Lakers' Luka Doncic reunites with former Mavericks GM in shocking offseason move
Doncic competed with the Mavericks for nearly seven seasons, helping the organization reach new heights in the post Dirk Nowitzki era (Dallas completed a surprising NBA Finals run during the 2023-24 campaign).
Advertisement
However, on Feb. 2, the Lakers poached the five-time All-Star from Dallas in an unbelievable trade that forced Los Angeles to part ways with Anthony Davis.
While Doncic likely isn't fond of the Mavericks in early July, he will reunite with a former member of the organization in a shocking offseason move.
'Former Mavericks general manager Donnie Nelson has been named as a special adviser to Slovenia's national team, reuniting him with Luka Doncic,' The Stein Line's Marc Stein reported Friday.
'Nelson has a long history in the international game working with Lithuania's national team.'
Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp
Advertisement
The Lakers should thank the Mavericks for relieving Nelson of his duties in 2021 after serving as the franchise's GM for 16 years.
If the 62-year-old was still a pivotal member of the organization, there's a good chance that Doncic wouldn't be continuing his NBA career in Los Angeles alongside LeBron James and Austin Reaves.
Considering Nelson played a crucial role in landing Doncic in 2018 and had high hopes for the young stud, the concept isn't too far-fetched.
During EuroBasket 2025, Nelson and Doncic will help lead Slovenia as they face France, Poland, Belgium, Israel, and Iceland in Group D.
More NBA: Warriors agree to historic seven-team trade involving two-time NBA champion Kevin Durant
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
'A different world' - Spain's transformation after World Cup fallout
The last time Spain played in the final of a major tournament, it was a watershed moment for the country. Not only did they win their first major women's trophy, but the players were about to find themselves at the centre of a sexism scandal. Instead of celebrating their historic World Cup victory in 2023, when they defeated England 1-0, Spain's triumph was overshadowed by controversy. But nearly two years later, La Roja are preparing to play the Lionesses once again in Sunday's Euro 2025 final. What has unfolded in the meantime? And how different has this tournament been for Spain? How did we get here? Just as Spain were getting ready to lift the World Cup trophy, Luis Rubiales - the country's football federation president - kissed striker Jenni Hermoso on the lips. It was a kiss that Rubiales said was consensual, but Hermoso said was not. What followed was a storm of criticism, widespread protests and a court case that found Rubiales guilty of sexual assault. Hermoso said the incident had "stained one of the happiest days" of her life. In the immediate aftermath, 81 players - including all 23 World Cup winners - said they would not play for Spain again while Rubiales was in charge. "It was a difficult period for the Spanish players," England midfielder Ella Toone said on Friday. "What they did in the World Cup, for that [the Rubiales incident] then to be the main talking point, I think was really tough for them and was something they shouldn't have had to go through." The boycott only ended almost a month later when Spain's football association, the RFEF, promised "profound changes" following a lengthy meeting with players and government officials. 'A different world' Speaking to BBC Sport last month, Amanda Gutierrez - the president of players' union Futpro - explained that the RFEF promised to improve the players' working conditions and provide equal access to the same resources the men's side had. But have those changes been evident at Euro 2025? "It's a different world," Spanish football journalist Guillem Balague said. "The players are saying 'we only have to worry now about playing', so that's completely new." Spain's performances have certainly reflected that attitude as they defeated Portugal, Belgium and Italy by a combined score of 14-3 in the group stage. Montse Tome's side then saw off a stubborn Switzerland side in the quarter-finals, before scoring an extra-time winner against eight-time winners Germany to reach their first European Championship final. Spain played 120 minutes in their semi-final and played a day later than England, but former midfielder Vicky Losada said their mental resilience will help them overcome their lack of recovery time. "Knowing them, straight after the game against Germany they will be thinking about doing anything they can to be ready for this game," Losada told BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily. "They have 24 hours less to recover but the mental strength of the girls, because of their experience, because of all they have won, is massive. "The players on the team are winners. For a lot of them, the only major tournament they are missing is the Euros. They know they have one opportunity." Sara Alcaraz Guiterrez, a reporter for national Spanish radio, said this is the first tournament since the 2023 World Cup where she hasn't had to "speak about the federation and what is happening inside". "The players are more relaxed because they know everyone in Spain is speaking just about the Euros. It's like 'finally'." Final preview: England v Spain The kiss that shook Spanish & global football Spain's ex-football boss Luis Rubiales fined for World Cup kiss 'Tome cannot do any better' Former coach Jorge Vilda may have delivered World Cup glory to Spain, but he will be remembered in a negative light by some for his role in their triumphant run. The head coach, who was booed by some fans after the final, had survived a player revolt before the tournament and was viewed as one of Rubiales' closest allies. By his side on the touchline was Montse Tome, his assistant coach who became his successor a few weeks after the World Cup final. There were concerns about her appointment, with many viewing it as a continuation of the previous regime, while she had no previous experience as a head coach. With Tome at the helm, Spain won the inaugural Women's Nations League in February 2024, but their fourth-place finish five months later at the Paris Olympics was deemed a failure. However, their journey to the Euro final, and the unity within the squad, seem to have changed perceptions of the former Spain midfielder. "She cannot do any better in terms of results," said Balague. "She's not friends with them [the players]. She's not supposed to be either. "You hear her talk and she makes a lot of sense. She's got a clear idea of how to maximize the potential. "She's not a representative of the previous regime, but she was present. Even if that's in the back of the mind of anybody, you look around and it's a completely different place. So I don't think there is a lot of hard feelings about where she's been, because she's been quite fair." 'The players want to move on' Not only is Sunday's final in Basel an opportunity for Spain to win their first European crown, but it's also a chance to celebrate achieving a major trophy without a cloud of controversy hanging over them. "It's something external that happened at the time," Spain midfielder Alexia Putellas said. "Now we're focused on giving our best to win this title. We're not thinking about celebrations or non-celebrations; we're only thinking about being prepared and doing well so that we can get closer to our goal." The culture within the Spanish camp also appears to have changed drastically from the World Cup in 2023, when they arrived in New Zealand with a divided squad amid a backdrop of unrest around then head coach Vilda. "The things have changed," Spain midfielder Aitana Bonmati added. "There's a very healthy and united group. We can see that on the pitch. We all agree on this." Spain's Euro 2025 squad includes 11 World-Cup winning players, although Hermoso was not selected by Tome. Balague explained: "They want to move on, and it makes sense," "The players I've spoken to, they all have mixed feelings. They [Rubiales and the RFEF] took the celebrations away from them, but they changed our society and the way we think about women's football, and also women in society. "They have advanced society. Nobody will give them a trophy for that." Former Lionesses forward Ellen White was part of Sarina Wiegman's side beaten by Spain in the 2023 World Cup final, but said this group of Spanish players deserve their moment in the spotlight. "The controversy was so horrible. I felt for the whole team after the World Cup final," White told BBC Radio 5 Live. "They weren't able to celebrate and have that monumental moment. "This final brings them the chance to create absolute history. Enjoy it, have nothing else to think about and if they were to win to just bask in the absolute joy of winning a tournament together as a group of individuals. And hopefully the whole of Spain will be celebrating what they have done. "They deserve this. They have worked so hard and it would be an absolutely amazing moment for the whole team." The kiss that shook Spanish & global football Spain's ex-football boss Luis Rubiales fined for World Cup kiss 'They had biggest moment of their careers stolen' - what next for Spain?
Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Arne Slot has a WILD plan to replace Trent Alexander-Arnold with £60m star
Arne Slot has a plan to replace Trent Alexander-Arnold and it includes the club's £60m star. Things are going to be different at Liverpool next season. It's not being spoken about much but the reality is that the Reds are going to miss Alexander-Arnold's ability to progress the ball from deep and create chances from the right-flank. LFC x Nike Air Max Buy Now LFC Retro Shirts Buy Now LFC Kits Buy Now LFC Nike Training Buy Now Now, this doesn't mean they are going to be worse off without him. Far from it, Liverpool already look like a much better side with a plethora of new arrivals. However, it does appear that Slot is working on a plan to replace Alexander-Arnold's good qualities on the ball with an interesting option at right-back. Despite having Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong, Slot may have another player in mind to use in that position in some games next season and he just trialled this in a pre-season friendly. Early Sunday afternoon, Liverpool played a behind closed doors friendly against Stoke City. The Reds ran away 5-0 winners, with Darwin Nunez scoring a hat-trick. Rio Ngumoha and Federico Chiesa scored the other two goals for Liverpool with Florian Wirtz making his debut. But what was the most interesting part of the game was probably who was used as the right-back in the starting line-up. Instead of Frimpong and Bradley, Slot went with Dominik Szoboszlai. The starting line-up therefore looked like this: Mamardashvili, Szoboszlai, Van Dijk, Gomez, Robertson, Jones, Nyoni, Wirtz, Salah, Nunez, Ngumoha. Arguably, this was the line-up which included the most starters in a game where Luis Diaz, Alexis Mac Allister and Alisson were all absent from. And surprisingly, Szoboszlai got the nod to start as the right-back. The Hungarian didn't disappoint, he was involved in the first two goals from the game. His attempted through ball was only half-cleared for Liverpool's opening goal which allowed Nunez to follow up and score. And Szoboszlai registered the assist for Nunez's second goal with a low-cross. This isn't an entirely new role for the Hungarian. He's played as a right-back for RB Leipzig in the past. The Reds' £60m acquisition from the German side (BBC) once played there against Teutonia in the DFB Pokal. During that game, Szoboszlai played one of his best matches for Leipzig. He registered two assists the match, created seven chances and broke a DFB Pokal record as per Opta. According to Opta, he was the first DFB Pokal player to achieve the following statistics in a single match: So impressive was his performance that his teammate Benjamin Henrichs commented 'Dani Alves' under his Instagram post from the match. That brilliant performance is a taster of what he could do if he were to play in that position. Szoboszlai's best ability is his quality when it comes to making progressive balls from deep - this is something we haven't seen of him too much at Liverpool but it's an area of his game he excelled in at Salzburg and Leipzig and continues to do for the Hungarian national team. It's probably not something we will see often. However, in some games where Slot knows his team are going to control possession, Szoboszlai could be useful in the role, inverting into the middle or staying on the flanks to play that Alexander-Arnold role, which only the Hungarian is capable of playing in this Liverpool team at the moment.
Fox Sports
43 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
Wilson, Aces to visit Bueckers, Wings
Associated Press Las Vegas Aces (12-13, 6-7 Western Conference) at Dallas Wings (7-18, 3-11 Western Conference) Arlington, Texas; Sunday, 4 p.m. EDT BOTTOM LINE: A'ja Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces take on Paige Bueckers and the Dallas Wings in Western Conference action Sunday. The Wings' record in Western Conference play is 3-11. Dallas ranks seventh in the WNBA with 20.0 assists per game. Bueckers leads the Wings averaging 5.6. The Aces are 6-7 against conference opponents. Las Vegas has a 3-1 record in games decided by 3 points or fewer. Dallas is shooting 41.7% from the field this season, 2.7 percentage points lower than the 44.4% Las Vegas allows to opponents. Las Vegas averages 80.4 points per game, 5.4 fewer points than the 85.8 Dallas gives up to opponents. The teams square off for the third time this season. The Aces won the last meeting 90-86 on July 17, with Wilson scoring 37 points in the victory. TOP PERFORMERS: Bueckers is scoring 18.1 points per game with 3.9 rebounds and 5.6 assists for the Wings. Aziaha James is averaging 12.4 points over the past 10 games. Wilson is averaging 22 points, nine rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.6 steals and 2.3 blocks for the Aces. Jackie Young is averaging 14.3 points and 3.6 rebounds while shooting 43.5% over the past 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Wings: 4-6, averaging 81.1 points, 37.0 rebounds, 20.7 assists, 7.3 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 42.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 83.9 points per game. Aces: 5-5, averaging 79.9 points, 33.1 rebounds, 16.9 assists, 6.7 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 42.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 83.6 points. INJURIES: Wings: Maddy Siegrist: out (knee), Tyasha Harris: out for season (knee). Aces: Cheyenne Parker-Tyus: out (personal). ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
