. The yellow doesn’t do him any favors.

[hakeemfaan]

There may be a distinction between Nico's decision being justified and Nico's decision being forgiven.

You are repeating what I wrote. 

Most here can understand if the organization was internally starting to have doubts about Luka and wanted to move on. There is however no justification for how they went about this and what they got back.  Nothing annoyed me more on this thread than a couple of posts that actually tried to spin how this was the best way they could have gone about it and any other way might have resulted in less. Give me a break. If that is the case then just let him make the call and walk out on his own. At least the fans don’t have the sinking feeling every time we watch him that the team gave him up to a hated rival for pennies on the dollar when the player himself had never expressed a desire to move. 

Nico has to go.

[ballsrchr]

You mentioned the anger towards Nico will lessen as Christie keeps improving. That won’t happen for me or for a lot of fans.  As others have said, Nico has lost the trust of fans by showing how terrible a negotiator he is. Trade Luka or not can be argued back and forth, but there is no debate to me in even trying to remotely justify the haul that came back. 

I said after that first day of anger subsided, that I realized I can never support another team. I will always support players who are playing for us fans of their team. I will not betray the team like Nico and Dumont betrayed the fans. 

At the same time, Nico has to go for any real healing to begin. 

Dumont is another story. The cherry on the cake would be the Adelsons selling the team but I wished for a long time for Cuban to sell and look what I got.  It would at least start accelerating the healing more with Dumont firing Nico and saying he was fed bad info by Nico and apologizing to the fans

Yeah...my anger toward Nico specifically, Dumont incidentally, and the Mavs organization triennially, still smolders strongly.  I will accept the trade eventually from the organization--maybe I already have...I'm conflicted.  But Nico and Dumont--no...not till hell freezes over.

As for the team...hell man!...I'm enjoying the team.  I love the style of play, the teamwork, the effort.  I am rooting for them!  I can't give up on a team I've been watching for 40 something years--from the beginning!

[The Jom]

Fool’s gold, man. We’re pleased with the team cause our expectations are so low and they’re winning. But all the games have been at home. The whistles have been super friendly. And the competition pretty weak. All that’s about to change. Don’t put yer pitchforks away yet.

[DallasMaverick]

Dang.

Luka plays well.

Fans who are still in the anger stage respond with anger.

Fans who have moved on defend.

I suppose it’s all very therapeutic.

[Knutsen]

Dang.

Luka plays well.

Fans who are still in the anger stage respond with anger.

Fans who have moved on defend.

I suppose it’s all very therapeutic.

Only chance this trade ends as a win for Nico is if Davis plays five or six dominant years and Luka calls it - or has to call it - quits in three or four years. I‘m sure that won’t happen, but anyways.

[FireNicoHarrison]

Fool’s gold, man. We’re pleased with the team cause our expectations are so low and they’re winning. But all the games have been at home. The whistles have been super friendly. And the competition pretty weak. All that’s about to change. Don’t put yer pitchforks away yet.

Wait for play off games where teams play half court basketball and see how effective is a Irving-Exum-Dinwiddie backcourt.

Nico screwed next 10 years of this franchise, i just hope Luka will not win too many rings with the Fakers.

[FireNicoHarrison]

Only chance this trade ends as a win for Nico is if Davis plays five or six dominant years and Luka calls it - or has to call it - quits in three or four years. I‘m sure that won’t happen, but anyways.

For now i will be happy if he plays five or six quarters....it would already be a big step forward.

[mvossman]

Dang.

Luka plays well.

Fans who are still in the anger stage respond with anger.

Fans who have moved on defend.

I suppose it’s all very therapeutic.

You keep treating this as a loss with folks going through the stages of grief.  That would be the case if Luka had some kind of catastrophic career ending injury.  This was more than that.  It was a breaking of trust with the FO and ownership.  That is not something that returns after a few stages of grief.  There is legit concern that Nico and company are going to commit similar atrocities (like giving away the farm for KD).  It will potentially take years for folks to start trusting these guys again, and for many its not going to happen.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Let's just face the facts. Fans will never forgive this trade, even if they happen to win a chip the next few years which will be extremely difficult. If they don't, it will look that much worse.. Not only do you need the talent, you need some luck as well. This trade will go down in infamy as one of the worst ever.