It appears that Luka Doncic is tired of the way Nico Harrison has been talking about the February blockbuster between the Lakers and Mavericks.
During a sit-down interview with ESPN on Friday, Doncic, 26, revealed that he and the Mavericks general manager are not on speaking terms since being traded to the Lakers on Feb. 2.
Harrison, 52, has spent time trying to justify the blockbuster trade that also sent off 10-time All-Star Anthony Davis to the Mavericks.
Donic seemed disappointed with the executive’s recent remarks.
Harrison, along with new Mavericks CEO Rick Welts, hosted an hour-long media session with a group of Dallas-based reporters to clarify their reasoning behind the trade.
“It’s just sad the way he’s talking right now,” Doncic said of Harrison during the interview that aired Friday. “I never say anything bad about him and I just want to move on. The fans, my ex-teammates, I’ll always keep at heart. It’s time for me to move on from there.”
“There’s no regrets on the trade,” Harrison said during the media session this week. “Part of my job is to do the best thing for the Mavericks, not only today, but also in the future, and some of the decisions I’m going to make are going to be unpopular. That’s my job, and I have to stand by it.”
The executive also repeatedly stated the phrase “defense wins championships,” suggesting that Doncic struggled defensively.
“I mean it’s painful, depending on how you take it,” Doncic said. “It mostly came from Dallas, so I didn’t want to talk back. But I don’t read that much stuff. I’m just trying to focus on my journey.”
Doncic also said he threw his cell phone upon hearing the trade news, showing the phone during the interview.
“I was actually in the bed,” Doncic said when he first knew about the trade. “My TV wasn’t working so I was on my iPad watching a movie about to go to sleep. First thing I said, probably three times, was, ‘Is this [an] April 1st [joke]?’”
The five-time All-Star was mostly “in shock” and heartbroken when the news broke, saying that he intended to spend his entire career in Dallas.
Doncic, who is eligible to sign a long-term deal with the Lakers this summer, did not hesitate when being asked about potentially staying in Los Angeles long term.
“Yes,” Doncic said.
