Throughout NBA history, there have only been a few incidents where superstars in the prime of their career are traded. Players become ingrained in a city’s culture, fans have memories of historic games, the player’s jersey becomes a staple in the wardrobes of countless young fans, and aspiring basketball players learn their signature move like the backs of their hands. For the Dallas Mavericks, guard Luka Dončić was that player. Since being drafted third overall in 2018, Dončić is the only player in NBA history to amass over 10,000 points, 3,000 rebounds, 3,000 assists, five first-team all-NBA accolades, and five or more playoff series wins in the first six seasons of his career. Not even the likes of LeBron James, Michael Jordan, or Larry Bird achieved such feats.
Since drafting Dončić seven years ago, the Mavericks have been acquiring pieces that fit next to the Slovenian superstar. Aiming to compliment the ball-dominant guard, the Mavericks signed 3-and-D players, traded for and drafted lob threats, and even got eight-time All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving from the Brooklyn Nets in 2023 to help ease Dončić’s responsibilities.
Yet despite that, during the wee hours of Saturday morning, the Mavericks agreed to a blockbuster trade and sent Dončić, along with forwards Markeiff Morris and Maxi Kleber, to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for center Anthony Davis, shooting guard Max Christie, and a 2029 first-round pick. The Utah Jazz were also a part of the deal to make the salaries work, netting Jalen Hood-Schifino and two 2025 second-round picks from the Lakers.
Losing Dončić, the Mavericks are now left without the nexus of their franchise. The team has been built for over half a decade around Dončić’s needs, and in the blink of an eye, it was all for naught.
The return was headlined by Davis. A ten-time All-Star and member of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team, he, alongside James, led the Lakers to a title in the 2020 season.
The Mavericks currently sit at 11th place in the Western Conference at 26–25, just barely holding onto a spot in the play-in tournament. With just over 30 games left in the regular season, the Mavericks need to figure out how their new pieces work together, and fast.
For the Lakers, Dončić will slot in right next to James as the new co-face of the Lakers, and the duo may be the best one-two punch in the league. With a franchise and a city known for its superstars, Dončić will be right at home. Contrary to popular belief, James has been playing off-ball more frequently this season. The emergence of point guard Austin Reaves has limited James’ ball-handling responsibilities. Therefore, the fit with Dončić, a high usage player, may be a match made in heaven. Currently the Lakers are 29–19, good enough for fifth in the Western Conference. They had no reason to move Davis, but the opportunity to trade for Dončić overruled common logic.
No rumors had surfaced about Dončić or Davis being on the market. The trade was announced on X, formerly known as Twitter, by ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania, who, in the days following, revealed he did not believe the deal himself when he first received word.
“I thought my phone was hacked when I got the text messages with the details of the trade and when I got wind of the deal,” Charania said on ESPN’s morning show Get Up.
Facing heavy scrutiny for the seemingly absurd decision, Mavericks General Manager Nico Harrison addressed the media in a press conference Sunday morning.
“I believe that defense wins championships,” Harrsion said. “I believe that getting an All-Defensive center and an All-NBA player with a defensive mindset gives us a better chance. We’re built to win now and in the future.”
The irony lies in the last line. Dončić is 26 years old and fresh off of leading his team to the finals. Although Davis is still an elite two-way presence — he earned his third career NBA All-Defensive First Team nod last season — at 32 years old, the best years of his career may be behind him. With Dončić, the Mavericks were built to win now and in the future. Now, the Mavericks are under pressure to win with Davis, and the clock is already ticking. Davis joins 31-year-old Irving and a jumble of role players handpicked to play off of Dončić’s ball-heavy style.
In his final words at the press conference, Harrison backtracked on his previous remarks.
“The future for me is three, four years from now. The future ten years from now… they’ll probably bury me and [Mavericks Head Coach Jason Kidd] by then. Or we’ll bury ourselves.”
That does not sound like a man who believes his team is better equipped to win now and in the future. Those are the words of a man who was shortsighted and acted in ignorance. His words reveal he has no connection to the franchise ten years down the road. He believes he will have lost his job long before then. This is not the type of statement any fanbase wants to hear from their GM.
In the following days, multiple reports came to light to help make sense of the biggest trade in NBA history.
It was reported the Mavericks were shopping Dončić only to the Lakers. They had grown tired of his conditioning problems — allegedly his weight had ballooned to 270 pounds as he is currently in rehab for a left calf strain. Davis was the Mavericks’ primary target from the beginning, and in the end they got him. Yet, for a player of Dončić’s caliber, it’s easy to question whether they could have gotten more.
It is hard to imagine the Mavericks did not want to let the rest of the league know Dončić was available. Only two Hall-of-Famers had been traded at similar times in their career before: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Kevin Garnett, when they were 28 and 31, respectively. If the Mavericks had opened a bidding war with the rest of the league, there is no telling what the return could have been. In the deal, the Mavericks only received one first-round pick. This past offseason, the Brooklyn Nets received five first-round picks from the New York Knicks in exchange for 28-year-old Mikal Bridges, an elite 3-and-D wing but a zero-time All-Star.
The San Antonio Spurs could have paired Dončić with star 7’3” center Victor Wembanyama. He could have joined the Golden State Warriors as they desperately try to position themselves to make one more championship run with Steph Curry. Or, the Memphis Grizzlies could have parted with some of their young core to pair Dončić with Ja Morant. The Mavericks never even gave opposing teams the chance to make an offer.
The trade could be due to the fact that the general managers of the Mavericks and Lakers have a relationship dating back to the early 2000s. At the time, current Lakers General Manager Rob Pelinka was the late Kobe Bryant’s agent, and Harrison worked at Nike as the leading force behind Bryant signing with the company following the 2003 season. Over the next decade, Harrison and Pelinka accompanied Bryant around the world on joint vacations and Nike business trips. They were a part of Bryant’s inner circle, and the two leaned on each other when Bryant tragically died in a helicopter crash in 2020.
Harrison felt comfortable discussing potentially the biggest move of his career with a close friend; Pelinka did not think twice about pouncing on the opportunity.
“I understand the magnitude of it,” Harrison said in his Sunday press conference. “The easiest thing for me to do is nothing, and everyone would praise me for doing nothing. But we really believe in it. Time will tell if I’m right.”
Maybe sometimes the best thing to do is nothing. A move that sacrifices the present and the future for a murkier present is a gigantic risk to take. But, like Harrison said, only time will tell.
