Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic Trade Hurt Naji Marshall

The Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic trade reportedly hurt Naji Marshall. Marshall recently admitted that the Mavericks’ Doncic trade hurt him, a rather rare action for an NBA player to take. It echoed the sentiment of the Mavericks fanbase. Read on for further details. 

Dallas Mavericks’ Trade 

The Dallas Mavericks trading Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers hurt Naji Marshall, like many others. The Mavericks’ trade of Doncic was a historic one that will be remembered for years. The Mavericks might take months or even years to recover from the trade, even with the possibility of Duke star Cooper Flagg coming to Dallas.

In a recent appearance on the “Young Man and the Three” podcast, Marshall said, “Luka is just the chillest guy ever bro … You just feel like his best friend from day 1. He’s just a great dude. Never mad, just always happy. And just a hall of fame flamethrower when it comes to basketball… He’s like [Zion Williamson], like in practice, he just does crazy things, acting like it’s normal, and that s— just be amazing.”

Marshall’s podcast appearance was not the first time he had spoken about the Doncic trade. Marshall previously spoke about Doncic in a Twitch stream over a week ago. Marshall’s decision was completely understandable, as the Mavericks were eliminated from playoff contention after a 120-106 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies at the FedExForum on April 18, 2025.

Dallas Mavericks’ Outlook

The Dallas Mavericks’ ideal outlook would include an improved defense. After all, Mavericks GM Nico Harrison said the phrase “defense wins championships” as an apparent explanation for his decision to trade Luka Doncic on February 2, 2025.

When asked about his initial reaction to the Luka Doncic trade, Naji Marshall responded, “I mean, I understood, business is business as far as the NBA. But I was hurt, man. Luka is my dog, for real. And I love AD, that’s my guy… But as far as personally, I was hurt to lose Luka, man. It was a great time spent with him, the short time we did. I was just hurt to see him go.”

Marshall also commented on Doncic’s first return to Dallas, “I just knew he was going to go crazy like that, though. First game home, Luka wanted to be in Dallas, he probably thought he was never going to leave. I don’t know what he was thinking. Man, that was crazy, to see him cry before the game… I don’t know what he was feeling, but I just could imagine what that moment felt like for him.”

Marshall has a point. The NBA is a business, and trades are inevitable. The past likely won’t reappear in Dallas, but the Mavericks can begin a rebuild this summer. So far, the Mavericks have won the No. 1 pick of the 2025 NBA Draft in Brooklyn from June 25-26, 2025, and are projected to pick Cooper Flagg. Flagg, 18, can complement Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson. Also, the Mavericks must stay healthy for a chance at contention.

Final Thoughts

The trade was quite controversial, like when the Dallas Mavericks traded Jason Kidd to the Phoenix Suns as part of a six-player deal on December 27, 1996. Kidd was injured and allegedly disgruntled at the time. Kidd has been the team’s head coach since June 28, 2021, so things have gotten smoothed out. But, for the time being, Dallas has created a rift between the leadership and fans, so Dallas‘ best bet is to get a guard for the long term.