Hall of Fame coach Don Nelson was not a fan of the Dallas Mavericks trading Luka Dončić – and chose his footwear for Game 2 of the NBA finals accordingly.
Nelson arrived for the news conference announcing him as the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award winner, wearing a pair of Dončić’s signature Jordan Brand sneaker. The reason: He was showing Dončić – who he called “my dear friend” – support.
“As a matter of fact, I want everybody to know I’m wearing Luka’s shoes, his new shoes from Nike that just got on the market,” Nelson said. “I’m wearing them in protest for the trade from Dallas. Tremendous mistake by the Dallas franchise to trade him and I want everybody to know that.”
Dončić was traded by Dallas to the Los Angeles Lakers this season for Anthony Davis, a blockbuster that stunned the league. Fans in Dallas were furious, though some of that anger seems to have subsided in recent weeks with the Mavericks winning draft lottery and the chance to draft Cooper Flagg No 1 overall later this month.
Nelson said his philosophy on generational players is the one that Red Auerbach taught him: Don’t trade those talents.
“His philosophy was when you have a great player – Bill Russell, [John] Havlicek, Sam Jones, you name ‘em – you don’t lose that player,” Nelson said. “You keep him for a lifetime. You put his number up and you honor that player. That’s been my philosophy.”
Nelson has deep ties to Dallas, so his reaction to the Dončić trade is understandable. He coached the Mavericks for eight seasons and his son, Donnie Nelson, was an executive with Dallas from 2005 through 2021.
