The Most Shocking Trade in NBA History
The Luka Doncic trade is a “Where were you when…” level of event.
I was sitting at a table at my friend’s apartment. We had agreed that we’d head back to my dorm in a few minutes but I was stalling because I didn’t want to step out into the freezing cold in the T-shirt I was wearing. Thus, we kicked back for a few extra minutes. All of a sudden, he broke the silence and uttered four simple words. “Luka to the Lakers.” I immediately looked at him as if he’d told me his mom died. I asked him to repeat himself, and he reiterated, “Luka just got traded to the Lakers.” Like everybody when they heard the news, I scrambled to take my phone out of my pocket and looked up “mavs,” because it was the quickest word I could type out as my mind raced.
Then I saw it. Luka, Maxi Kleber, and Markieff Morris for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a 2029 first-round pick. Obviously, I’ll get into the aftermath of the trade and address the obvious—which is that the Mavs might have just made the worst trade in NBA history—but in the moment, I was in pure shock. I walked to the other side of the room, stared at my friend with my hand covering my mouth, and sat in silence.
I distinctly remember only feeling this level of shock from something sports-related once. That would be Kobe’s death. That’s how mind-boggling it was to see this trade.
After my mind sifted through Luka’s highest and lowest moments as a Maverick, the calls started filtering in. Ray, who you know from the NFL panel, called me. When I picked up, there was no “Hello" or “What’s good.” We both knew exactly why he called. He was just as shocked as I was. After both of us struggled to find any explanation for six minutes, we hung up and I immediately received another call.
From that point, any plans I had that night were long gone. The next two hours were consumed by calls and texts to friends in disbelief, watching SportsCenter and searching for every possible report online. For this was no longer just a basketball trade; this was a national story. My friend Ben shared with me that his entire floor at Holy Cross “went crazy” when the news broke. Remember, this trade went down at about 12:30 AM.
Once I found myself on Brian Windhorst’s dad’s Twitter page at around 2:15 AM, I knew it was probably time to call it quits, but that didn’t stop me from playing the Bill Simmons “Emergency Luka Pod” when I awoke from a bad dream at 5:45 AM. Once I got out of bed this morning, it was podcast after podcast with ESPN on in the background while making breakfast, doing homework, walking, watching the Grammys, etc.
This is all to say that my last 24 hours have been consumed by the Doncic trade and the Doncic trade only because it genuinely might be the most shocking, unprecedented, surreal trade in NBA history.
The Report
Remember when Brian Windhorst gave his monologue after game three of the Finals last year?
“His defensive performance is unacceptable. He’s a hole on the court. The Celtics are attacking him. They are ahead in this series because they’ve attacked him defensively. And you’ve got a situation here where Luka is complaining about the officiating. They have begged him, they have talked with him, they have pleaded with him—he’s costing his team because of how he treats the officials… So maybe over the summer, somebody will get to him. Because nobody with the Mavericks or anybody in his life has.” —Brian Windhorst (ESPN)
Windhorst received a boatload of backlash for his comments from people pointing out that Doncic still managed to score 27 points in that particular game and that he was the only reason the Mavs were in the Finals in the first place. While those things were true, what Windhorst said was true as well. Luka is a traffic cone on defense which the Celtics exposed for the entirety of the Finals.
Luka’s atrocious defense is part of a larger conversation which is the fact that he’s never in shape. He hasn’t committed to perfecting his diet and his workout routine since the start of his career—a maddening subplot for the Mavs organization which has watched other ultra-talented players like Victor Wembanyama, Jayson Tatum, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sacrifice their usual diets and conditioning for the greater good of their teams.
“The Mavs had become extremely frustrated with Luka Doncic's constant conditioning issues... His weight ballooned into the high 260s this year.” —Tim McMahon (ESPN)
With poor conditioning comes injuries. Luka has a deep history of calf strains—he is currently recovering from his fourth calf injury in four years. The Mavericks have already been harmed by Doncic’s injury enough this season and clearly didn’t feel comfortable moving forward with the high risk that he would suffer another injury in the playoffs.
