Mavericks left better Luka Doncic offer on table from Lakers: Whittled down

The perception of the Mavericks’ handling of the Luka Doncic trade may be getting worse after a new report says the deal they accepted from the Lakers wasn’t the best one offered. Dallas agreed to send Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris to the Lakers while Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick went back to Dallas in the deal that stunned the NBA world early Sunday morning.  The Jazz, the third team in the transaction, acquired guard Jalen Hood-Schifino and two 2025 second-round draft picks from the Clippers and Mavericks.The return the Mavericks received for Doncic, a 25-year-old All-NBA player, has been heavily criticized as not enough – also considering the Lakers were the only team GM Nico Harrison spoke to.Kirk Goldsberry, an NBA analyst at the Ringer, said during an appearance on “The Bill Simmons Podcast” that the final haul wasn’t the best one the Lakers offered to Dallas and that Los Angeles GM Rob Pelinka was able to convince Harrison to agree to the lesser deal by using the Mavericks’ fears against them. Goldsberry stated that the initial offer included 2024 first-round pick Dalton Knecht and another pick going to Dallas on top of what they landed in the current deal.“A deal got whittled down, and I think Rob Pelinka was able to convince the Mavs that Luka is a lot of risk… His drinking, his weight problem…” Goldsberry said.Harrison defended his reasoning behind the move that a center with the defensive skills of Davis could be the missing piece to the Mavericks winning an NBA championship after reaching the Finals last season.with Doncic, “If you pair [Davis] with Kyrie and the rest of the guys, he fits with our time frame to win now and in the future,” Harrison said.

“The future to me is three, four years from now.Ten years from now, I don’t know.

They’ll probably bury me and [Dallas coach Jason Kidd] by then.Or we bury ourselves.”Mavericks fans were furious at the trade and made their...