Nico's Luka Doncic trade disaster exposed by massive rumored offer from East team

Nico Harrison revealed that he and Rob Pelinka were the only ones who knew about the Luka Doncic trade, as they had to keep it a secret because they didn't want other teams to know that Doncic was on the market. However, league sources shared with The Athletic about a blatant lie that Harrison got caught in. Before the Doncic-Anthony Davis trade, Harrison had explored the idea of trading Anthony Edwards for Doncic, and Harrison got a strict "no."

The Dallas Mavericks and their fans are excited about the addition of Cooper Flagg, but they cannot keep themselves from rolling their eyes when they think of what else they could've gotten. According to one source that told the Chicago Sun-Times, the Chicago Bulls would've offered "anyone and everyone" to get Doncic.

This puts Harrison in another impossible spot, as Mavs fans can only think of what offers could've been on the table across the league if Harrison hadn't been quiet with Pelinka.

Bulls rumor proves Nico Harrison never gave Luka Doncic trade a shot

Joe Cowley from the Chicago Sun-Times writes that the hypothetical trade still would've ended up in less than what the Lakers gave up, but it's the question that makes Mavs fans still scratch their head.

Lonzo Ball has been involved in plenty of trade talks recently and has even been linked to Dallas. Coby White would've been a healthy guard to get to replace Kyrie Irving until he returns from his ACL tear. Josh Giddey is a tall point guard who could've made for a monster lineup in Dallas. Nikola Vucevic is a proven All-Star. Zach Collins is a veteran big man who could provide depth. The point is: Dallas could've gotten any of these guys on top of unlimited first-round picks and pick swaps.

As ESPN's Brian Windhorst has said before, not getting Austin Reaves in the Doncic trade was "malpractice" on Harrison's part. The Lakers could've given up Dalton Knecht and maybe even Jarred Vanderbilt, depending on the parameters of the deal. Either way, what Harrison got in return was peanuts compared to what other teams like the Bulls would've given up, since they would have offered Dallas so many first-round picks.

This once again puts Harrison in a negative light, as it seems like Mavs fans aren't slowing down at all on the calls for Governor Patrick Dumont to fire Harrison.

As a GM in the NBA, you have to look at all the offers and decide what's best for the team. Sure, things could've gotten ugly with the organization if Doncic had heard through the grapevine that he was going to be traded, but nonetheless, all fans care about is what they saw, and they saw Doncic being traded for a bag of chips whenever the Bulls could've offered "anything and everything."

They may have not had a player as elite as Davis to put on the table, but anytime you trade a generational young player, you need to maximize their value. Harrison did not do that with Doncic, and that's why Mavericks fans will never forgive him for that.