The Dallas Mavericks may never live down trading Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. From the moment the trade was announced, they’ve been torn to shreds for trading an all-time player at just 25 years old and coming off a run to the NBA Finals.

So it’s no surprise that the consensus view on them is that the Mavericks were among the losers during the 2025 NBA trade deadline. The Ringer’s Michael Pina called them that. Twice, in fact.

Pina didn’t even mention the trade directly but insinuated that it was the reason, writing that because of Nico Harrison, “it might go down as one of the worst weeks any team has ever had.”

He included the Caleb Martin trade as one reason he considered Dallas losers, acknowledging “it’s mostly inconsequential” but calling it “annoying” that the Mavericks did that after Quentin Grimes turned down their extension offer a few months ago.

Everyone keeps questioning why the Mavericks made this trade, and it likely won’t stop for some time. Dallas can cite their lack of trust in Doncic’s conditioning and weight issues all they want. The bottom line is that no team has ever done what the Mavericks just did.

The Mavericks just ruined their future and secured a rival’s future by making this kind of deal. Knowing what Doncic is capable of, the Mavericks may never get their hands on another player like him.

Getting Anthony Davis back for him isn’t nothing, but it hurts Dallas’ long-term chances of success. Davis could keep them in the title conversation for the next few years, but Doncic would have had them in it for the foreseeable future.

Unless Dallas wins a title shortly, they’ll continue to get this label for a while.