Stephen A Smith gives new angle to Luka Doncic trade saga with shocking allegations against Mavs GM Nico Harrison

Luka Doncic's trade from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers caught the basketball world by surprise. The trade kicked off a three month-long period of Mavs fans berating general manager Nico Harrison and asking the organization to fire him. ESPN's Stephen A. Smith revealed new information, confirming that Harrison was the lead avdvocate for the trade that sent Doncic away.

Harrison has been the general manager for the Mavericks since 2021 and has since built a team that has gone on deep playoff runs led by Luka Doncic. The 26-year-old superstar is one of the most accomplished players in the NBA at his age and will go down as an all-time great when his career is over. that wasn't enough to keep him in Dallas though, according to Smith.

On Tuesday's episode of First Take, Stephen A. Smith gave his reaction to what Harrison had to say about the state of his team in his exit interview for the season. According to his sources, Harrison approached the Dallas Mavericks higher-ups with the trade instead of being talked into it by Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka.

"I've received several phone calls where I've been told that Nico made that trade," Smith said about the move. "...it was Nico who went to them(Mavericks management) and said 'I want to trade Luka Doncic.'"

In press conferences that he and the Dallas Mavericks have held since the trade, Harrison has doubled down on the move, saying that "defense wins championships" when asked if the team is better off without Luka Doncic. However, the fanbase is still upset with the move and continue to demand that Harrison be fired even after their season ended.

How can the Dallas Mavericks move on from Luka Doncic?

If there is any way out for Harrison that isn't him being fired, he needs to figure out how to win with his roster. After receiving Anthony Davis in return for Doncic, the idea was that the Mavericks would be built around him and All-Star point guard Kryie Irving. However, both suffered injuries that derailed the second half of their season and saw them come within one game of making the playoffs.

As they prepare for the offseason, most NBA experts expect Harrison to push his chips to the middle of the table and pursue a third star to put alongside an aging Davis and Irving. One of the names that has gained traction over recent weeks is Kevin Durant. The All-Star forward and the Phoenix Suns have mutually agreed to seek out trades this offseason.

If the Mavericks can indeed bring Kevin Durant in for next season, they will have a chance to contend in the Western Conference until Kyrie Irving returns at the midway point of the year. From then, Dallas would be as intimidating as any other team thanks to their star power.

However, fans will always bring up the fact that while they might be good in the short term, keeping Luka Doncic in Mavs colors would have meant them contending for the next decade or more.