Bleacher Report throws salt in Mavericks fans’ wounds with Luka Doncic trade ranking

Bleacher Report recently ranked the five worst NBA trades over the last five seasons, and in no surprise to Dallas Mavericks fans or any other fans across the NBA, Dallas trading away Luka Doncic came in at No. 1.

Many Mavericks fans jumped ship following the Doncic deal, as they simply couldn't get behind a franchise that'd trade away a top-five player in the middle of his prime, which is very understandable. However, for the Mavericks fans who stuck around, this article throws salt on an open wound for them, as fans are focused on Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving getting to play together for the first time at the start of this upcoming season.

BR's honest ranking of the Doncic trade is a harsh reminder for Mavs fans

The sad reality of the Doncic trade is that it will follow the Mavericks and their fans for probably the rest of Doncic's career, regardless of how Dallas is trying to shift the optics away from that deal. The Mavericks and governor Patrick Dumont have done a solid job of cleaning house following the Doncic trade, as Dallas practically has an entirely new coaching staff and front office compared to when the deal went down, outside of Michael Finley.

Nonetheless, Mavericks fans are still going to be painfully reminded of Nico Harrison's horrendous decision to trade Doncic away for far less than he was worth all the time. Whether it's Doncic torching the Mavericks at the American Airlines Center, the trade getting brought up on television on some sports talk show, or an article like the one Bleacher Report published above, Mavericks fans won't be able to fully escape Harrison's franchise-altering decision in early February of 2025.

Dallas has done everything to move on, but the trade will linger

The good news is that these reminders aren't as constant or painful as they were in the immediate aftermath of the trade, and Dallas was blessed to draw Flagg with the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, as he projects to be an All-NBA caliber player and franchise centerpiece just like his predecessor was.

Bleacher Report's reasoning for the Doncic trade being ranked as the worst NBA trade in the past five years is completely justified, as the Doncic trade is probably the worst in NBA history, to be honest.

The optics of the deal only got worse over the course of last season until the Anthony Davis trade, as Davis only played in 29 total games for the Mavericks, and he had his least durable season last year in what's been an injury-riddled career for the 33-year-old big man. Dallas should've never traded a superstar in his prime like Doncic for an aging star in Davis and only had one first-round pick to show for it, but at least the Mavericks have done what they can to move on from Harrison's colossal failure.

Even if new team president Masai Ujiri can't bring an NBA championship to Dallas while he's here, there's simply no doubt he will try and trade a franchise player like Flagg, as Harrison should've never been working in an NBA front office after making a terrible deal to the magnitude he did.

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