While the start to the 2025-26 NBA season has been ugly in Dallas, things are going pretty smoothly for the Mavericks' former franchise player now plying his trade in sunny Los Angeles.
Luka Doncic is averaging 37.1 points per game on a Lakers team that is 8-3 and leading the Pacific division. Meanwhile, the Mavericks are 3-8, 14th in the Western Conference and sporting the NBA's worst offensive rating.
Dallas' start to the season has been so rotten that team owner Patrick Dumont fired embattled general manager Nico Harrison on Tuesday, just 282 days after Harrison stunned the sports world by dealing Doncic to the Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis.
As if fortune didn't favor the Lakers enough already, fresh reporting from The Athletic recalled to mind a summer saga that nearly changed the course of NBA history.
MORE: Anthony Davis trade rumors get important update amid Nico Harrison firing
Klay Thompson chose Mavericks over Lakers because of Doncic
In July 2024, the Lakers nearly got Klay Thompson's signature on a four-year, $80 million contract that would have netted Los Angeles a four-time NBA champion and a future Basketball Hall of Fame inductee.
However, Thompson chose to take less money — and the chance to play with Doncic — over teaming up with LeBron James in LA. And so, Thompson joined the Mavericks in a sign-and-trade, agreeing to a three-year, $50 million pact with Dallas.
Six months later, Doncic was gone, traded to the Lakers team Thompson so nearly joined. And the five-time All-Star shooting guard is struggling more than ever.
Last Wednesday, Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd moved Thompson to the bench ahead of a 101-99 home loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. Thompson has scored 17 points in three games as a reserve, part of a season in which (to date) he is averaging a career-low 7.4 points per game on 31 percent shooting, and just 26.7 percent accuracy from 3-point range.
Of course, Thompson had no idea that Harrison would be so eager to move on from Doncic rather than hand him a supermax contract extension. It leaves Thompson's future unclear as the Mavericks begin to look toward a future centered on Cooper Flagg... While in Los Angeles, it is all smiles for Doncic and the Lakers.
More NBA news:
- Is Nico Harrison joining the Lakers? Viral fake post fools fans after Mavericks firing
- Nico Harrison made a hilarious change to his Instagram bio after Mavs firing
- Lakers' Austin Reaves sends strong message on future in LA, hints at potential paycut
- Nico Harrison made the dumbest trade in NBA history - Nine months later, Patrick Dumont finally realized it