Nico Harrison was right about Luka Doncic (but wrong about the trade)

Nico Harrison probably did not want to drag Luka Doncic’s name through the mud after pulling off the NBA blockbuster of the century in the middle of the night days before the 2025 trade deadline. The Dallas Mavericks’ lead executive had no choice but to explain a decision that seemed indefensible from every angle, and so he went on the record to discuss Doncic’s shortcomings.

Minutes after Harrison traded Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and one future first-round pick, he was quoted on his reasoning for doing the deal. Additional explanations continued to spill out in the days following the trade, painting a picture of why the Mavericks gave away their franchise star months after the took them to the 2024 NBA Finals.

The Doncic trade was rightfully panned from every corner, and Harrison turned into the biggest punch line in American pro sports. At the same time, no one really disagreed with Harrison’s sentiments about Doncic’s defense and conditioning. It’s just that a 25-year-old with five straight First-Team All-NBA nods should get a little bit of a longer leash, and that Harrison could have returned way more in a trade for Doncic if he canvased the entire league instead of focusing on one player in Davis.

The Dallas Mavericks’ season has been over for weeks after the being eliminated in the play-in tournament. The Lakers’ season is now over, too, after a stunning five-game whooping by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first-round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs. After the Wolves ran the Lakers off the floor, many of Harrison’s concerns about Doncic were laid bare for all to see.

Doncic’s final numbers in the series look great: 30.2 points, 5.8 assists, and seven rebounds per game on 52.9 effective field goal percentage. This just didn’t feel like the same version of Doncic that has terrorized the league in the playoffs before, and there’s no doubt the Wolves took advantage of his shaky defense all series long.

The Lakers were overall much better with Doncic on the floor in this series, posting a -7 net-rating in his 208 minutes of playing time, with a -19.8 net-rating in his 32 minutes on the bench. The reality is the Lakers got smoked with Luka on the floor, and the biggest culprit was his defense.

The Lakers’ defensive rating with Luka on the floor in the series was 120.41. That would have ranked dead-last in the NBA in the regular season (the Jazz finished No. 30 with a 119.4 defensive rating). Part of the issue was that Doncic had to play 41.6 minutes per game because head coach JJ Redick didn’t trust his bench. That’s a ton of minutes for even the best-conditioned players in the world. Doncic does not fit into that category.

Luka couldn’t stay in front of anyone defensively the entire series. The Wolves consistently hunted Doncic when they had the ball, and it produced an advantage by getting the Lakers’ defense in rotation almost every time.

During the 2024 NBA Finals, I wrote a story titled “Luka Doncic’s terrible defense is an anchor weighing down Mavs in NBA Finals.” The Lakers just learned this lesson the hard way on their own.

Doncic has a habit of being absolutely terrible defensively for the start of games until he’s sufficiently embarrassed enough to start trying. In fairness to Luka, he was injured at the end of the first half in Game 5, but stayed in the game and had an electric third quarter offensively. Doncic did play with toughness in the Lakers’ last game of the season, but he still wasn’t good defensively and looked tired all series.

Here are two sets of numbers that show how Doncic just wasn’t at his best physically in this series. Doncic was blown-by as a defender nine times out of 16 opportunities in Game 5, which definitely matches the eye test.

Doncic also consistently settled for his step-back jumper instead of attacking the rim. His step-back was effective for much of the series, but at least it felt like he was bailing out the Wolves’ defense because he was too tired to drive the ball into the paint.

It’s hard to be too critical of Doncic on a half-finished Lakers roster. This Lakers team was built for Anthony Davis, and it was up-ended when they had the chance to acquire Luka. The Doncic trade was always about finding the Lakers’ next generational star after LeBron James retires. The trade to get Doncic is still a masterstroke by Rob Pelinka, and yes, it’s still a disaster by Harrison.

It’s on Doncic to take some pride his career and come back in better shape next season. Doncic lost in the NBA Finals with the Mavericks a year ago and still reported to camp out of shape. His poor habits may have contributed to a calf strain that sidelined him for the longest period of his NBA career before the Mavericks traded him.

The Lakers also need to build a better team around Doncic and LeBron James. It was clear in this series that Luka couldn’t beat anyone off the dribble without a screen. Getting a big man who can screen well and roll to the rim for Doncic’s signature lobs should be priority No. 1 for the Lakers. It’s easy to wonder if they are regretting backing out of the Mark Williams deal now. The Lakers also just need more defensive-minded forwards who can stretch the floor. Harrison did a wonderful job of creating a solid team of role players around Doncic’s elite creation ability in Dallas, and now that work begins in Los Angeles.

The Lakers’ first-round exit does not mean Harrison was wise to trade Doncic. The trade has been absolutely horrible for the Mavericks, and it’s hard to see where they go from here after Kyrie Irving’s torn ACL shortly following the deal. Doncic is still only 26 years old and has plenty of time to answer his biggest question marks. The response to the Doncic trade could have been totally different if Harrison sought out a deal for a ton of future draft picks and promising young players. Instead, he only got 32-year-old Anthony Davis and one pick. How did he not come away from that deal with a second Lakers future draft pick and Austin Reaves?

Nico Harrison made a terrible trade, that much is for sure. His concerns about Doncic’s defense and conditioning were warranted, though. Before Harrison pulled the trigger on the Lakers deal, he reportedly offered Doncic to the Wolves for Anthony Edwards. Edwards was clearly the best player on the floor in this first-round series. Harrison could look like a genius right now if Minnesota had accepted that offer.

Doncic should have all the motivation he needs to report to training camp in the best shape of his life next season. He should be ready to take pride in his defense. For now, Harrison’s issues with Luka are valid, but it still doesn’t mean he made a good trade.