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,

Luka Doncic just finished his first season with the Los Angeles Lakers after being traded from the Dallas Mavericks ahead of the 2025 trade deadline. The Slovenian star led the squad to the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference standings,

Anyone who's willing to cite the Lakers’ early-round loss as an example of why Nico Harrison and the Mavericks were right to move on from Doncic has lost the plot.