On Feb. 2, 2025, basketball diehards, enthusiasts and fans opened social media in disbelief. A seemingly normal Saturday night became one of the most shocking, head-scratching and possibly pivotal moments in the history of the National Basketball Association. The Dallas Mavericks, three wins away from a championship the previous season, were trading their franchise cornerstone player to the Los Angeles Lakers. Luka Dončić was now on a plane flying halfway across the country. The man who just led the Mavericks to the Finals, the man who had the first 60-20-10 game ever in the NBA, the man who Mark Cuban said that if he “had to choose between (his) wife and keeping (Dončić) on the Mavs, catch (him) at (his) lawyer’s office prepping for a divorce.”
In the most unexpected trade in league history, the Dallas Mavericks sent Dončić, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Olympic and NBA champion Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick. The Utah Jazz also snagged former Laker Jalen Hood-Schifino, the Los Angeles Clippers’ 2025 second-round selection, and the Mavs’ 2025 second-round pick as a third beneficiary in the milestone.
The basketball world erupted. In the league’s first season without highly respected NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski, many thought hackers took over new leading scooper Shams Charania’s social media accounts. Dončić was supposed to be untouchable, one of the only five to ten players in the association teams should never trade. How could the Mavericks possibly fathom giving up such a generational asset?
According to ESPN Sportswriter Tim MacMahon, Dallas had become increasingly restless with Dončić, having “concerns about moving forward with the 25-year-old star because of [his] conditioning and the looming commitment of another extension this summer.” In November, Dončić missed 11 games due to a reported right wrist sprain. However, MacMahon writes that the Mavericks formulated this story to “provide Dončić time to shed weight after he had ballooned into the high 260s.” After Dončić’s return in December, he strained his left calf for the third time in four years in a Christmas Day game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. This injury forced Dončić to retake time off, during which it was said he reached 270 pounds. Combined with the notion that Dallas was “terrified of making a supermax $350 million commitment to [Dončić] this summer,” Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison decided it was time to move on from “Luka Magic.”
Following the circulation of Dončić’s stated weight gain, Harrison attempted to clarify the trade’s logistics to Mavs fans and NBA bystanders. In acquiring Davis, Dallas received a defensive anchor and potent scorer who has proven he can win at any level. “We feel that defense wins championships,” Harrison stated, arguing that Davis better suits a Mavericks team built to win now. He double-downed on these remarks, proclaiming, “The future to me is [three, four] years from now … ten years from now — they’ll probably bury me and [head coach Jason Kidd] by then. Or we’ll bury ourselves.”
Harrison’s comments left a stain on the organization, and many Mavs fans pointed out his hypocrisy. Dončić is consistently critiqued for his lack of defensive effort and prowess, which tarnishes his overall game and the team. Yet, Dallas made several moves at last season’s trade deadline to alleviate this weakness, picking up defensive-minded bigs P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford. These trades allowed the Mavericks to achieve the sixth-best defensive rating in last year’s playoffs en route to their first finals appearance since 2011 (Forbes, Issa).
Although Harrison claims that moving Dončić was the right decision for Dallas in the short term, this also doesn’t align with their recent success. In their breakout 2023-2024 campaign, the Mavs won 50 games and secured the No. 5 seed in a loaded Western Conference. During their playoff run, Dallas knocked off the No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder and the No. 3 seed Timberwolves before eventually falling to the Boston Celtics in the championship. And who carried the franchise to their best season in almost a decade and a half?
Luka Dončić.
Last season, Dončić averaged a near-unfathomable triple-double, scoring 33.9 points per game, dishing out 9.8 assists a night and securing 9.2 boards every contest. He finished third in MVP voting and played the most games since his rookie season. In the playoffs, Dončić was first in points, rebounds, assists, steals, threes, field goals made, free throws and minutes played among all players. If Harrison’s goal is to win the NBA Finals in the next three to four years, wouldn’t it make sense to keep Dončić around?
Amid Harrison’s questionable decision-making, old dirt about the general manager was quickly uncovered. In 2013, while serving as an executive at Nike, Harrison was part of a group tasked with signing up-and-coming superstar Stephen Curry to the Swoosh. However, the pitch went awry. ESPN’s Ethan Sherwood Strauss says the “presentation was riddled with mistakes, starting with a Nike official mispronouncing Curry’s name as ‘Steph-on’” and had “mistakenly featured Kevin Durant’s name, suggesting recycled materials and a lack of genuine effort.”
Harrison’s reluctance to shop around for more compensation for Dončić and ensure the deal “materialized in the shadows” was a stab of betrayal to the city of Dallas (Charania). Citizens loved Dončić, and they revolted by vandalizing city sidewalks near the airport and even carrying a fake casket of Dončić to the city’s Dirk Nowitzki statue. Although losing Dončić is one of the most significant blows in sports history, the Mavs still have one of best rosters in the NBA, and are poised to contend for a Larry O’Brien trophy.
Dončić’s mega-stardom has essentially led to the overlooking of Davis and the negligence of his abilities. Although nearing age 32, Davis is still one of the top big men in the NBA, averaging 26-12-3 this season. Davis also looks to finally be over his injury hump that plagued his early years with the Lakers. He played in 76 out of 82 games last season and has appeared in 42 of the club’s 47 contests this campaign. Adding Davis to an already sound frontcourt and a masterful point guard in Kyrie Irving could indeed lead to short-term victories. However, with three aging core members in Davis, Irving, and Klay Thompson, health and father time will be the biggest concerns for the new-look Mavericks.
In Hollywood, the Lakers and their fans couldn’t be happier. Having landed yet another generational talent, many hope Dončić will be the next all-time great to don the purple and gold. Paring Dončić with a somehow still-productive 40-year-old Lebron James sets up the kid from Akron with one final push towards his fifth ring. Not only are the Lakers primed to compete now, but building around a young core of Dončić, Austin Reeves, and Jarred Vanderbilt sets them up for future success.
One concern the Lakers’ head coach, J.J. Redick, must face is the pairing of Dončić and James. Throughout his career, nobody else on James’ team has been able to do what he can. While Dončić isn’t nearly the athlete James is, they share similar roles on the court. Each facilitates the offense, needing the ball in their hands for the majority of a possession to either find a scoring opportunity or dish an assist to a teammate.
But when trading for Dončić, you aren’t necessarily looking for a good fit for your team. It’s Luka Dončić, and he undoubtedly makes any group better regardless of his situation. Whether Dallas or Los Angeles end up being the beneficiaries of this blockbuster deal, this trade has forever altered the course of NBA history, and we are in for a show
