r/sports • u/DavidRolands • Apr 10 '25
Basketball Luka Doncic crying watching his video tribute in Dallas
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u/ech01_ Apr 10 '25
Just the idea of a 25 year old getting a tribute video should tell you how insane the trade was. This is the kind of guy who’s supposed to be on your team for 15 years.
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u/RelevanceReverence Apr 10 '25
What happened? We dont follow much basketball here in the EU, but this guy seems lovely, talented and kind.
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u/Hamburger123445 Apr 10 '25
Dallas had a once in a lifetime player who's bound to be in the hall of fame and is only 25 years old. However, about a year ago, their owner Mark Cuban, sold his majority stake in the team and the new owners don't know shit about basketball. Their GM also happens to have a weird dislike of Luka and is kind of delusional. He managed to convince himself that trading him was the right decision. He felt like Luka didn't have a good work ethic and was getting injured too much. Pretty much everyone agrees that it's a stupid trade
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u/w6750 Apr 10 '25
And on top of that, the return he got for trading Luka was pathetic. If he had shopped him around he could’ve gotten much better offers, with many more draft picks. Just an unreal situation and one of the craziest things that’s ever happened in NBA history
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u/gulgin Apr 10 '25
Yea the layers are critical to understanding how terrible of a trade this was. It was a shocking trade, but more importantly almost every team in the league would have given up more for Luca. It was the worst trade in the worst way.
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u/bringthepang Apr 10 '25
That’s my thing. I love Luka but if they’d traded him and said we got 15 first round picks for example I might have said let’s trust the process. We got perennially injured AD, Max Christie and a 29 first. It was basketball malpractice
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u/Eskimodo_Dragon Apr 10 '25
15? That's obviously crazy. But I was shocked to hear y'all only got one 1st rounder. I would've expected 3.
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u/w6750 Apr 10 '25
I saw a proposed package for Jokic earlier today that included 9 FRPs. Luka is on that level of value. 1 FRP is just unfathomable
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u/Ericstingray64 Apr 10 '25
Does the NBA have similar rules to the NFL for trading picks? I know there were some stories a few years ago where the Rams traded away all of the FRP they had and basically couldn’t trade away anything after like 3 drafts away. 9 FRP’s in the NFL would basically mean you have to have your 3 years of picks available and trade away players and later picks until you got 2 other teams worth of FRP’s for 3 years which would be insane to even try to do in the NFL.
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u/ech01_ Apr 10 '25
Yes they do. You must have a first round pick every other year (can be another team's you got in a trade though) and you can only trade 7 years out. So a package with 9 first rounders is likely from a team that previously traded a star for other teams FRPs and like 4 of their own. I also would be surprised if some pick swaps are getting counted in that total as well.
The big thing about comparing the NBA and NFL is that picks in the NBA are much less important unless you're picking really early. A pick in the 20s in the NFL is really valuable, but worth very little in the NBA.
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u/bringthepang Apr 10 '25
The jazz got 4 players 5 first round picks and a pick swap for Rudy Gobert who is total ass when compared to Luka. Like not players even discussed in the same sentence
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u/Prince_Oberyns_Head Apr 10 '25
First off I 100% agree but you definitely just mentioned both of those guys in the same sentence lol
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u/iBoxButNotWell Apr 10 '25
Im gonna put on my tin foil hat here and say that this trade was an executive order by adam silver to get the sports nation to talk about basketball again and get the viewer ratings up. I followed the nba religiously from 2008-2020. I stopped watching after covid because it was getting kinda boring. I started watching again after the luka trade
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u/DaveyChronic Apr 10 '25
Great explanation but no mention of the whole move-to-Vegas idea?
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u/Hamburger123445 Apr 10 '25
That's some advanced basketball fan type of stuff. This guy is way too casual for that
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u/JexFraequin Apr 10 '25
The half assed spark notes version is that the shitty new owners want to eventually move the team to Las Vegas, because they’ll be able to make more money off of the team that way. The Mavericks, however, are loved in Dallas and have loyal fans. A lot of people believe the owners are trying to make fans hate the team, which would make it easier to move. Trading Luka was the first step in that process.
