The entire Dallas community was uprooted when the Mavericks traded Luka Doncic. Now imagine how Dirk Nowitzki felt. He had made some comments about feeling “sad” for the way the situation went. However, this was after Nowitzki had time to collect himself and his thoughts. When he didn’t have that, even his family couldn’t have helped him heal.

Recently, the Mavericks icon spoke to D Magazine about his tenure with the Mavs and other things. An obvious point was Luka Doncic. When the trade went through, Nowitzki was on a family trip in the Maldives. The trade announcement took everything out of Nowitzki.

“It was a tough one to see him get traded like that in the middle of the night,” he told D Magazine. Dirk Nowitzki was supposed to have lunch with his family. But the news crushed him. He wanted to know the exact story, so he confined himself to the hotel room and scanned through every article he could find.

That night, he didn’t get any “rest”. Fans came up to Nowitzki wanting his reaction. Moreover, the Mavericks’ all-time scorer was disturbed. He might have only spent one season with Luka Doncic. But the Slovenian was his protégé, the next great Maverick who was supposed to spend his entire career with the franchise.

That is what Luka Doncic had planned for himself. Unfortunately, Nico Harrison and the Mavs followed a different vision. They added Anthony Davis, a defensive expert who Harrison adored. As for Dirk Nowitzki, he hasn’t been close to the Mavs organization over the past few years, he says. The trade inadvertently added to the separation.

ESPN reported that Dirk Nowitzki began distancing himself from the Mavericks after the 2023 dismissal of Casey Smith, the team’s longtime director of health and performance and one of Nowitzki’s closest friends. Nowitzki declined to comment on Smith Mike Piellucci’s story.

Once a “special advisor” to the franchise and still holding a largely ceremonial office at the practice facility, his absence has become increasingly conspicuous — intentional or not. So the Luka trade was the cherry on top for him in distancing himself.

Notably, he made two appearances to watch NBA games. His first was Doncic’s Lakers debut, and the next was when he returned to the American Airlines Center and dropped 45 on the Dallas Mavericks. Now, Doncic is carrying the lessons he learned from the NBA great into his new chapter.

Luka Doncic has officially moved on from Dallas

Being traded in the middle of the season, it was hard for Doncic to come to terms with what had happened at first. He was distraught and in pain. Just a year ago, the Mavs were in the finals with Luka Doncic giving it everything he had. All of a sudden, they lost belief in him, claiming his fitness was an issue.

Luka Doncic felt it was “disrespectful”. Still, he had the Mavs close to his heart. Watching the tribute video brought tears to his eyes. But the offseason helped Doncic regain focus again. A lesson from Nowitzki may have contributed to it.

“Professionalism” was his biggest takeaway from the 2011 Finals MVP. So Luka Doncic used the summer to get in shape. He added muscle to his body and was rigorous in his workouts. Doncic plans on keeping himself in top shape. Moreover, he is also fully devoted to the Lakers now, who view him as the cornerstone.

When it comes to expectations, Luka Doncic has never been as motivated. His aim is to win championships and build a culture in Los Angeles. It’s evident since he personally approached Marcus Smart to join the team. With him at his physical peak, sharing the floor with LeBron James, the Lakers are a team to watch out for in the West.

The Mavericks somehow recouped, too, grabbing Cooper Flagg with the number one pick. Still, most Mavericks fans would have wished Luka Doncic were still their star. That feeling will probably never go away, especially if he achieves success with the Lakers.