By dealing Luka Doncic to the LA Lakers, Dallas Mavericks GM puts franchise at risk | Opinion
The Mavs dealt Luka.
The Dallas Mavericks traded Luka Doncic.
What does one say when an NBA franchise trades one of the best players in the world, to a conference rival, for ... who cares what? If the player on the other end of the deal isn’t Nikola Jokic, Michael Jordan or Larry Bird, your team got fleeced.
The Dallas Mavericks traded Luka Doncic.
Late Saturday night, ESPN NBA reporter Shams Charania reported that the Mavericks traded Doncic along with forwards Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris to the L.A. Lakers in exchange for center Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first round pick. The three-team trade also includes the Utah Jazz.
The only other trade this shocking by one of the other major sports franchises in DFW was when the Dallas Cowboys sent running back Herschel Walker to the Minnesota Vikings in 1989.
It is hard to see how the Mavericks trading Luka for AD will have the same impact for them that the Cowboys’ deal of Walker had on that franchise.
Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison put his career, and reputation, on the line by trading a player that can’t be traded.
“We are thankful for Luka and grateful for his efforts during his time with us,” stated General Manager Nico Harrison said in a statement released Sunday morning. “He helped build this team and was an integral part of the success we’ve seen throughout the years, including our recent NBA Finals run, along with Maxi and Markieff who are veteran voices equally valued across this team.
“This is a new chapter, and we are excited to welcome Anthony and Max to the fold. AD is an experienced veteran, who can play both ends of the floor while helping elevate us defensively. He knows first-hand what it takes to win, and I know he’s motivated to be a part of what we’re building in Dallas.”
According to reports, Harrison reached out to the Lakers to propose the trade. The Mavericks pursued trading the second-best player in the history of their franchise, who led them to the NBA Finals last spring after a thrilling run through the Western Conference playoffs.
This is an awful trade, and it happened because the Mavs didn’t trust Luka.
They didn’t trust that he would remain healthy. They didn’t trust that he would ever alter his approach to conditioning. They didn’t trust that he would ever care about guarding a soul. They didn’t trust that he would be worth the “supermax” contract that he could’ve signed with them this summer, worth $350 million.
Rather than see if Luka, 25, would prove them wrong about any of those points, the Mavs just dumped him now in favor of a center who is on the wrong side of 30. Anthony Davis is a great defensive player, when healthy, but he’s a player who has never quite lived up to what he should be.
Disregard the other parts; this is a Luka-for-AD swap.
The Mavericks now are built not around Luka ‘n’ Kyrie Irving, but Ky’ ‘n’ AD. Irving is 32, and Davis is 31.
The knock on Luka is that he’s never healthy, and his approach to that facet of being a pro basketball player is amateur-ish. He’s never appeared in more than 72 games in a season, and that number was reached during his rookie year.
He’s only appeared in 22 games this season, as he has been slowed because of a calf strain.
He routinely looks like he’s in pain, and about to give birth during a basketball game. For a man this young, he looks too damn old.
And the risk involved on a deal like this has no equal.
The Mavericks just traded an in-his-prime All-NBA player who can carry a team in a way that maybe two other players on the planet currently can (Jokic, Ant Man.).
Even in this offensive-friendly era of the NBA, the numbers Doncic puts up sometimes don’t look real. He’s one of the best offensive players who has ever played the game.
Before the trade, the hope was the Mavericks would get a handful of players, including Doncic, back from an injury report that is loaded with quality. Then, much like last season, they would be in a position to go on a run and threaten to potentially return to the NBA Finals.
The chances of that happening now are over.
The Dallas Mavericks traded Luka Doncic.
This story was originally published February 2, 2025 at 12:47 AM.