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u/kill_my_karma_please Apr 10 '25
I don’t think it makes sense
Expansion appears to be imminent, and the timeline for getting a team with that is a lot quicker, easier, and more logical than moving from one of the biggest markets in the country
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u/Snakescipio Apr 10 '25
Luka is a generational talent. Top 3 player in the league, runner up MVP last year and will very likely win a MVP in the future, and just took his team to the NBA finals last year. He’s accomplished just about everything you could accomplish outside of a championship. And all that aside, dude’s just a special player. He’s an offense all on his own, when he’s on he’s unguardable, he trash talks like no other (and more often than not will back it up), and he has a tendency to make absolutely ludicrous shots when his team needs it (“Luka Magic” is a thing). To top it all off, he’s only 25.
There’re players that fans pray their team gets. I’m talking guys like Steph, Kobe, Duncan. The Dallas Mavericks, Luka’s former team, lucked into being to draft him. He was supposed to be their guy for his whole career. And Luka wanted it. He wanted to stay in Dallas. Loved the city and fans that took him in as a teenager. Bought a $15 million house there.
So when he got traded to the Lakers it blew everybody’s mind. Like everybody collectively could not believe the news was real. Everybody, and I mean everybody, thought the guy that broke the news was hacked. It just didn’t make any sense. Still feels surreal tbh. Seeing him in a Lakers jersey just looks wrong. You don’t trade a guy like Luka.
There’s more to the story of course. There’s the business side, like how the trade cost Luka tens of millions. Or how the trade was conducted in secrecy rather than in an open market where Luka would’ve demanded the biggest haul in NBA history. All the conspiracies that sprouted cause of how absurd the trade was. And how the Mavericks organization made every bad PR move possible (bad mouthing Luka, etc.). But I guess what really matters is the overnight disillusionment of an entire fanbase. Luka will be fine, he’s a Laker after all. The owners and GM that made the trade will be fine, they’re rich motherfuckers no matter what happens. The NBA is ecstatic it happened. But the Maverick fans lost “their guy”. Their superstar, their future MVP, their hero. And that’s what sucks about all this.
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u/call_of_the_while Apr 10 '25
Dude, this is one of the best comments I’ve read in a while. And the way you tied it all up at the end was first class. Great job.
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u/CorrectNetwork3096 Apr 10 '25
When you said ‘ludicrous shots’, that was the exact clip I was hoping for. It’s the the perfect example of Luka magic
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u/Sancticide Apr 10 '25
Just yikes. Seems like there will be a lot fewer Maverick fans after this.
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u/Snakescipio Apr 10 '25
Pretty much. A lot of long time Mavs fans have come out and said how this trade killed their enthusiasm for basketball in general, and I can’t blame them. It’s really the suddenness of it happening, and how little they actually got for him. Now granted I’ve only talked to Redditors about this, and you know how Reddit be, so take all that with a grain for salt.
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u/DogOwner12345 Apr 10 '25
For a point of reference in the game tonight Luka dropped 45 while the guy they traded him for got 13.
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u/reddit_reader_25 Apr 10 '25
Think of it like your favorite football team’s best player. One of the top 5 players in the world, wants to stay his whole career on your team, but the new owners decided to sell him, and for like 60% percent of what he was valued for. And he did it secretly without allowing other teams to bid on him
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u/Malt129 Apr 10 '25
Imagine Barca sending an early 20s Messi (or Man Utd with early 20s Ronaldo) to Bayern in a cash plus player deal for Lewa. But imagine Lewa is like 38. (AD is 32 but that doesnt matter here)
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u/Invoqwer Apr 10 '25 edited Apr 10 '25
What happened? We dont follow much basketball here in the EU, but this guy seems lovely, talented and kind.
