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The fallout from Nico Harrison’s dismissal in Dallas has quickly shifted attention to one person: Luka Doncic.
After months of tension dating back to the shocking February trade that sent him to the Los Angeles Lakers, the former Mavericks franchise cornerstone was asked directly whether Harrison’s firing changes anything about his future.
Doncic didn’t offer clarity, but he didn’t shut the door either.
“The city of Dallas, the fans, players, they always have a special place in my heart,” Doncic said speaking with reporters after the Lakers’ win in Atlanta. “I thought I was gonna stay there forever, but I didn’t. Always I can call it home. But right now I’m focused on the Lakers, trying to move on.”
“The city of Dallas, the fans, players they always have a special place in my heart. I thought I was gonna stay there forever but I didn’t. Always I can call it home. But right now I’m focused on the Lakers, trying to move on”
-Is there a world in which you could ever see… pic.twitter.com/wn8hOvl49y
— Luka Updates (@LukaUpdates) November 13, 2025
When pressed about whether he could ever see himself wearing a Mavericks jersey again, his answer was short but telling:
“Right now I’m focused on the Lakers. No further comments.”
Doncic’s affection for Dallas is no secret. He publicly embraced the responsibility of carrying the franchise after Dirk Nowitzki’s retirement and once seemed destined for a statue outside the arena.
But any hypothetical reunion would require patience. Doncic just signed a three-year, $165 million extension with Los Angeles this offseason, making him trade-ineligible until early February, less than two weeks before the trade deadline.
He can opt out before the third season, at which point he would qualify for a five-year, $417 million supermax deal in free agency.
Harrison’s firing, which was widely expected after trading Doncic to the Lakers and then leaking negative reports about the superstar’s conditioning, has reopened a conversation many believed was dead.
Harrison kept negotiations with Lakers GM Rob Pelinka “a secret,” and the messy exit created the impression that the move was personal rather than purely basketball-driven.
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