Luke Dončić Has Been Traded To The Los Angeles Lakers (WHAT?)

I slept on this for a night and I woke up more confused. Enjoy.

To quote the anonymous 11-year-old who pulled the Paul Skenes 1:1 redemption card, “My brain pooped.” That is how I felt at dinner last night when Shams Charania tweeted that Luka Dončić is being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a 2029 unprotected first-round pick.

I read this tweet through the full gamut of emotions, as I am sure you did too. “Did Shams get hacked? Is this even his account? Are the Mavericks punking us? Why did Danny Ainge jump in for second-round picks like an adrenaline addict?” To answer all of those questions: No, Shams was not hacked, yes that was his real account, no the Mavericks were not punking us, they really just traded a generational 25-year-old superstar to a conference rival without shopping him, and yes Danny Ainge is addicted to the adrenaline of trade season.

I decided to go to bed last night and gather my thoughts before releasing any reaction surrounding this deal. I thought that potentially my knee-jerk reaction that the Mavericks were making a historical mistake that they may never overcome would seem a bit dramatic after sleeping on it. I was wrong. I woke up this morning even more confused, and even more convinced that the Mavericks quite possibly just made the worst trade in recent NBA history. Wait, the Jazz got Jalen Hood-Schifino? Seriously what do you think Ainge’s reaction was when he got that call? “Who is getting traded, and to where? Wow, is there any way I can get some seconds out of this?” Never change Danny.

The full trade details are as follows: Luka Dončić, Maxi Kleber, and Markieff Morris to the Lakers. Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a 2029 unprotected first-round pick to the Mavericks. Finally, the Jazz received Jalen Hood-Schifino a complicated 2025 Clippers second-round pick, and a 2025 Mavericks second-round pick.

There is no reasonable defense or explanation for the Mavericks to make this trade when you consider the return, the fact that they let Luka Dončić walk out of the building after an NBA Finals run in the middle of his prime, and the fact that they reportedly only spoke to the Lakers about this trade. The combination of all of these facts makes this completely inexcusable and has set the Mavericks franchise up to potentially be associated with the worst trade in NBA history when this is all said and done.

I cannot emphasize this enough, under almost no circumstances does a player of Luka’s caliber, who has accomplished what he has accomplished, get traded at 25 years old. Even if they are traded, there is typically a bidding war. I do not have any historical context for a trade like this besides the Pau Gasol trade between the Grizzlies and Lakers in 2008.

Even this is not a perfect comparison because Gasol was 28 years old at the time of the trade, and even though he is considered an all-time great now, he was not at the level of Luka Dončić when he was traded. The only direct comparison that can be drawn between these two trades is that those around the league were unaware that Gasol was available, and the trade happened out of nowhere, similar to last night’s Dončić trade.

I suppose that is where I will start. The fact that Nico Harrison, General Manager of the Dallas Mavericks, went in front of a microphone this morning and said out loud that he approached the Lakers regarding this trade, and he did not talk to any other teams, is a fireable offense on its own. There is no circumstance where Luka Dončić should be traded in the first place, but if you are considering moving him, the least you could do is shop him around in league circles and trade him to the highest bidder.

What if there was a better deal out there? Kevin Durant was traded just two years ago from the Nets to the Suns in exchange for Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson, and four first-round picks. Durant was 34 with an extensive injury history when this trade happened. Is Nico Harrison going to seriously look at the fanbase in Dallas and tell them that the best they could do for their 25-year-old superstar is Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and one unprotected 2029 first-round pick? That is ridiculous.

This is not a knock on Anthony Davis, who is a difference-maker in his own right, but Davis is 31 and comes with tremendous injury concerns. He has been able to consistently stay on the floor recently, but his body is not what I would call trustworthy, and as I already mentioned he is six years older than Luka.

Anthony Davis is a fantastic player, but even if they were the same age, Luka Dončić is a different caliber of NBA superstar than Anthony Davis. If Luka Dončić is the best player on your team, he has proven he can take you to the NBA Finals, even if the group around him is not perfect. When Anthony Davis is your best player, you are lucky to make the playoffs, let alone make an NBA Finals run. If you operate under the assumption that Dončić will sign a long-term extension at some point with the Lakers, that would mean he would be on the 2029 Lakers roster, which makes the unprotected pick the Mavericks acquired in this trade a likely mid to late 20’s pick. I cannot understate how ridiculous this is. This is the kind of trade that gets people fired in front offices.

I will admit that the basketball fit is not perfect on paper in the short term with Los Angeles. Luka and LeBron are both ball-dominant players, but LeBron is 40 years old, he will be much more willing to defer to Luka now than if this trade happened a few years ago. Still, I wonder how this might look in practice on the court this season. Surely there will be growing pains.

They also need a true center, because they cannot head into the second half of the season with Jaxson Hayes as their starting center if they are serious about competing. Long-term, this is a home run, but I am skeptical this makes the Lakers the favorite in the Western Conference, I still see the Thunder as the best team overall, but in a wide-open conference, stranger things have happened and Luka has already proven he can carry a team to a Finals appearance.

I have lambasted the Mavericks enough throughout this piece for you to understand that I loathe this deal long-term for Dallas. Short-term, however, is a slightly different story. I do think if Anthony Davis is healthy, they are going to be a tough team in the Western Conference at least for this season. Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, Anthony Davis, Daniel Gafford, and Quentin Grimes as a starting five is impressive, even if three out of the five best players are aging. This season, and perhaps next, the team is still set up to compete in the West. However, most importantly, I do not think they can make a run to the NBA Finals unless major injury and matchup luck favor them throughout the playoffs. With Luka Dončić on the team, I would never have discounted their title chances. See, look, I even tried to squint and see how I could see the Maverick’s side of this in the short term and I couldn’t even fully do that, that is how bad this trade looks.

I simply cannot believe I am writing a piece on Luka Dončić’s fit with the Los Angeles Lakers in the year 2025. If you had told me he forced his way to Los Angeles in 2032 maybe I wouldn’t be so flabbergasted, but this was simply not on anyone’s radar, including people like LeBron James and Luka Dončić himself. This is the first time in my lifetime that I can remember a true superstar being blindsided in the NBA. If anything this has certainly shifted the power dynamic back to the front office and ownership at least for a day or two. This should caution any current star from feeling too comfortable on their team. If Luka Dončić can be secretly traded in the middle of the night for an aging big man exiting his prime, no one is safe.