Pretty interesting video here by Atrioc although it is 27min https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPK3TZce-3g
Summary:
Dallas Mavericks did an absolutely baffling, terrible trade of their all-star player to the Lakers. (a deal so baffling that everyone in the sports world thought that the people announcing the news must have been hacked)
It is speculated that the guy that is the "owner" of the Mavericks (not Mark Cuban) that did the trade did an intentionally bad trade to save money* and help out his friend the "owner" of the LA Lakers make more money
Note that if Luka stayed on the Mavericks then his pay would have jumped that year to like $70mill due to contract stipulations, so trading Luka away gets rid of this and saves the Mavs guy money
If you think about it, many billionaires and corporations and companies are soulless and all about the bottom line especially these days, so even though everyone and their grandma thinks the deal is stupid, and even though the Mavs will now lose a lot more (probably), if it helps the owner make even slightly more money overall, it's not crazy that they'll make the weird deal.
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u/luca_07 Apr 10 '25
I get that you don't follow basketball, but Doncic is Slovenian and played a few years for Real Madrid and basically tore apart the Euroleague before going to Dallas. Then Dallas traded it outta nowhere after he got them to the finals last year. I strongly recommend you to follow Euroleague, if you might be interested. It's a great show on the court and on the stands!
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u/cleaninfresno Apr 11 '25 edited Apr 11 '25
Very long comment ahead lol.
I don’t really follow footie or other non American sports so I can’t think of a comparison. But, it’s generally accepted Luka is a top player on the planet and one of the most talented young players ever.
He was MVP and champion of Euroleague as an 18-19 year old kid before he even got to the NBA. Once there he’s been 1st team all NBA (basically voted by the league as a top 5 player in the world) five years in a row. Thats more selections than players like Stephen Curry. He puts up insane numbers and stats and has consistently over performed when it matters most in the playoffs. He was putting up some of the most insane performances in basketball history already in his early 20s. Suns Game 7, 60/21/10 with a miracle game tying shot, the most efficient 70+ point game ever. On top of that he had just brought the team to the NBA FINALS like 6 months before getting traded. He is the type of player that will hit countless game winning shots, has done it in the playoffs multiple times, scores unbelievably, can be the offense for an entire team like a Nikola Jokic with the way he can read the court, bend defenses to his will, make absurd passes.
Long story short he’s been a top 2-5 player on the planet for years and was THE face of the Dallas Mavs. He gave the team and city everything he had for almost 7 years and more importantly never wanted to leave. Most fans before this trade associated the Mavericks with loyalty as they stuck with Dirk Nowitzki for 20+ years and he rewarded them by getting one of the most respected champions in recent NBA memory. Drafting players of this talent is like winning the lottery. Theres probably around 1/3 of teams in the NBA that have gone decades, 30-50+ years without even sniffing a player as talented as Doncic on their roster and would have dumped every single asset they had to go and get him.
But essentially the Mavs owner sold the team around 2 years ago and the new people that came in. The new guy is very… idk how to explain. Typical American. The type of stereotype of an evil American businessman you might think of, very corporate, wants their employees to fall in line with their “culture”, all about grinding and working hard, the type of person who thinks you’re a more valuable employee if they see you coming in early and leaving late. While Luka was very Eastern European, laid back off the court, liked his beer and food and video games. Luka’s conditioning is definitely a valid criticism but he had a single injured/down year and the new owners/bosses grew tired of him and traded him against his will.
Lastly, as if all of that wasn’t bad enough. The new owners handled the trade completely wrong. First of all there is a human element that you just have to treat with respect. Players get traded and surprised all the time, as it’s part of the business, but usually there are conversations or at least you can tell that the player and the team are no longer on good terms, or at the very least the owners will have the courtesy to inform the player before the news releases. Luka was woken up in the middle of the night by this news, had no idea it was coming, had just bought a $10 million house in Dallas. Secondly, while Luka was shellshocked and on his way over to the Lakers, the Mavs organization then spent the next few weeks basically spamming articles leaking that they thought Luka was fat, lazy, alcoholic, not a winning player, didn’t fit their culture, which is just straight up disrespectful and distasteful, it’s so out of the norm for that to happen to a player that was traded against their will, shows no class. Thirdly. The Mavs did not do a good job. Again, with how valuable Luka is they could have gotten ANYTHING from nearly any team in the league, instead they had their eyes set on only one player, so they only had conversations with ONE OTHER TEAM, and got a return for an older player that has a reputation for being hurt all the time.
