Mavs GM Harrison: Luka Dončić Hasn't Responded to Text, Calls Since Lakers Trade

Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison says he hasn't spoken directly with Luka Dončić since trading him to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis on Saturday night.

Harrison told the Dallas Morning News' Brad Townsend that he had spoken Dončić's agent, but only sent a text and a voicemail to the player himself as of Sunday morning.

"My guess is he probably doesn't want to talk to me," Harrison told Townsend.

Harrison told Townsend he had been speaking with Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka for three weeks leading up to Saturday's trade, but ESPN's Shams Charania reported Sunday that Dončić is "still stunned about this trade."

Andscape's Marc J. Spears has reported that Davis "is good with going to Dallas." Dončić may not feel as positive about being abruptly traded from a team he led to the NBA Finals less than a year ago.

Spears added that Harrison and Pelinka have "a solid relationship" going back to Harrison's time as an executive at Nike.

It wasn't Harrison who originally brought Dončić to Dallas. Former Mavs general manager Donnie Nelson and team owner Mark Cuban were behind the draft-night trade that brought Dončić to Dallas in exchange for Trae Young in 2018, per ESPN's Tim MacMahon.

Nelson was fired in 2021, sparking a two-year long legal battle over a wrongful termination lawsuit that was settled in November.

Cuban announced Harrison's appointment as general manager ahead of the 2021-22 season, then sold his majority stake in the Mavs in December 2023.

The new Mavericks ownership, led by team governor Patrick Dumont, inked Harrison to a multi-year extension ahead of the 2024 NBA Finals.

According to NBA insider Marc Stein, it was Harrison who made the decision, with support from Dumont, to "pursue Davis and pretty much no one else" in exchange for Dončić.

According to Stein, the Mavericks were so focused on putting together a trade with the Lakers that they "did not make Dončić available to interested teams for the richest possible haul of draft picks."

Harrison told ESPN's Tim MacMahon that he targeted Davis because he believes that "defense wins championships."

"I believe that getting an All-Defensive center and an All-NBA player with a defensive mindset gives us a better chance," Harrison told MacMahon.

Dončić played his last game for the Mavericks on Christmas Day before he was sidelined by a non-contact calf injury. The next time the 25-year-old star suits up, it will be with LeBron James and the Lakers.