Mavericks’ ridiculous reason for trading Luka Doncic just backfired — again

Despite coming into Saturday night on a four-game winning streak, the Dallas Mavericks’ hopes of winning a fifth straight game fell through after the Los Angeles Lakers’ comeback in the fourth quarter, which was in large part due to Luka Doncic and his defense down the stretch.

The clear irony in this, of course, is that Nico Harrison traded Doncic in large part due to his inability to get into elite shape as well as his defensive deficiencies. While Harrison is gone in Dallas, Doncic made his reasoning for trading him seem completely irrelevant in this game versus the Mavericks.

He locked up multiple Mavericks ball handlers late in the game when Dallas was trying to target him in actions, and he even took a crucial charge late in the fourth quarter. Doncic has been better defensively overall this season, as his improved conditioning is seemingly paying dividends for him on that end of the court, even if he’s not an elite defender by any means.

Luka Doncic used the Mavericks' trade logic against them

Meanwhile, Anthony Davis missed this game as he continues to ail from ligament damage in his left hand, as this game was a clear indictment for the Mavericks on how poorly the Doncic trade has gone nearly a year later.

In Doncic’s first return to the American Airlines Center as a Laker last year, he may have gotten it going offensively more, and the game elicited a ton of fanfare, but his performance versus the Mavericks on Saturday may have been his most complete performance out of any of the games he’s played versus his former team so far.

It’s already draining for Doncic to be canning shots and making miraculous passes while in a Lakers uniform, so when he’s honed in defensively, it’s extremely tough for Mavericks fans to watch in the sense that the trade was so preventable.

One can’t blame Doncic for wanting to empty the tank every time he plays the Mavericks, especially when it’s in Dallas, so don’t be surprised if Doncic continues to have stout defensive performances versus the Mavs. Doncic’s lack of defense was seemingly used as one of Harrison’s main justifications for trading the then-25-year-old superstar, so even if Harrison is long gone from Dallas, Doncic is going to want to prove he isn’t a slouch defensively every time he comes back to the AAC.

It’s still unlikely Doncic ever becomes a high-profile defender because of how much energy he has to exert offensively, but Mavericks fans aren’t surprised he’s taking Harrison’s bet against him personally, as Doncic is a tried and true competitor at the end of the day.

Luckily, the Mavericks have a bona fide two-way player in Cooper Flagg as their leader in future matchups versus Doncic and the Lakers, but Mavericks fans shouldn’t be surprised when Doncic ups the ante defensively himself in these matchups.