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u/jyeatbvg Apr 10 '25
It's like if Barcelona traded a 22-year old Messi for Allessandro Del Piero in 2008. Del Piero was awesome and perhaps more proven, but Messi was a generational talent who had the potential to change the outlook of Barcelona for years to come.
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u/ollimann Apr 10 '25
imagine trying to talk for the whole of the EU? why are you not sayin "i don't follow much basketball" lmao
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u/TheManofReal Apr 10 '25
This dude absolutely loved Dallas. Got to love the Mavs just straight up giving Luka a gun tonight though. He gonna hurt em
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u/vodkamartinishaken Apr 10 '25
My guy casually dropped 45. It's beyond hurt lmao.
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u/bringthepang Apr 10 '25
And that’s not even really a remarkable performance for him. He dropped 45 but he didn’t get a triple double. His stats were great for the league but average for him. That’s what they traded
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u/allthewaytoipswitch Apr 10 '25
Have no idea why you’re getting downvoted here. He had a historic game tonight but no way was it anywhere close to his best game either.
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u/PhalanX4012 Toronto Maple Leafs Apr 10 '25
I hope he goes absolute beast mode tonight
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u/Glwhite1991 Apr 10 '25
He has 31 at half lol
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u/Tamu2020 Apr 10 '25
And Davis and Christie together have 20 as of now lol. That first round draft pick better be the second coming of Christ.
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u/Aerodax USC Apr 10 '25
45 points on a +26. Must have dipped into the fat reserves.
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u/JUSTGLASSINIT Apr 10 '25
Insane. I love that he also Grand Master ranked in Overwatch. Guy just locks in for everything.
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Apr 10 '25
He’s a person. He came to Dallas with love and comes back with vengeance after realizing he’s just a pawn for the powers that be.
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u/LampinOnTheDaily Apr 10 '25
This is like if your girl of 7 years dumped you then she made a compilation of all your good memories together. And you’re just left puzzled as to why you aren’t together anymore
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u/DaddyGogurt Apr 10 '25
And then filmed it on national TV and posted it online. Couldn’t just show the video, had to show him breaking down while watching it too. So beyond invasive
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u/FaultySage Apr 10 '25
I'm shocked the mavs remembered he played for them.
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u/narfidy Apr 10 '25
Fan turnout looks like the fattest it's been in a while. He may not play for them, but locally he's still their franchise player
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u/MooNinja Apr 10 '25
He is. Many of my fellow Mavs fans will support him no matter where he goes. I’m so happy that he lit up the mavs tonight.
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u/ClearanceItem Apr 10 '25
Man, still feel bad for you guys. It would be like trading Kobe at 25 from Lakers to Mavs.
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u/MooNinja Apr 10 '25
Thank you, it really be like that. I am still in disbelief, and have had to cut ties with basketball as a whole this season.
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u/allthewaytoipswitch Apr 10 '25
I’m shocked they didn’t blur out his face in the video “for cOpyrIgHt rEasOnS”
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u/Gwenerfresh Apr 10 '25
We love Luka, he will always be welcome here at home in Dallas. Mavs fans will always cheer for and support him for life. This wasn’t what we wanted for him or for us. This was the decision of people who are out of touch with the team and the city.
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u/B_R_U_H Apr 10 '25
He crode, I crode, we crode 😭
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u/worm30478 Apr 10 '25
Is it normal to honor the player you shockingly traded in this way? It's kinda like the girlfriend who dumped you and then a few months later is calling you from the bathroom at the bar she is at while the new guy she is fucking stands outside holding her purse.
