Dirk Nowitzki reveals he was disappointed, sad for Luka Doncic after trade from Mavericks – The Dallas Morning News
sportsMavericksBy SportsDay StaffMavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki had a long-scheduled appearance at Ticketstock, an event hosted by Sportsradio 96.7 FM/1310 The Ticket [KTCK-AM] for its listeners, and opened up on his reaction to the Luka Doncic trade, why he went to Los Angeles for Doncic’s Lakers debut and what the Mavs’ future without Doncic looks like.Here are highlights of the conversation edited lightly for clarity.Take us through the moment you heard the news of the Luka Doncic trade, what your reaction was and then everything that led to you going out to Los Angeles to be there for Luka’s debut with the Lakers.Dirk Nowitzki: I don’t really want to get into any details of the whole deal. But when I saw the news I was actually all across on the other side of the world, I was on vacation with the family in the Maldives, not sure if you guys are familiar, but it’s in the middle of the Indian Ocean, so it’s far, far away and it was the middle of the day because we’re 12 hours ahead. And my phone starts blowing up, we were actually about to go to lunch, we were leaving that day to travel back and my phone just starts blowing up left and right. I looked on social media and I think I was as shocked and surprised as everybody was. I spent the next hour just following everything on social media, just making sure this is real, this is happening. I was just in awe and as surprised as everybody was. I was trying to wrap my head around what was really happening. Yeah, just really couldn’t believe it that this was what happened.Be the smartest Mavericks fan. Get the latest news.Or with: By signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy PolicyI will always be a Mav for life, but had to come support my guy 77 @luka7doncic in the first game of his new chapter!Fast forward, coming home. Obviously, Luka, we texted a bit, of course. I felt a little disappointed and sad for him. He obviously didn’t see this coming, so he invited me to come out to his first game in LA, and I felt like I had to support him. I felt like, I played with him in my last season, we’ve gotten close, I’ve tried to mentor him, I’ve tried to help him as much as I can the last few years and he’s a good kid. I felt like I had to go out there and support him in this new chapter, because I think and it was reported he was obviously pretty down and disappointed in how it went down. So I wanted to be there for him, I wanted to be there for his family and show support. But you guys saw my face, it was weird. It was surreal to see him play for the Lakers. I’ll never be a Laker fan, but I’ll always be a Luka fan. It was good to see him and good to be there for him.We wanted Luka to do well because we feel like he’s ours, just like you were, and it was the weirdest way to watch a basketball game.Nowitzki: Just being there, being in the stadium watching him in the purple and gold was just a surreal moment and surreal for me, but I was happy I did it and I’m happy I went to support him and I think now, after a few weeks, I think he’s looking forward to the opportunity there. He’s playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world, so I think he’s seeing the opportunity now and obviously, he needs to wrap his head around that, that he’ll be with the Lakers now and he needs to move forward and do his thing out there. We all of course wish him well.You’re familiar with Anthony Davis, talk about what is here now on the team and how they’re constructed.Nowitzki: I think if the Mavs are healthy, I think they have a heck of a team. I kind of feel bad about AD and [Max] Christie here in this deal. They’re both great players, fun to watch and, of course, they get the news, they see it and I just hope they feel welcome still and will still be able to contribute to a good team, because like I said, if they’re healthy, they’re pretty loaded at all positions. I love AD’s game, always have. He’s obviously an All-NBA talent at both ends of the floor. Scoring-wise, we all know he’s long, he can score multiple ways. But defensively, he’s long, he’s active, he can block shots. I was really surprised with Max Christie’s game. I wasn’t really that familiar, I hadn’t watched a lot of Lakers games this year. But great, versatile player. He can shoot the ball well and defense, he’s long on the perimeter. You can never have enough long guys that can shoot these days. It’s all about health, really, with that team now. Kyrie [Irving] has been phenomenal. I’ve got to give my guy [Jason Kidd] a shoutout, I think he’s been doing a phenomenal job with, really, the injuries. The injuries that they’ve had this year, I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s just devastating, one after the next going out, the lineups they have to roll out there and sign guys to 10-days and play the same day and night. Kidd’s been having them together and believing in each other and playing hard for each other. Even with everything that’s going on, to win four out of five going into the break and to lose against Sacramento, basically at the buzzer, it’s been a heck of a run. So, hopefully they can keep that up and get healthier one by one and see what’s possible down the stretch here in the playoffs.Find more Mavericks coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.The SportsDay staff is a team of editors and producers on the sports desk who create content for The Dallas Morning News.
