Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Dončić went into details in an interview with ESPN on Friday about the trade that shocked the basketball world in February, saying he hasn’t spoken to Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison since that trade.
Dončić was shipped to Los Angeles for Anthony Davis as part of the three-team deal with the Utah Jazz.
Harrison said he doesn’t regret making the deal, even though fans at every home game at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas have called for his firing. Harrison also repeated the claim that ‘defense wins championships’ as another reason he traded the five-time first-team All-NBA performer.
‘It’s just sad the way he’s talking right now,’ Dončić said to ESPN. ‘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.’
Dončić said he thought when he first heard about the trade that it was an April Fool’s joke and that he broke his cell phone after throwing it across a room.
‘I mean it’s painful, depending on how you take it,’ Dončić said. ‘It mostly came from Dallas, so I didn’t want to talk back. But I don’t really read that much stuff. I’m just trying to focus on my journey.’
Los Angeles starts its first-round playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday, while the Mavericks play their elimination play-in game on Friday against the Memphis Grizzlies.