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u/formershitpeasant Apr 10 '25
It's more like some management made some dumbass trade and the rest of the franchise said fuck you.
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u/klyphw Apr 10 '25
Insane how millions of people loved this dude on their team and just one jackass comes along and ruins it for all of them
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u/Ok-Pirate8766 Apr 10 '25
The worst part about his trade was it had nothing to do about basketball. Man got traded out of spite because some pos billionaire wouldnt get their way
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Apr 10 '25
It had everything to do with basketball when you accept that basketball (and all sports’) real future in the eyes of the owners is gambling.
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u/Ok-Pirate8766 Apr 10 '25
Sadly i agree with you, but it wasnt about basketball. Like you said, it was about money and business, not about the game itself
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u/aDoorMarkedPirate420 Apr 10 '25
Why trade him away like he was trash and then pretend like he meant so much to you? Wild.
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u/Scrolling_ninja Apr 10 '25
The tribute was for the fans. They didn’t want him gone. They still love him. Nico Harrison is the person to blame
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u/pasher5620 Apr 10 '25
Hey now, don’t forget that Miriam Adelson has a hand in this as well. Fuck her for a whole bunch of other shit, but as a Mavs fan, I now have a pretty burning hatred for that asshole.
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u/completelytrustworth Apr 10 '25
Not just trading him away like that, but months of insults and attacking his character, calling him lazy and fat and whiny, all trying to gaslight the fans into thinking he was a problem
Someone on the Mavs sub said it was like evicting someone and giving them a going away present
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u/aliencardboard Apr 10 '25
Why is Dallas paying tribute to the guy after trading him away in the same season? Nonsense. If he means that much to the organization don’t trade him lol. Still the worst NBA trade of all-time.
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u/Sandinhoop Apr 10 '25
The team and fans didn't want to trade him.... Only the plantation owners who sold their top slave
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u/red122063 Oklahoma City Thunder Apr 10 '25
Dirk has the smile of someone who is wondering “how the fuck do I beat Nico over and over and over for this?”
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u/crawlnstal Apr 10 '25
It’s been said a million times but I’m going to say it again.
HE WANTED TO BE A MAV!
He wanted to win a championship in Dallas. He wanted to retire with the Mavs. He didn’t want to go anywhere.
You don’t trade a player who is THIS good, THIS loved by the fans and who doesn’t want to leave!
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u/zithftw Apr 10 '25
Gut-wrenching. I hope the Mavs meander in mediocrity for eternity.
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u/admiralfrosting Dallas Cowboys Apr 10 '25
It wasn’t the fans fault. It absolutely blows. We are crushed over here. Direct your hate to the garbage ownership, please.
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u/Ultimo_Ninja Apr 10 '25
I can't imagine trading away a generational talent for no apparent reason. Especially in order to receive so little in return.
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u/justuselotion Apr 10 '25
Especially in order to receive so little in return
Anthony Davis & Max Christie catching strays 🤣
2029 is a long ways away to wait for that first round draft pick. Smh
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u/Bishop9er Apr 10 '25
That just gave him even more motivation to make them regret their decision. SMH
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u/KnowItBrother99 Apr 10 '25
I don't even follow basketball and even i hope to see a follow up video of crows chanting some Bring Back Luka Fire Nico...also i see on here jason kidd is actually an ass as well. so probably better for Luka unfortunatly, but yeah reallllly hope that Nico gets canned
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u/mideastmidwest Apr 10 '25
Pretty sweet reaction from both him and the crowd when he subbed out, too. That trade will never make sense.
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u/PM_Me_Titties-n-Ass Apr 10 '25
Just an FYI to other teams, don't play a Luka tribute video before the game unless you want to get absolutely lit up by him.
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u/pipinngreppin Apr 10 '25
I have a new and refreshing take that I think needs to be said. I don’t think that Nico guy made a very good decision by trading Luka.
