Ex-Mavericks coach sounds off on 'spooky times' after Luka Doncic-Lakers trade

The legendary player development coach God Shammgod talked about a "countdown" for everyone in the building after the infamous trade.

Apr 9, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) brings the ball up court against the Dallas Mavericks during the third quarter at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

God Shammgod is no longer a coach for the Dallas Mavericks, but the originator of one of the most popular crossovers in basketball history played a big part in the team's success over the last few years. This offseason, he decided to join the Orlando Magic, joining former Mavs assistant Jamahl Mosley, now the Magic's head coach.

A big reason he decided to leave? Nico Harrison's decision to trade Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, and the aftermath of the trade. He spoke about it on the "It Is What It Is" show with rapper Cam'Ron.

“The thing about Dallas was, it was just getting spooky times, man. I love Dallas, and I’m cool with everyone that’s over there," Shammgod said. "When the thing [Doncic trade] went down, it was one of those things, if someone treats your man like that, it’s a countdown."

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Shammgod was very close with Doncic, and I'm sure it hurt to not only see the superstar be traded, but to especially see how Nico Harrison went about it. The trade was executed in the middle of the night with no one being consulted about it, and they went behind Doncic'd back to do it, because he didn't want to leave Dallas.

And then, after the trade, the Mavericks started to leak things about Doncic being out of shape, overweight, lazy, and all sorts of other things that could've damaged his reputation in an effort to make the Mavs look better. But everyone knew it was a disastrous decision from the moment it was made, except for the person who made it.

The Dallas Mavericks' Self-Imposed Countdown

Instead of having a championship window of a decade with Luka Doncic, Nico Harrison opted for a much shorter one with Anthony Davis. He even said as much in the press conference immediately following the trade.

"The future to me is 3-4 years from now. The future 10 years from now, they'll probably bury me and [Jason Kidd] by then. Or we'll bury ourselves," Harrison said.

That kind of self-imposed timer probably didn't feel great for a lot of people in the building, including Shammgod. As confident as they were in Luka Doncic, who had just led them to the NBA Finals the season before, they were now putting all of their eggs in a basket who hasn't had a lot of success as a leading star in Anthony Davis.

READ MORE: Mark Cuban reveals he skipped on new NBA ownership after Mavericks sale

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