The Big Finish

Been in Skin Show ninety seven point one the Eagle. Don't forget MAVs are at Philly. Crazy day. They made another trade. In fact, they made a trade with Philly. You can hear Tyler Sloan and the pregame crew starting at five point thirty here and a half an hour and then the game tips off at six with Coop and Demeris. This segment is brought to you by Andrews American Pizza Kitchen. Best pizza in all of the df DUB is voted by the Dallas Morning News readers five

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All right.

We've been talking to Luka Doncic's the last several days. It's all anybody in the metroplex is really talking about.

And Ben.

Today kind of had some extra pain going on because we actually saw the press conference Luca and Rob Poline. He used to be Kobe Bryant's agent. Now he's the GM of the Lakers. What did you think you saw Polinka's look? What'd you think of the look he was throwing down?

Man, there's nothing more la than that guy. I mean, dude, it was. He came out in a Fonzie jacket that was super tight. It was unzipped at the bottom end the top it had some fancy double zipper. Looks like he was wearing z Caavci's with the bottom of him rolled up a little bit. He had he always looks like a kind of a TMU Rob Low. Yeah you know, yeah, yeah, yeah, he had. He has like not a comb over, but a comb down happening. It's just it's just he looks so la.

He's so la, and him and Nico became big buddies through Kobe Bryant, right, he was Kobe's agent. Nico was doing the deal for Nike, so blah blah blah. So anyways, they finally did their press conference today and it's funny, like we do pressers here, well, this one no Maxie and no Markuith Morris. It's just robcn Lucas sitting on stools and you saw some of it, Christina, what did you think of Luca's demeanor?

Well, first off, like Ben just said, that was my first my I couldn't get my eyes off this tiny jacket that Plinko was wearing. I was like, why are you doing that? Anyways, but Luca just looks so sad and you're gonna hear it in the audio and it was heartbreaking.

It's just so heartbreaking.

Well, we'll kind of jump around in time here because I want to start with Luca. And this is the second clip, Christina, and this is talking about someone asked him about the last forty eight hours.

Here's Luca.

Well, it was, honestly, it was hard. First, that first day was really hard. I felt like this last forty eight hours was one month, Like two days ago was one month ago. So mostly it was really hard. But every day that I, like today, was much better.

You know.

I'm just very happy to be here for this opportunity. He's the Lakers. It's one of the best closing history, so I'm excited to be here.

Does he sound excited.

But that's Luca too though.

Yeah, Yeah, he's got short answers. You know typically, but and maybe I'm projecting, but he looks sad. He seems sad and something for us all to remember, this cost him north of one hundred million dollars, right, yes, one hundred and ten.

Hundred and sixteen million dollars is the number.

Ice, Okay, one hundred This the Mavericks trading him cost him one hundred and ten million dollars. And so imagine how you feel if you lose a bet or you know, you tell you right like it's this. He's got to be hurting. He never foresaw this, and he was committed to being here and was excited about being here, settling roots, growing a family, getting a house, all those things, and the rug got ripped out from under him, so to speak. And so here within forty eight hours he's supposed to

It's tough, and so now I'll take responsibility for this.

I'm gonna reopen the wounds. Christina.

We're gonna play the first clip of the press conference here it's the first one I had you pull. And this is Rob Polinka describing basically what you Maverick fans no longer have.

Luka Doncic joining forces with the Los Angeles Lakers is a seismic event in NBA history. And the reason I say that is because we have a twenty five year old global superstar that's gonna get on the stage of the most popular and influential basketball brand on the globe. And I think when those two powerful forces come together, it brings basketball joy to the world because that's how

Hard to hear, isn't it. It's so hard to hear. And you only got one of their first round pigs.

You got ad so y'all. Remember when I went to Italy, what three years ago? Yeah, you want to stop bragging about it.

We ran into this little kid who was playing basketball, you know, we shot some hoops with him. The one NBA player he knew. Luka Doncic of Cours and so we sent him some MAVs gear.

How was Soroy's jumper that day?

Actually funny, Mike was sick that day, but Cash was out.

With us, okay, so not a flue game for Mike.

