Yes, you just read that right. The Los Angeles Lakers are certainly looking to boost their chances to compete for the NBA Championship and made one of the biggest moves in the history of the NBA ahead of the 2025 NBA Trade Deadline. The Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, and Utah Jazz completed a three-team trade that sent Luka Doncic to join the Lakers and Anthony Davis to pair up with Kyrie Irving in Dallas. Let’s take a look at the breaking news and dissect what just happened.
Luka Doncic is a Los Angeles Lakers
ESPN’s Shams Charnia is reporting that there was a three-team trade that saw Luka Doncic get sent to the Los Angeles Lakers to join LeBron James. The full trade is posted below:
Los Angeles Lakers
- Luka Doncic
- Maxi Kleber
- Markieff Morris
Dallas Mavericks
- Anthony Davis
- Max Christie
- 2029 Los Angeles Lakers 1st
Utah Jazz
- Jalen Hood-Schifino
- 2025 Los Angeles Clippers 2nd
- 2025 Dallas Mavericks 2nd
This trade is going to be interesting and will likely make more sense as news continues to roll out. The Mavericks reportedly approached the Lakers with Luka Doncic on the table and the Lakers’ brass believes Doncic could be face of the franchise for the next decade once LeBron James retires. For the Lakers, they are now without much rim protection as they lost Anthony Davis and gives them a move towards the future. With the buyout market coming soon, the Lakers are going to be in the mix for a big man.
Luka Doncic has not played since Christmas Day as he is dealing with a calf injury and only played in 22 games this season. He is averaging 28.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 7.8 assists, and 2.0 steals per game. For the Los Angeles Lakers, they get younger as Anthony Davis is 31 years old and giving the Purple and Gold a chance to have a bright future. With the uncertainty of how long LeBron James will be in the league, this is something that helps going forward.
What does this mean for the Dallas Mavericks?
The Dallas Mavericks were in the NBA Finals last season and now gives the team a duo of Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis. However, there is questions arising as ESPN’s Tim MacMahon is reporting the Mavs had major concerns moving forward with Luka Doncic. This makes the Mavericks have a different dynamic and now has Kyrie Irving, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Klay Thompson to lead the top three positions.
This trade is one of the largest in the sport and it will be interesting to see how this makes the Dallas Mavericks front office look as they have pulled the plug on Luka Doncic and did not let the rest of the league while only getting one first-round pick. However, Anthony Davis has been vocal about not wanting to play center and now he will play power forward with the Mavericks.
Dallas Mavericks GM Nico Harrison told ESPN about his thought process for making this trade.
“I believe that defense wins championships. I believe that getting an ALl-Defensive center and an All-NBA player with a defensive mindset gives us a better chance. We’re built to win now and in the future.”
