Charles Barkley on Luka Doncic trade: Dallas Mavericks ‘must know something that we don’t’
The Dallas Mavericks pulled off one of the biggest trades in recent NBA history when they shipped Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber and Markeif Morris to the Los Angeles Lakers in return for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and Lakers 2029 first-round pick.
Pro Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley was on NBA Gametime and discussed the trade with Greg Anthony saying he had never seen a trade like it.
“This is the first time I can remember when you got two All-NBA NBA players traded for each other,” said Barkley, “the second thing is normally when stars get traded you hear a lot of Rumblings and you just put them up for the highest bidder. [The Mavs] went for a quick deal and it was over.”
Barkley praised Anthony Davis, saying comparing the Mavs’ return for Doncic to the one the Milwaukee Bucks received for trading Kareem Abdul Jabbar was unfair while adding getting Davis back was a much better return than getting lower-value players and draft picks.
According to the Hall of Famer, the Mavs are still in a great position to contend for the title this season even without Doncic but said the Mavs must win an NBA title to win the trade.
“Both teams have to win a championship to say they won the trade,” said Barkley.
The Auburn product said the Mavs must know something about Doncic, either on or off the court, that we don’t, which further explains the trade.
“The Mavs obviously had to make a decision this summer whether to give him 5 years $350 million that’s a lot of money to give a guy you don’t think can stay in shape who’s always going to be hurt, and let me tell you something the only people who know Luka Doncic is the Dallas Mavericks,” said Barkley, “They must know something that we don’t know.”
This story was originally published February 3, 2025 at 11:02 AM.