Yeah, this is all so traumatic and hurtful and painful. I hate it, Like each day is worse. I can't you know. I've been hoping, hey, I'll start to feel a little bit better. You know. WFA having Luca Day on Thursday, and they reached out to see if we wanted to do something. I'm like, man, honestly, I don't know of I'll be in a good place to do that. I'm grieving right like we all are grieving right now.

Yeah, it's tough.

And seeing the Lakers parade him out, go, can you believe we just got a twenty five year old global icon. Ha, we're the Lakers. We just got like you can't get these guys, we just got one.

It's painful.

Now.

This was pretty amazing to me. This is the third clip.

Christina rob Polinka is talking about how it all went down, and it was real interesting to me to watch Luca and his body language as Robs telling this story of his personal glory.

Yeah.

So this all started with a coffee in Dallas where Nico approached us with the concept. And because there was a partnership and a history of travel in the world between Nico and myself working around Kobe Bryant, there was a fabric of trust in the discussions. And these type of deals are incredibly interesting.

So he's talking about a fabric of trust between him and Nico.

Which did not Luca's got to go, well, what about my tree of trust? I thought we were on the branch with the Luca's got to sit there on stage and listen to this. Can you piet in MAVs fans also, yeah, can you pick it back up?

Yeah?

Get and complicated. And along the way, we knew there would be two hundred and forty eight insurmountable snags to get to the end, and there were. And so over the course of you know, three weeks, call it, an issue would come up and we'd think there was no way to climb the mountain, and we'd figure out a way. Then the next issue would come up, and you just keep going, and you keep you stay committed to the work, You stay committed to trying to get the deal done

Hope we got diarrhea from that coffee.

It is It is incredibly tone deaf on his part to tell that story five feet away from Luke and talking about trust and partnership.

He's doushe Magoo.

Yeah, I love that character.

Well, now go to the general manager of the Lakers, douchey Magoo, who's wearing a double zipped Fonzarelli jacket. It's his wife's jackets. You let him borrow it. Its four sizes too small. Rob, tell us your thoughts on why you're so great. Well, we had to keep Luca out of this for his own good. I wanted.

We're running out of time here because we do have the pregame coming up, but I want to play the final clip, Christina, because you'll hear the voice of Brad Towns and DMN writer and he it's you'll hear him, you'll hear Luca and and the second question Brad is asking. You'll just know Luca is shaking his head in disbelief during the question.

Luca, Brad Towns and Dallas warning News. Uh. So you wrote a Dear Dallas letter to fans. It was, you know, very heartfelt. Uh. And you talked a little bit about you know, your shock. How are your feelings toward the upper levels of the organization, you know, Nico in particular or the decision to trade.

You, well, I mean that's their decision, so I haven't common in that they made the decision. I don't know why, uh so, but that's the decision, so I can do nothing about it.

And then one of the reasons that was given was that there was concern that, you know, beyond this summer or that you there's a chance you might not agree to the supermax extension. Did anyone did you or anyone on your inner circle indicate that that might be the case.

Absolutely not easy, That's all he has to say about that.

Absolutely not.

It's such a you know, I think Bob Sturm called it nuclear. It does. It just feels that way. It's like, man, I wish we had been able to resolve this because you know, I've called it trade in Santa Claus like this is his city.

And that's why he's so gutted right now. Yeah, like la no, I mean, I love Luca. L Ain't never going to be his city, right, It's never.

Gonna be a city. But he's he was ours, yes, and so like we if you ask probably most MAVs fans, you're like, hey, would you rather win a championship? Without Luca, or let him play here for the next twelve years and don't win a championship. I think probably ninety percent, if not higher, would say give me the twelve years of no ring. But with Luca being ours.

I was about to say ninety percent when you said ninety percent. Now I will say that's a very immediate emotion, and I think that will change right over time.

But right now it's raw.

It's raw. That's how everybody feels.

Yeah, all right, why don't we give way to the pregame crew because right here on ninety seven point one, the Eagle, home of Dallas Mavericks basketball, we do have mav Sixers. The MAVs and Sixers made a trade with one another today. That is so strange. Everything is strange. It's basketball bizarro world. That's gonna do it for us. We will be back tomorrow. Hopefully Kati is feeling better, but if not, who cares?

In house, life goes on.

We're dealing with Luca pay he's been she's Christina, I'm skinned. MAVs postgame next right here on the Eagle