Nico Harrison Reportedly Felt Luka Doncic Held Mavs 'Hostage' amid Injury Recovery

Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison and star guard Luka Dončić's camp reportedly had disagreements over his injury recovery timeline before he was shockingly traded to the Los Angeles Lakers.

ESPN's Tim MacMahon revealed new details behind Harrison's decision, reporting that sources said the GM "griped that Dončić was holding the team hostage" amid his recovery from a left calf strain.

At the time of the injury on Christmas Day, it was Dončić's fourth calf strain in a 28-month span, and MacMahon reported that "tension between the sides soared." Dončić's camp reportedly felt he returned too quickly from a left heel bruise suffered on Dec. 15 and had been playing on his toes to reduce his discomfort, but Harrison "blamed poor conditioning."

Sources also told MacMahon that Mavs director of player health and performance Johann Bilsborough felt the injury would only sideline Dončić for "two or three weeks," but Dončić's camp "adamantly stated that he needed to sit out six weeks." The team acquiesced and targeted a return date of Feb. 8.

"That deepened the divide," a source told MacMahon.

Things reached a boiling point when another "major disagreement emerged between the sides" after Dončić refused Harrison's request to join the team for a five-game road trip leading up to his return date. Dončić's camp felt he should remain in Dallas to continue his recovery, while Harrison insisted that he needed to scrimmage. Following this back-and-forth, the two sides lost communication.

"The next time Dončić's camp heard from Harrison, it was to share the news that the trade he'd been secretly negotiating for weeks with the Lakers was finalized," MacMahon stated.

Without Dončić, the Mavs' season ended with a loss to the Memphis Grizzlies in the play-in tournament.

Dončić and the Lakers will face the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday. The Timberwolves are leading 1-0 after an upset win in Game 1.