Mavs GM Nico Harrison told ESPN’s McMahon, “I believe that defense wins championships. I believe that getting an All-Defensive center [in Davis] and an All-NBA player with a defensive mindset gives us a better chance. We’re built to win now and in the future.”
The other major factor in Harrison’s decision to deal Doncic was his looming contract extension over the summer. Doncic was slated to sign the largest deal in NBA history—a deal worth $345M over five years. It was leaked that the Mavericks were “terrified” about giving him that money, implying that they felt they couldn’t rely on him to stay on the court or be a winning player on both ends of the floor.
The real X-factor is something I’ve already written about at great lengths this season—the second apron. Doncic’s supermax extension would have pushed the Mavs over the second apron and would have heavily financially restricted them for years to come. There’s a strong chance that the Adelson family, who bought Mark Cuban’s majority stake in the team late in 2023 were not willing to go over the the second apron to pay Doncic and pay the enormous tax as a result.
So, that’s why the Mavs reportedly dealt Doncic to the Lakers. Now, let’s get into what I think about it.
My Opinion
A day later, I’m still numb. I’ve thought about little else all day. Seeing Luka in a Lakers jersey gives me the chills. Earlier today, I saw a report via Mavs forward Naji Marshall that Luka texted “Thanks for everything” to the Mavs group chat and just stared at the screen with a blank expression. Just now, I saw the photos of Luka and Maxi Kleber touching down in LA. For the life of me, I cannot imagine how the Mavs watched the last six and half years of Luka Doncic and decided that they didn’t want him to be a part of their next 15 years. This is the same franchise that took great pride in keeping Dirk Nowitzki for his whole 21-year career. A long career with the team that drafted him is where I and everyone thought Luka was headed.
Much like I did last night when I received the news, I have been flipping through Doncic’s career in my head. His game-tying moonshot against Portland in his rookie season, the stare into Devin Booker’s eyes in game seven, his 73-point masterpiece on the Hawks, numerous buzzer-beating threes against the Celtics and Grizzlies, the stepback versus the Clippers in the bubble, his 60-point triple-double, his lethal three-pointer to win game two against Minnesota followed by the vicious stare down of Rudy Gobert, the lob to Gafford to seal the deal in game three, and countless other cold-blooded plays that silenced either hostile road crowds or sent the American Airlines Center into an absolute frenzy have replaced my usual thoughts today.
I’m not even a Mavs fan, and it makes me somewhat emotional to think about him playing in another city. Now, imagine you are a Mavs fan and hearing that your franchise cornerstone, your future Hall-of-Famer, your chosen one has been traded to the Lakers without any warning. That’d be like if your girlfriend of seven years broke up with you without notice, posted a picture with a new guy the next day, and tried to set you up with her friend the day after that. So, to make it clear, I don’t agree with the Mavericks trading Luka Doncic for anything in the first place. But it’s how it went down that is the most puzzling.
The suddenness of the trade is the biggest issue. Absolutely nobody knew this trade was coming. Even LeBron James, who everyone attacks for taking over the role of general manager during trade deadline, had no idea this was coming.
"LeBron James learned of the Davis-Doncic trade after the Knicks game when it broke while he was out to dinner with his family, sources close to James told ESPN. James was surprised by the news, is processing it and had no idea it was in the works, sources said.” —Dave McMenamin (ESPN)
The rest of the league reacted in shock with some comments taking a very thoughtful approach such as Kevin Durant saying, “It's crazy man. I really don't know what to say about it. Luka being a guy that everybody has claimed is untouchable and untradeable. The NBA shows you again." Well-respected Yahoo insider Kevin O’Connor wrote, “Luka must’ve demanded a trade to the Lakers, right? This is beyond shocking. I really thought I was dreaming or even died.”
Other players took to social media, displaying their raw reactions. Joel Embiid wrote, “WOWWWWW NO F WAY.” C.J. McCollum was just as startled as everybody else, posting, “I can’t tell what’s real and fake anymore on these apps. Luka really going to the lakers or nah?” And even the greatest Maverick of all time—Dirk Nowitzki—posted a simple “😳” emoji.
