The landscape of the NBA may have forever changed Saturday night.
As reported by Shams Charania, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks agreed to a blockbuster trade sending Luka Doncic to LA for a package including big man Anthony Davis.
The Lakers received Doncic, forward Maxi Kleber, and forward Markieff Morris. The Mavericks nabbed Davis, guard Max Christie, and the Lakers 2029 first-round pick. Lakers guard Jalen Hood-Schifino and two second-round picks ended up with the Utah Jazz.
We’ve never seen a trade send shockwaves like this through the league (and social media). Doncic, at only 25 years of age, has already made five First Team All-NBA squads. He’s one of the faces of the league, and without a doubt is primed to one day become a Hall of Famer.
Davis, 31, is in the midst of an exceptionally good season. He’s proven to stay relatively healthy over the last two years despite his history suggesting otherwise. He now can comfortably play at his preferred four spot alongside the fives (Dereck Lively II, Daniel Gafford) on Dallas’ roster.
All things aside, Dallas GM Nico Harrison went out on a MAJOR limb in making this deal. Even with Doncic’s perceived issues with conditioning, he still led the team to the NBA Finals a year ago. There’s still room for growth in his game, and as a top-five player, Doncic still hasn’t yet reached his prime.
Davis is a fantastic player. Having said that, the timeline for this team being competitive has lessened dramatically. Davis and Kyrie Irving are soon going to be turning 32 years of age. The fact Harrison failed to shop Doncic to any other team for presumably a far greater package is also perplexing.
At the very least, why not put Doncic out on the open market to see what you could get? Even further — how did the Mavericks not get LA’s second first-round pick — or at the very least Austin Reaves?
This could go down as an all-time error by Dallas when it’s all said and done. Considering Doncic and his level of competitiveness, one can envision a scenario where he gets in great shape under the tutelage of LeBron James. In a playoff series, no one will want to see those two.
