Lakers’ Rob Pelinka, Mavs’ Harrison Appear to Talk Luka Dončić Trade in Viral Photo
Tim Heitman/NBAE via Getty Images
A Dallas local appears to have captured a photo of the conversation during which Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison first discussed trading Luka Dončić with Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka.
Dallas news station WFAA shared the image in a Friday report.
WFAA @wfaa
CAUGHT ON CAMERA 📸 | Here’s the coffee shop meetup moment when Mavs GM Nico Harrison and Lakers GM Rob Pelinka started Luka Doncic trade talks, shifting the landscape of the NBA.
The photo was taken by Dallas resident Asad Munir on January 7 at Ascension Coffee in a Dallas hotel lobby, according to credit card statements and metadata reviewed by WFAA.
The photographer is a Lakers fan who told WFAA reporters Jason Trahan, Paul Livengood and Matt Howerton he took the photo because he recognized Pelinka, although he didn’t know at the time who Harrison was.
ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne and Tim MacMahon previously reported Harrison invited Pelinka to that same coffee shop in order to “begin” trade talks.
Those talks culminated one month later in the three-team trade that sent Dončić to the Lakers and brought Anthony Davis to Dallas.
Harrison also mentioned the coffee shop meeting in his first press conference following the Dončić trade.
“It started out as a coffee, that was more, ‘Hey, would you ever?’ ‘I don’t know, would I? Let me think,'” Harrison said. “And then it built upon that, and we kept it between us. We had to. We had to keep it tight.”
Harrison was not present at the Friday press conference during which Davis was introduced to Mavericks fans.
ESPN’s Tim MacMahon reported Friday on NBA Today that Harrison has received “death threats” and “racial epithets” since the trade.
The Mavericks are set to play at American Airlines Center for the first time since the trade with a Saturday afternoon contest against the Houston Rockets. Harrison will not be sitting in the stands at the game, according to MacMahon.
Davis, who said Friday he sees his job as giving fans “hope and reassurance on why Nico brought me here,” is set to make his Mavericks debut against the Rockets.
The Lakers are meanwhile “targeting” Monday’s home game against the Utah Jazz for Dončić’s first game in Los Angeles, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reported Thursday. Dončić’s return will mark his first time playing since he was injured in his final game with the Mavericks on Christmas Day.