No one and I mean NO ONE saw this coming. And that should never be the case when a superstar is traded. When the Pelicans traded Anthony Davis to the Lakers in 2019, they surveyed the list of teams that wanted him and all of the possible packages they could acquire in return. As a result, they maximized the return for Davis. The same goes for the Nets dealing of Kevin Durant in 2022 and the Clippers trade for James Harden in 2023.
The Mavs did the inconceivable. Besides a reported call that they made to one other team two weeks ago, the Lakers were their only suitor. As a result, they only had one trade to make, panicked, and made it. All things considered, the value isn’t good. Anthony Davis is a borderline top-10 player, but Doncic is a top-5 player and he’s six years younger. The Mavs somehow managed to only acquire one first-round pick and no pick swaps which is shocking given that Mikal Bridges went for five first-round picks this summer. And while the Mavs have been concerned with Doncic’s health and conditioning, Davis has had a far lengthier injury history and prior to last season, he was considered to be one of the most injury-prone players in the NBA.
Why wouldn’t Nico Harrison just make Doncic’s name public on the trade market? I guarantee you that every single team apart from the Thunder would listen to trade requests. That way, instead of taking the only offer available, the Mavs would have had a slew of trade proposals to choose from. And the trade is a disservice to Doncic, who was reportedly blindsided when he heard the news. Putting his name on the market would have been a fair warning of what has happened.
As for the health-related and financial concerns that Dallas’ front office had for Doncic, I don’t see eye-to-eye with them. Sure, his conditioning hasn’t improved much since he entered the league. But did he not just drag his team to the Finals with the same beer, cigar, and snack-filled diet? It’s not as if he was the Slim Reaper last spring. The Mavs were three games away from the title with an overweight Doncic.
I could understand the reluctancy to pay him $345M if he was an All-Star level player, but this is a perennial MVP candidate we’re talking about. Whether you trust him or not to stay healthy, you have to pay your superstars. Plus, it’s not as if that contract won’t be surpassed by the next supermax player in two offseasons. If Jaylen Brown can be the highest player in league history for a year, Doncic most definitely can.
Historical Implications
I can’t emphasize enough how historic this trade is.
Luka getting swapped for AD is the first occurrence of two All-NBA players being traded for each other in the middle of the season. He is the youngest first-team All-NBA player to be traded in the following season in NBA history.
He is also the youngest player to ever make five All-NBA first-teams in history. The other four active players to make it at least five times are all 30 years old (James, Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and James Harden).
If you look at the top 25 players of all time, none of them were traded without a request in their prime. Harden was young and was still a sixth man when he was traded to the Rockets. Anthony Davis and Kevin Garnett requested trades from the Pelicans and Timberwolves, respectively. Even Kareem wanted out of Milwaukee before being traded in 1975. There’s never been a player of Doncic’s caliber traded at the peak of his powers without his consent. Ever.
Outlook for Each Team
The Lakers clearly won this trade. They turned a bleak future of an aging Anthony Davis and unproven young players into 15 years of one of the most marvelous basketball players to grace the earth. All of a sudden, the Lakers have the next face of their franchise—a proven entity with an insatiable hunger to prove even more. In no world can this trade be painted as a Mavs win or even a wash.
However, this doesn’t exactly mean the Lakers got better right now. Luka, Austin Reaves, and LeBron on the same roster without a true center isn’t going to get it done defensively. Luckily for the Lakers, the Mavs were stupid enough not to require the Lakers’ 2031 pick in the trade, so LA still has a pick to play with.
I think the Lakers need to act quickly and trade Reaves, whose value is higher than it will ever be with Luka on the roster, and their first-round pick for a Walker Kessler or Myles Turner type of player. Doncic, Dalton Knecht, LeBron, Rui Hachimura, and Turner/Kessler with Gabe Vincent, Dorian Finney-Smith, Maxi Kleber, and Jarred Vanderbilt off the bench is a pretty solid depth chart. Frankly, any Doncic and James-led team with a lick of defense and some shooting is a contender.
