The Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks just broke the NBA. According to Shams Charania of ESPN, the Mavericks are trading Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber, and Markieff Morris to the Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis, Maxi Kleber, and a 2029 first-round pick.
When Charania first reported the news, most people assumed that his Twitter (X) account had been hacked, but follow-up reports from Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News and Chris Haynes confirmed the trade. Mavs GM Nico Harrison reportedly had concerns about Doncic’s conditioning issues, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Now, Doncic has a new home, and the Mavs are going for it right now.
But how does the deal look for both sides?
Lakers grade for Anthony Davis trade
Starting out with the Lakers’ point of view: They got Doncic.
Doncic is a generational offensive talent and one of the best players in the NBA. He just led the Mavs to the Finals last year and is in the prime of his career.
BREAKING: 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, sources tell ESPN. Three-team deal that includes Utah.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 2, 2025
Though he’s not a great defensive player and likely never will be, he has the talent to lead an offense for the next decade. That’s why the Lakers made the move.
Getting Morris and Kleber back is virtually useless in comparison to the rest of the trade, but that doesn’t matter. Davis has had injury issues throughout his career, but the Mavs’ concern over Doncic’s conditioning problems clearly outweighed that.
Now, the Lakers get to see what the rest of Doncic’s career looks like. And while the conditioning is a concern, LA has its future now.
Grade: A-
Mavericks grade for Anthony Davis trade
On the flip side, this deal probably isn’t as bad for the Mavs as most people think it is.
Losing Doncic hurts. It hurts for the fans, it hurts for the team, and it hurts for everyone who envisioned Doncic being the organization’s next Dirk Nowitzki.
But if the Mavericks were concerned with his conditioning enough to trade him so they wouldn’t have to pay him his next contract, then there have to be some serious concerns.
Now, they have an elite defender in Davis, an incredible scorer in Kyrie Irving, and a solid core that includes Dereck Lively II, Naji Marshall, and Klay Thompson, too.
But Davis has his own injury history, too. And the Mavericks only got one first-round pick. And they didn't get Dalton Knecht. This was an incredibly strange trade.
Grade: C+
This is a weird, unprecedented trade that could look very odd in hindsight for both teams involved. There is no way to actually know who won the trade, but for the time being, the Lakers getting a generational superstar gives them the edge.