NBA Insiders Reportedly 'Wonder' About Optics If Nico Harrison, Lakers Discuss Trades
One unintended side effect of Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison sending Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers in arguably the most scrutinized trade in NBA history is people around the league will have their antennae up if the two teams try to do business with each other again.
Per Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times, people around the NBA "wonder" about the optics if Harrison were to engage the Lakers again in trade talks this summer given the reaction to the Dončić deal:
"The trouble, of course, is that people around the NBA wonder how it would look if Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison engaged Pelinka and the Lakers on another trade after the last deal between the teams was so unpopular that it caused protests."
This is relevant because Daniel Gafford has been cited as a potential trade candidate this summer. He has a $14.4 million expiring salary in 2025-26, and a healthy Dereck Lively II will likely be the Mavs' starting center.
An obvious landing spot for Gafford if the Mavericks decide to move him would be the Lakers. One of their biggest flaws that was exposed in the playoff loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves was the lack of a true starting center.
LeBron James even joked about the Lakers not having a starting-caliber big man after their Game 5 loss. The best stretch of Gafford's career came when he got to play alongside Dončić after being acquired by the Mavs from the Washington Wizards in February 2024.
Of course, it would be unprecedented to legislate teams making trades with each other on a repeat basis. There are only 30 teams in the league and if the Lakers make the best offer to the Mavs for a player, or at least the one they want to accept, you can't stop it.
Let's pretend the Gafford trade is the primary one Dallas and Los Angeles talk about this summer. In that case, is anyone really going to kick up a fuss about it?
There might be some Western Conference teams upset that the Lakers get a player who fills a position they desperately need to address. Gafford is a quality NBA player, but the Dončić move was (presumably) a once-in-a-lifetime anomaly.
