Late Saturday evening, in a three-team deal that includes the Utah Jazz, it was announced the Dallas Mavericks are trading Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber, and Markieff Morris to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick, as divulged by Shams Charania, an ESPN sports reporter.
On an Instagram post by overtime, a popular all encompassing sports account, many were shocked, to say the least, about this sequence of events. One user, (@overtimezack) stated “Doesn’t make any sense”, while another (@tanner_escamillia27) expressed “This cannot be real life.” It is clear that the sentiment shared across the league and its fans can be narrowed down to one word: unbelievable.
To push it further; a couple hours later, it was stated that Lebron James had no idea the trade was in the works, as disclosed by ESPN. James had learned of the trade, after it was concluded, during dinner with his family.
But what does this mean for the teams involved in what can only be described as “the most shocking trade in NBA history”? Well, it means the entire NBA landscape has changed in one sensationally, dumbfounding trade.
The Lakers believe they have traded for a superstar player who they can continue to build around for the future. Doncic is only 25 years old, and since his league debut in 2018-2019, has been one of the best players in the league. This season, he averages 28.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 7.8 assists in 22 games, as reported by the New York Post. Doncic is a five-time All-NBA member and led the Mavericks to the NBA Finals last season. Although, the Mavericks had ongoing worries about Doncic’s conditioning and the looming supermax extension available in the summer. In contrast, the Mavericks believe defense is the “backbone” to any team that’s championship hopeful, and they believe Davis fits this statement to a tee. Davis is a nine-time All-Star center who averages 25.7 points and 11.9 rebounds previous to the trade.
It’s safe to say this trade will certainly shake things up and make the title contention all the more exciting.
