You have to feel a bit bad for Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison.
By trading away Luka Doncic, a 25-year-old generational superstar, he deeply alienated his fan base to the point that they were sending him death threats, bringing signs into American Airlines Center calling for him to be fired and putting a coffin outside of the arena to symbolize a funeral.
Harrison screamed into the void that this would work. He claimed trading Doncic for the 31-year-old defensive-minded Anthony Davis would give the Mavericks a chance to win now. Whether his career turned into a mockery seemed to hinge on if Davis, Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson could turn him into an honest man.
Any hopes of that happening have now been dashed.
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Irving suffered a torn ACL in his left knee during the Mavericks' loss to the Sacramento Kings on Monday. And while the injury may not have been preventable, circumstances leading up to it sure don't look good.
After the trade, Irving averaged 39.3 minutes over the last 10 games, the most minutes by any player in the league from Feb. 4 to March 2. The Mavericks were driving Irving into the ground while Davis recovered from an adductor strain that he sustained during his debut with the team on Feb. 8.
The Mavericks went from reaching the NBA Finals last season, to becoming a pure unadulterated mess. They're now without their floor general, who averaged 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists while playing in 50 of the team's 62 games.
Without Irving, a nine-time All-Star, they have no shot.
And now you have to wonder if they're going to shut down Davis, who recorded 26 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks in 31 minutes in his debut and was making "good progress." He's scheduled to be reevaluated on Thursday, according to the Mavericks.
Things have fallen apart in dramatic fashion for the Mavericks, with Irving's injury plummeting their title odds from 66-1 to 200-1, according to ESPN BET.
Just a week ago, Harrison came to Los Angeles for Doncic's first game against the Mavericks. He strolled the sidelines wearing an electric blue suit, clearing wanting to be seen. Despite Lakers fans chanting "thank you, Nico" for giving them a superstar who could turn their team into contenders for the next decade, Harrison believed he had done what was best for the Mavericks. He believed Doncic had conditioning issues and was a liability on defense, while Davis could take his team over the hump.
But with Davis sidelined and Irving looking like an overused work horse who inevitably collapsed, the already devastated Mavericks fan base is clearly going to turn on Harrison even more. The Mavericks are now in 10th place in the Western Conference, while the Lakers have climbed from seventh to second place.
Harrison took a big gamble.
Things have overwhelmingly not gone in his favor. Now, he has to walk out of the casino and face the harsh light of day, a disquieting fate for a general manager who played with fire and seemingly got burned.
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Melissa Rohlin is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the league for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, the Bay Area News Group and the San Antonio Express-News. Follow her on Twitter @melissarohlin.
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