The Dallas Mavericks agreed to exchange Luka Doncic at the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis in a shocking superproduction business which also involves Utah Jazz, according to several reports.
Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris will also go to Lakers, while Max Christie and the choice of first round of the Lakers in 2029 will go to the Mavericks. Jazz will receive Jalen Hood-Schifino, a second round choice in 2025 via the Clippers of Los Angeles and the choice of second round of the Mavericks in 2025 in the trade reported for the first time by Espn.
It is one of the most substantial and surprising professions Nba the story and will change the course of two franchises.
From the point of view of the Mavericks, this is particularly shocking. Dononic, 25, was one of the best players in the League since entering the League in 2018. He made five consecutive teams from the NBA and led the Mavericks to the NBA final last year , where they fell to the Boston Celtics.
For his career, he has an average of 28.6 points, 8.7 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game while pulling 47% on the field and is largely considered one of the best five players in the world. The players of its caliber are rarely exchanged unless they make their way out of the city. Per Marc SteinDononic did not make such a request.
But for all the donations of Doncic, his bad defense, which remained in the final, and the regular conditioning problems were too much for the director general of Mavericks, Nico Harrison, to ignore. Doncic has been sidelined since Christmas due to a calf injury and has never played more than 72 games in one season.
“I think the defense wins the championships,” said Harrison said espn On the decision to exchange. “I believe that obtaining an all-defensive center and an All-NBA player with a defensive state of mind gives us a better chance. We are built to win now and in the future.”
The Mavericks will now seek to move forward with a Davis-Kyrie Irving couple. These two have a chance to be a combination of dynamite, and they have a balanced list around them. It seems that Dallas could have had more for Donic, however, and if health and conditioning were a concern with him, they certainly did not solve him by adding Davis, who currently treats a foot injury, although He is healthier season of his career in 2023-24 (76 games played).
At 26-23, the Mavericks are in the ninth place in the crowded Western conference. At the same time, they are 2.5 games back of a seeded and a place in guaranteed qualifying series and 1.5 games ahead of 11th place and completely missing the game tournament.
For Lakers, the concerns of the Mavericks were their gain. To Donic, they now have a young superstar who can be the face of their franchise for the next decade. Any concern about what can happen to the organization once LeBron James retire which has just evaporated.
As for our days, the Lakers now have two of the league’s most gifted offensive players. James, even at 40, can always compose it from time to time, because he showed hours before trade When he dropped a triple-double In a victory over New York Knicks heated by red. However, he cannot do it every night, and with Doncic by his side, James will be more likely to choose his spots, which should keep it fresh up to and during the playoffs.
The Lakers won eight of their last 10 to go up to fifth place in the West at 28-19 years old, but were generally not considered as real threats of title due to the age of James and their lack of offensive and poor defense creation. Losing Davis certainly hurts the latter, but the first will no longer be a problem. Are James and Doncouic enough to really face? We will discover it soon.
