Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison became arguably the most reviled person in professional sports when he decided to trade Luka Doncic, a perennial first-team All-NBA player and MVP candidate, to the Los Angeles Lakers for a return deemed to be pennies on the dollar for a superstar in the middle of his prime. But Harrison could be feeling a bit vindicated in his controversial decision after seeing the Lakers flame out in the first round of the playoffs against the Minnesota Timberwolves courtesy of a 103-96 Game 5 loss.

Make no mistake about it, the Lakers made the right decision to trade away what they had to just to bring Doncic in. Doncic is only 26 years of age and provides them with a roadmap to contention even after LeBron James hangs it up. But on social media, everyone is a prisoner of the moment and Harrison's decision to trade Doncic away appears to be receiving some form of validation after the Lakers' playoff exit.

Doncic's defense, to put it lightly, was bad throughout Lakers' five-game stint in the 2025 NBA playoffs. He was slow to move laterally and was a major target for Anthony Edwards and company to take advantage of on switches. And with Harrison being a major champion of the old basketball adage that “defense wins championships”, some fans may be starting to believe that the Mavericks GM might have been on to something.

“Nico Harrison was right after all!” X user @jerzguyindenver wrote.

“Nico Harrison definitely knows something that we don't,” @zck_ft9 mused.

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“Nico Harrison deserves an apology. Everything he said about Luka was true and he did the right thing getting up off of him,” @yung_jiggy_nig added.

Fans of Doncic may be better off staying away from social media for at least the next few days, allowing the news cycle to shift the attention away from the Lakers' playoff exit.

Nico Harrison still blundered and the Lakers still benefitted

Dallas Mavericks general manger Nico Harrison look on during the third quarter against the Los Angeles Lakers at the American Airlines Center.
Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

There shouldn't be any revisionist history about the Luka Doncic trade even if the Lakers failed to make it past five games against the Timberwolves. Nico Harrison did not have to trade Doncic when and how he did, and he's still very much deserving of being on the hot seat for conducting business with such a crippling shortsightedness.

At the very least, the Lakers can fix their issues by acquiring a rim protector or two this offseason. Meanwhile, the Mavericks might be toast, even next season; it's not a lock that Kyrie Irving will return to 100 percent quickly after a torn ACL, and Anthony Davis is no spring chicken himself either.