With Doncic’s health concerns this season, I’m not sure there will be enough time for the Lakers to reach their prime form this season, but LeBron has shown no signs of retirement and the Lakers revealed that he will not be traded at the deadline. If the Lakers improve their roster in the 2025 offseason with one of the most well-rounded, talented, high-IQ duos of all time at the base of it all, they will be an immediate championship contender in 2026.
I don’t want to hear about Doncic’s fit with LeBron. These are two of the smartest players in NBA history. They’ll figure it out. I also don’t want to hear about LeBron being reluctant to take a back seat to Doncic. Time after time, LeBron has made it clear that Davis was the primary option on the Lakers including after their win against the Knicks last night. He knows that even if he’s taking the passenger seat on the floor, he’ll always be the main attraction off the floor.
Now, for the Mavs. As badly as the Mavs just screwed up their future—which Nico Harrison incorrectly defined as the next 3-to-4 years—they’ve got a chance to contend right off the bat. If Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis can stay healthy, they are one of the top duos in the league. And unlike Luka’s and LeBron’s skillsets which overlap more than anyone’s, Kyrie and AD juxtapose each other perfectly.
Nico Harrison says he wants defense and he now has it with AD. But he’s got it elsewhere too. PJ Washington, Max Christie, Quentin Grimes, and Naji Marshall are all elite defenders at the wing and guard positions, and Dereck Lively II, along with AD, will make a furious rim-protecting duo.
Davis also gets to play power forward. He’s been on the record as very discontent with the Lakers’ stubbornness to play him at center after their championship run in 2020. Just the other day, he sounded off on playing center in an interview with Shams Charania.
"I think we need another big. I feel like I've always been at my best when I've been the 4, having a big out there." —Anthony Davis
Davis finally gets his wish in Dallas. What’s more, is that Dallas might look to trade Daniel Gafford now and add more guard flexibility behind Irving and Spencer Dinwiddie. All things considered, I actually like the Mavs more than the Lakers this year and probably next year too.
And Davis is doing his part to help the Mavs build, too.
“Anthony Davis waived his $5.9m trade kicker as a part of the deal, sources told ESPN. The decision was made to give DAL flexibility in order to be as competitive as possible, while also recognizing that the money can be made back in other ways, with no state taxes in Texas and in signing a contract extension in the future with the franchise.” —Dave McMenamin (ESPN)
Dallas might not have won this deal in the long run but they’ll have their shot in these next two or three years to prove that trading away one of the greatest young players in history was worth it.
The Bottom Line
My outlook on the Mavs is about as optimistic as somebody can be for them. Because the bottom line is that no matter the reasons and no matter the package you get in return (unless it contains Victor Wembanyama), there is absolutely no excuse for trading away Luka Doncic before the prime of his career.
Luka just made his first Finals. His defense was starting to come around. He’s the third-highest scorer in NBA history behind Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain. He’s proven to be one of the most statistically productive regular season players ever and one of the most deadly playoff players ever.
Luka was supposed to be “the guy” in Dallas until 2040. He was supposed to have a statue right next to Dirk outside of American Airlines Center. He was supposed to have his jersey in the rafters, continue being an inspiration to young hoopers across Dallas, fulfill the role of the franchise’s lord and savior, and everything else that comes with being Luka Doncic.
Now, all of that is gone and it still doesn’t even feel real. The Mavs arena will feel empty without Luka Magic inside and while Nico Harrison’s projections of the numbers on the scale, the contract, and the defensive end might be accurate, he has greatly failed to consider looking at the situation with his heart. You can’t trade Luka Doncic at age 25. You just can’t.
Harrison is gambling on the biggest short in NBA history. He’s betting that Luka’s health issues will continue to plague him in Los Angeles and he’ll never get over the hump of being a winning basketball player. And he’s betting that in the twilight of their primes, Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis can lead the Mavs to a championship.
I’m betting that neither of these two things will happen and that assuming they don’t, Nico Harrison will be known as the guy who made the worst trade in NBA history.
😳