Dirk Nowitzki opens up about Mavericks trading Luka Doncic to Lakers: ‘This trade really hurt’

NBA legend Dirk Nowitzki recently opened up about the Dallas Mavericks trading Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. 

Like the rest of the sports world, Nowitzki was stunned that the Mavericks traded Doncic. 

“It was such a strange situation,” Nowitzki said on the 41 Campus podcast. “I was standing in that empty stadium and then he (Luka) ran onto the court in (Lakers) yellow. It was just an unbelievably bizarre moment for me. And of course, it’s going to take weeks and months before it starts to feel a little more normal. It’s a tough situation, but in my tweet, I made it clear that I will always be a Mavs fan, but this trade really hurt and it will take a while before everyone processes it and moves on.”

Doncic appeared in 422 games with the Mavericks. He averaged 28.6 points, 8.7 rebounds and 8.3 assists and made five All-Star teams and five All-NBA teams.

Dallas lost to the Boston Celtics in the 2024 NBA Finals. It was the first the Mavericks made the NBA Finals since 2011 when Nowitzki led the franchise to the championship against the Miami Heat. 

“I don’t think anyone saw it coming that the Mavs would ever trade Luka,” Nowitzki said. “So for me, it was totally unexpected, completely out of nowhere. I was so stunned that I just put everything aside. We were supposed to go for a quick lunch with the family before flying out, but instead, I sat in my room for an hour, scrolling through X, trying to figure out if it was real. Some people were saying that the entire trade was fake, that Shams’ (Charania) account had been hacked. It took a few minutes before it was finally verified. Then I just followed the reactions from every player was posting something about it. The entire league, the entire basketball world was in shock.”

Doncic was eligible to sign a five-year, $345 million extension with the Mavericks this summer. According to The Athletic, Dallas wasn’t going to offer Doncic the supermax extension.

The Lakers can offer Doncic a four-year, $229 million extension this summer, or, like other teams, a five-year, $296 million contract in the summer of 2026. 

One of the top players in the NBA, Doncic has career averages of 28.6 points, 8.7 rebounds and 8.2 assists with the Mavericks and Lakers.