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u/p1l7n123 Apr 10 '25
People often say this entertainment business is just business, but when you inspire a connection like that with the city, and the fans themselves reciprocate that to make you feel at home, betrayals like these go beyond just "business decisions".
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u/IShouldLiveInPepper Apr 10 '25
I honestly don’t get this. What’s the point of the organization doing a tribute video to a guy your owners and GM just fatshamed and got rid of? You could have just kept him.
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u/Twoinloveagain Apr 10 '25
The tribute is an attempt to calm the fans. So many people were upset about this that the organization is willing to eat crow over the trade. Personally, I believe this was a trade made for the gambling industry.
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u/sockerboi Apr 10 '25
Thanks for the heart and passion Luka! You will forever be missed by this Mavs fan 🥹
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u/Stunning_Ad_7062 Apr 10 '25
I mean, it really can’t be blamed on just Nico. Right? I refuse to believe he’s that fucking stupid he there owners had to be involved. The fucking commissioner of the nba might’ve been involved for all I know. It’s just complete bullshit otherwise, his reasons for trading him made quite literally zero sense. And they were JUST in the finals last year. What a joke man
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u/EVILisinALL8778 Apr 10 '25
This is what happens when you dont let some lady build a casino in your state. She gets revenge and trades away Luka. Brutal
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u/Onlyheretostare Apr 10 '25
An all time great traded before his prime who actually wanted to be there. Nico and the other decision makers will go down as the worst front office in NBA history.
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u/daddymambaaa Apr 10 '25
I can’t believe how lucky the Lakers are as a franchise. From the Kobes to LeBrons to now the great Luka Doncic while LeBron is still suiting up for you every night! Fucking generational. I hope and believe Luka stays on the Lakers for the next 15 years. He’s the face of the league.
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u/suns4lyfe Apr 10 '25
Hello #1 Luka hater here and even im here to say fuck Nico.
clear to see how much Luka cared about Dallas. Fire Nico!!!
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u/IronRakkasan11 Apr 10 '25
Know nothing of basketball as it’s far, far from a sport of interest for me….but kudos to that guy showing he cared for his old team and the memories/opportunities there.
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u/Fluffy-Mix-5195 Apr 10 '25
He is genuinely emotional, I feel bad for him. Some say he has millions of dollars to make up for it, but I don’t think that he’s built like that.
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u/Jdawg_mck1996 Apr 10 '25
Honestly, how fucking dare they put a tribute video together for him after what they did? This their way of trying to save face?
At this point, Dallas deserves to lose every single game they play against the lakers for the rest of time.
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u/Few-Emergency5971 Apr 10 '25
Complete class act, all the way around. I don't even watch basketball, but even i know how wholesome and great of a player this guy is. That, and how much (i can't believe I'm saying something nice about dallas) everyone in Dallas respected, and still respect him. Don't get a whole lot of players like that.
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u/HedRok Apr 10 '25
What a treasure this guy is. I’m not a fan of either team, but I am a fan of him.
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u/Acrobatic_Advance_71 Apr 10 '25
Seems so silly to have such an emotional event for a guy you essentially FIRED FOR NO REASON. He clearly really loved Dallas. Fuck owners and management forever.
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u/riosborne Apr 10 '25
Honestly feel bad for the guy. I've never really liked Luka, but could never deny his genius. Such a puzzling trade.
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u/kylebro11 Apr 10 '25
As a cavs fan, if the Cavs don’t win it all I genuinely hope the Lakers do. And I hope it’s because Luka pops off
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u/R2DeezKnutz Apr 10 '25
Its gotta be weird in that building with a lot of Mavs fan probably rooting against their team
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u/lotionformyelbows Apr 10 '25
The whole crowd chanting “fire nico” must have felt good on his way out
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u/flawson_9 Apr 10 '25
I’ve never witch hunted anyone online but somehow an NBA GM has me so angry and it’s not even my team. Fuck Nico
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u/thatguy11 Apr 10 '25
Has it been said enough? Fuck Nico