Category: Lakers

The German power forward, Dirk Nowitzki, the great legend of the Mavericks, explains his feelings after the headline-grabbing transfer.

Dirk Nowitzki, the greatest legend in Dallas Mavericks history, has spoken for the first time since the shocking trade that sent Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers—a move that was, at the very least, a monumental gamble by the Mavericks’ front office. It also marked a stunning break from the franchise’s long-standing tradition, one enshrined in the inscription on the statue of the German great outside the American Airlines Center: “Loyalty never fades away.”

That phrase plays on Nowitzki’s signature move—the one-legged fadeaway jumper—which tormented NBA defenses for 21 seasons (1998-2019). No player has worn a single jersey longer. Kobe Bryant and Udonis Haslem spent 20 years with the Lakers and Heat, respectively, but Nowitzki’s 21-year run with Dallas remains unmatched. The torch seemed to have been passed seamlessly: Dončić arrived in 2018, Nowitzki retired in 2019. One European superstar to another—only this time, the ceiling looked even higher.

Loyalty never fades away… until it did. The Mavericks shattered that cycle with one of the most unexpected and controversial trades in NBA history. And Nowitzki’s quiet but powerful reaction spoke volumes: the night the Mavs played their first home game after the deal—in a seething atmosphere—he was in Los Angeles, sitting in the stands at Crypto.com Arena, watching Dončić’s debut in purple and gold.

Now, speaking on Dallas radio station 96.7 The Ticket, Nowitzki finally explained his reaction:

“When I heard about the trade, I was really sad for Luka—really disappointed. Obviously, he wasn’t expecting something like that. He invited me to be there for his first game in L.A., and I felt like I had to go, to support him. I played with him during my final season in the NBA, and we became really good friends. I’ve always tried to be a mentor, to help him however I could. He’s a great guy. So I felt like my place

“Everyone was saying how tough it was for him, how upset he obviously was. So I wanted to be there, to support him, to be with his family.”

The situation was, of course, deeply strange. Like any Western Conference star who never played for the Lakers, Nowitzki had his own history of battles with the franchise.

“You saw my face—it was weird… Surreal, honestly, to see Luka in that jersey. Obviously, I’m never going to be a Lakers fan. But I’ll always be a Luka fan. So I liked being there, seeing him, standing by his side.”

At the time of the trade, Nowitzki was on vacation with his family—on the other side of the world.

“I was in the Maldives, in the middle of the Indian Ocean, with a 12-hour time difference… I was so far away, and suddenly my phone was about to explode. We were about to sit down for a meal before heading back, and my phone went crazy. I checked my social media, and I guess I felt the same thing as everyone else—pure shock.

“I spent over an hour just staring at my phone, trying to make sure it was real. I couldn’t believe it—I was just trying to process something that left me absolutely stunned. Like everybody else.”

Finally, Nowitzki addressed why Dončić felt so devastated, even betrayed, when the deal became official:

“I think he wanted to have a career like mine—to finish the way I did,” he said, referencing his two decades with a single team. That dream is over.

Nowitzki remains the greatest Maverick of all time. But Dončić? He’ll try to become a legend in the franchise of legends—the Los Angeles Lakers.

Luka Doncic is on the injury report for Saturday’s game.

On Saturday evening, the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets will face off in Colorado.

For the game, Luka Doncic is on the injury report, but he is listed as probable, so he should be available.

Doncic had missed the team’s last game.

Doncic has gotten off to a slow start to his Lakers tenure.

He is currently averaging 14.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists per contest while shooting 35.6% from the field and 20.8% from the three-point range in three games.

The Lakers most recently lost to the Portland Trail Blazers by a score of 110-102 (Doncic did not play).

LeBron James led the way with 40 points.

Before the trade, Doncic had been averaging 28.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 7.8 assists and 2.0 steals per contest while shooting 46.4% from the field and 35.4% from the three-point range in 22 games for the Dallas Mavericks.

He is in his seventh NBA season.

Despite their recent struggles, the Lakers are still the fifth seed in the Western Conference with a 33-21 record in 54 games.

On the road, they are 14-14 in 28 games away from Crypto.com Arena.

After Denver, the Lakers will head home to host the Mavs on Tuesday for their first matchup since the blockbuster deal.

The nine-time All-Star point guard was separated from his NBA Finals teammate in a controversial blockbuster deal.

During a new conversation with ESPN’s Malika Andrews, nine-time All-Star Dallas Mavericks point guard Kyrie Irving spoke out at length about his thoughts regarding Dallas’ stunning decision to ditch one of the league’s four or five best players, five-time All-NBA First Teamer Luka Doncic, in exchange for a single draft pick, aging and oft-hurt big man Anthony Davis, and Max Christie.

Even if Mavericks ownership supposedly balked at wanting to pay Doncic the five-year, $345 million supermax contract extension the organization could have tendered his way this summer, other teams would presumably have offered far more assets in a trade.

Per Grant Afseth of Athlon Sports, various Dallas insiders have called out Doncic following the trade for questions about fitness, chemistry and long-term upside, while striving to disregard how critical he was in guiding the Mavericks to two Western Conference Finals — including, one NBA Finals appearance alongside Irving just last year — across the past three seasons with almost entirely different supporting casts.

Speaking of fitness questions, Davis couldn’t survive a single game without incurring a new injury. He is now on the shelf for at least the next couple weeks with an adductor strain.

The 32-year-old Irving was separated from Doncic just months after the dynamic duo led Dallas to its first NBA Finals berth since 2011 (the season before Irving was drafted out of Duke with the No. 1 overall pick).

Irving took a broader philosophical approach to his separation from Doncic, noting that their bond is bigger than basketball and will endure past their tenure as teammates.

“Part of our job every day to deal with the public space, but there were real relationships that were built behind the scenes that will transcend just the basketball court, coaching, and then upper management,” Irving told Andrews. “I know that for my own peace of mind, just because we not only had two years together, but we got a chance to know each other as men.”

Irving, who’s no stranger to public criticism himself for various controversial decisions he’s made over the years both on and off the court, appears to be rooting for the end of critiques of both Doncic himself and Dallas for making the deal.

“Hopefully, we can tailor back on some of the public criticism aspects of it and really just maintain the kindness and the compassion that we have for each other that’s real every day, not just one moment or a sound bite that ends up being described as something that could be taken out of context,” Irving said.