NBA Hall of Famer Don Nelson wasn’t a fan of the Dallas Mavericks trading Luka Doncic to the L.A. Lakers.
In fact, he called it a “tremendous mistake.”
Nelson, 85, accepted the Chuck Daily Lifetime Achievement Award before Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday. It was his first time leaving the island of Maui in seven years, per ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.
During the press conference, Nelson said he was wearing Doncic’s new Nike shoes in protest of the trade.
“I want everybody to know I’m wearing Luka’s shoes, his new shoes from Nike…and I’m wearing them in protest for the trade from Dallas,” Nelson, who has the second most wins in NBA coaching history, told the crowd. “I think it was a tremendous mistake by the Dallas franchise to trade him. I want everybody to know that.”
The Mavericks still have Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis and are expected to pick Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 pick in this month’s NBA Draft.
The former Duke star is expected to have a private workout with Dallas on June 17 ahead of the Draft on June 25, per ESPN.
Meantime, Mavericks coach Jason Kidd is reportedly a target of the Knicks in their coaching search, but ESPN’s Jay Williams said there’s “no way in hell” Kidd should make that move.
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Adam Zagoria is a freelance reporter and Basketball Insider for NJ Advance Media. You may follow him on Twitter @AdamZagoria and check out his Website at ZAGSBLOG.com.