This trade has taken an emotional toll on the fans, players, coaches, and many team personnel in a way Nico Harrison and the Adelson family likely never expected. Jason Kidd understood the fans' perspective in his postgame interview following their big win over the Boston Celtics on Thursday.

Luka Dončić is targeting Monday against Utah for his Lakers debut, @TheSteinLine has learned. He returned to 5-on-5 play in practice this week and is said to be progressing well in his ramp up from his left calf strain on Christmas. More NBA from me: https://t.co/IIIlAloJCf pic.twitter.com/6yLu7Q1dKz

Doncic, who had dragged an otherwise unremarkable Mavericks team through the Western Conference, became the face of their failure. Dallas coach Jason Kidd was forced to come out and defend his maligned star, even though without Doncic, the Mavericks were a faded Kyrie Irving and a bunch of role players.