In the day since the Mavericks shockingly traded Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers, many have been quick to pile on Dallas’ decision to deal their 25-year-old superstar without warning. Appearing on ESPN’s Get Up on Monday morning, however, Charles Barkley didn’t just offer a defense of the stunning trade; he proclaimed the Mavericks the winner of the deal — at least in the short term.
Barkley’s comments came in response to a question regarding Dallas general manager Nico Harrison’s press conference in the aftermath of the trade. But rather than picking apart the former Nike executive’s defense of the seemingly indefensible, the Hall of Fame power forward praise Harrison for addressing the trade head on.
“A lot of general managers, when they make trades, they put out statements or they don’t go right to the press conference,” Barkley said. “I want to give Nico his flowers for standing up, saying what he had to say — he stood on business.”
The Inside the NBA star proceeded to state that the fallout from the trade would be “one of the best reality TV shows probably in the history of sports.” Aside from the shocking nature of the deal, which seemingly came out of nowhere, Barkley pointed out that unlike most NBA trades, this is the rare deal that includes two established stars, with the Mavericks receiving 10-time All-Star Anthony Davis in return.
“Something that’s really intriguing — normally you trade a great player, you get a bunch of junk in return. The Mavs got the great Anthony Davis,” Barkley said. “So Luka’s great. Anthony Davis is great. This is going to be one of the most fascinating things — and the thing is, it’s going to be fascinating probably for the next 10 years. The Mavs won the trade for the next three or four years. But the Lakers got a bright future if they put the right pieces around Luka.”
Charles Barkley on Mavericks GM Nico Harrison: “I want to give Nico his flowers for standing up, saying what he had to say — he stood on business… this is going to be one of the best reality TV shows probably in the history of sports… the Mavs won the trade for the immediate… pic.twitter.com/KCfrB16xSf
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 3, 2025
While one could certainly argue who won the trade in the short-term — especially considering Dončić is widely considered the better current player — Barkley’s larger point seems to be that this deal isn’t as lopsided as many are making it out to be.
Was the trade shocking? Of course. After all, there’s a reason why even Shams Charania thought his own phone had been hacked when it happened. But in the end, it’s not like the Mavericks got nothing back in return; in fact, they got a top-75 all-time player who’s still in his relative prime.
By Barkley’s own admission, time will tell how the deal ultimately ages. But for now — unlike most — the 1993 NBA MVP seems to be keeping an open mind.
