Optics of trading Luka Doncic will haunt Mavericks for years to come

Dallas Mavericks fans have been no strangers to voicing their opinions after what's been the craziest last two weeks in Dallas sports history.

The Mavs went from almost getting Luka Doncic back from injury to losing him in an unfathomable trade to the Los Angeles Lakers, where he made for a nice debut amid a warm Los Angeles crowd.

The last one laughing right now is Lakers GM Rob Pelinka, who's enjoying watching his new superstar while Mavs fans have to wait and see about Anthony Davis' future. Davis' Dallas debut started out promising but ended up in disaster with Davis now expected to miss multiple weeks with a left adductor strain.

Mavs GM Nico Harrison's unbelievable move has gotten other GMs around the league talking, discussing the fact that Harrison only went to Pelinka, only to have this move backfire in the face of the Mavericks for possibly a long time to come.

Harrison's Doncic trade casts a dark shadow over Mavs' future

Harrison's move wasn't just a historically awful one, but it also set the scene for future repercussions for the Mavericks making trades going forward.

Other GM's around the NBA couldn't believe what they were witnessing, as some calling the move "shortsighted."

"It's shortsighted," one Eastern Conference executive told The Ringer. "If you want to do this, shop the guy. The deals you could've gotten for him are ridiculous."

One reason why Harrison didn't want to get too many people involved is because he probably figured at least one GM would leak something to the media about the Mavericks looking to move Doncic, which would've made for an awkward locker room.

Instead, Harrison went into stealth mode and took Doncic, his family, and his agent by surprise. Even Utah Jazz executive Danny Ainge didn't even know about the key details of the trade until less than an hour before the trade was finalized.

This happened with former Mavs owner Mark Cuban when he used to make comments in the media that would discourage opposing players, making for a stationary period to build around Dirk Nowitzki's final years.

Harrison's recent move makes Cuban look like an angel compared to years past. If Harrison can shun his franchise player and his own head coach without them even having a say in the trade, it can set a tone that no players within the Mavericks organization will be safe. It sets a bad tone for how to do business, and key players who maybe thought about becoming a Maverick one day, may not want to be a part of that culture.

Just like how the Mavericks were rumored to be looking to add Kevin Durant to their roster, guys like Durant might not want to be a part of an organization that does harsh work underneath the rug.