The Dallas Mavericks shocked the NBA world on Saturday night, trading 25-year-old Luka Doncic to the L.A. Lakers.
Along with Doncic, the Mavericks also traded Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris to the Lakers. In return, Dallas received big man Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and L.A.’s 2029 first-round pick. The trade was a three-teamer, as the Utah Jazz received Jalen Hood-Schifino and two 2025 second-round picks from the L.A. Clippers and the Mavs.
It’s been less than 48 hours since the trade broke, but it’s already clear this move will eventually haunt the Mavs.
Bad Timing
The most puzzling part of this trade is why Dallas felt motivated to complete it mid-season.
Heading into the new campaign, Dallas improved a roster that fell in five games to the Boston Celtics in last year’s NBA Finals. The Mavericks signed Klay Thompson in free agency to give Doncic better spacing, added forward Naji Marshall to improve the team’s physicality and defense, and even completed a low-risk trade for 24-year-old Quentin Grimes.
The Mavericks haven’t had the same success as last year, sitting in play-in territory with a 26-24 record, but a large part of that has been because of injury struggles. Doncic hasn’t played since exiting early during a Christmas Day game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, while second-year center Dereck Lively II has been out since Jan. 14 with a stress fracture in his right ankle.
Still, this trade feels more reactionary than proactive. Why not wait? Dallas spent the entire offseason building around Doncic, only to punt on the team before the All-Star break at the first sign of adversity. Trading Doncic tells the roster, “Hey! Nice job last season, but we don’t think you can do that again, so let’s wave the white flag now.”
Poor Return Package
The other reason this trade feels horrible for Dallas is that they reportedly shopped Doncic to other teams at least two weeks ago, citing concerns over his durability before the Lakers swooped in to seal the deal. If the Mavs knew they wanted to move Doncic, why not incite a bidding war and tell other teams he was available? The Slovenian is 25 years old, and durability concerns aside, he is a top-three player in the league when at his best.
It’s hard to think about how much better the return package could have been if they had made him publically available. The New York Knicks traded five first-round picks for Mikal Bridges. The Minnesota Timberwolves traded four first-round picks and a pick swap for Rudy Gobert.
And you’re telling me Dallas couldn’t have gotten at least two first-round picks for Doncic? That seems hard to believe and adds to the notion that the Mavericks front office didn’t think this through.
To be clear, Anthony Davis is an excellent player. As the main return piece in this trade, he’s one of the best defensive players in the league and can handle a heavy offensive load as the go-to option. A knock on his game is that he’s an unwilling three-point shooter, but Davis is shooting 29.8% from deep this season, his highest mark since 2020.
That being said, there will always be an injury concern with Davis. Last season was the first time he played over 60 games since 2020, and that concern will only grow for the soon-to-be 32-year-old. Dallas worried about Doncic getting injured, but they traded for another injury-prone player six years older.
Make it make sense, please.
Max Christie is an intriguing prospect on a team-friendly deal, but he doesn’t project to be the type of player who changes the direction of your franchise. At 21 years old, he won’t develop fast enough to make Mavericks fans feel any better about dumping their former franchise player.
https://twitter.com/LakersLead/status/1735857121697157154
Heavy Expectations
As if all that wasn’t bad enough, this accelerates Dallas’s timeline, placing plenty of short-term pressure on them to win now.
The idea of pairing Kyrie Irving with Anthony Davis is intriguing, but is that a championship duo? Is that a duo with a higher ceiling than Irving and Doncic? Those are all questions Dallas will have to answer in the coming months, especially if they bow out of the playoffs early.
In an ideal scenario, the Mavericks win a championship this season, but even that feels like a band-aid. Irving will turn 33 soon, and an aging supporting cast makes this season championship-or-bust, with a title window that will close next season. That’s a terrible oversight from Mavericks GM Nico Harrison, who also infamously fumbled Stephen Curry as a potential signing for Nike in 2013.
The trade hinders Dallas’ long-term outlook so badly that winning a championship this season wouldn’t be enough to make it worth it. Mavs fans will have to watch Doncic play out the prime years of his career in LA while they inevitably enter rebuild mode.
By all accords, this is a terrible trade for Dallas and one they’ll soon regret.
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