Dallas Mavericks’ Michael Finley Voiced Strongest Opposition To Luka Dončić Trade
Dallas Mavericks interim general manager Michael Finley voiced the strongest opposition to the Luka Dončić trade last season, according to NBA insider Marc Stein of The Stein Line.
The Dončić trade was Nico Harrison’s idea.
“Speaking of Finley, he not only will share interim GM duties with former Nets executive and Dallas-area native Matt Riccardi but is also frequently described as the member of Harrison’s front office team, league sources say, who voiced the strongest opposition to the Dončić deal at the time it was presented,” Stein wrote.
“Also: The famed footage of Finley taking a celebratory beer away from Dončić after the Mavericks clinched a spot in the 2024 NBA Finals, meanwhile, never included a key element of the story: The drink was returned to Dončić and the celebrations continued as soon as he was out of public view in the hallway of the visitors’ locker room in Minnesota.”
The Mavericks fired Harrison on Tuesday. They have started the season 3-8 and are in second-to-last place in the Western Conference standings.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers are 8-3 and Dončić is putting up stellar numbers. The five-time All-Star is averaging 37.1 points, 9.4 rebounds and 9.1 assists per game while shooting 49.1% from the field, 32.1% from beyond the arc and 79.3% from the free-throw line.
“League sources say that the momentum to fire Harrison really began to build up over the past week,” Stein wrote. “A loss to New Orleans, when the visiting Pelicans were 1-6 and playing on the second night of a back-to-back — and without the injured Zion Williamson — slammed home the reality that Mavericks players had become much more comfortable with road games than home dates at the American Airlines Center because of the ever-present fan discontent in Dallas’ building.”
Many people around the NBA believe the Mavericks should trade Anthony Davis and Klay Thompson and enter a rebuild around Cooper Flagg.
Kyrie Irving likely doesn’t have any trade value right now since he’s out with an ACL injury.
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