As the first anniversary of the Luka Doncic and Anthony Davis trade nears, everyone, including the Dallas Mavericks, has agreed to Nico Harrison's mistake, with the team firing him earlier in the season. However, LeBron James' agent, Rich Paul, thinks the opposite.
During an edition of his Game Over podcast, Paul tried to clarify Harrison's vision to trade Doncic for AD.
"I think Nico’s thought process was, I got the points in either one of these guys (Kyrie and AD), but in AD I have the defensive prowess as well, and ultimately that wins championships," Paul said.
Continuing to justify, Paul believed Harrison's vision never materialized with Irving and AD only getting to play a few games together.
"He just never had a chance to see it all play out together," Paul continued. "That first game, it looked incredible with those guys, and sometimes you fall on bad luck in terms of injuries."
Rich Paul also said the Mavs are at a crossroads as they battle the possibility of having to go "younger" or continue with the current group of players.
"It's a tough thing (for Dallas), like do we move on, do we kind of blow this thing up and go young," Harrison said. "Or do we give ourselves a chance to see ourselves get whole and what that could potentially look like?"
Back when it took place, the trade seemed impossible to wrap your head around. It will turn one year old in February, and with that milestone approaching, the balance of it is starting to look clearer.
So far, however, it looks that the Lakers have benefited from the trade with Luka Doncic guiding the team effectively. Meanwhile, Anthony Davis looks to struggle with injuries, and the Mavericks find themselves outside the playoff berths.
Rich Paul notes the silver lining for Dallas in the aftermath of the Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis trade
The Dallas Mavericks surprised the NBA in early 2025 after trading their star Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis. A year later, and the Lakers seem to have gotten the best of the Mavs in the deal, but Rich Paul noted the silver lining for Dallas on Monday.
"There is a world you come out of this (2027) draft with a great pick," Pauls said. "Saying ‘wait a minute, we got these two young guys on rookie contracts that are good, you have Kyrie and AD, two top 15 players… it’s not totally negative."
Despite giving a positive view, the reality stays bleak for Dallas, who are finding it hard to deliver consistent performances.