The NBA world was left stunned early Sunday morning when the Dallas Mavericks traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis. The trade caught everyone off guard, with initial skepticism about its authenticity until ESPN’s Shams Charania confirmed the details.
According to The Athletic’s Sam Amick, the Mavericks had actually explored trading Doncic with another team before finalizing the deal with the Lakers. “The Mavericks were greatly concerned with Dončić’s durability — or lack thereof — and convinced his approach to the game would continue to be a problem in the years to come,” Amick explained. He further noted that, despite multiple teams being surprised that Dallas was willing to trade Doncic, at least one team had been approached nearly two weeks prior about a potential swap for another star.
“That bid was turned down, but the message sent in the process had been clear: There was trouble brewing in Dallas. And the Lakers, in the end, were the ones who reaped the benefits,” Amick wrote.
For years, Doncic’s conditioning has been a topic of discussion, though he has still managed to be one of the most dominant players on the court. It seems the Mavericks were concerned that the situation would deteriorate and decided to act preemptively, leading to one of the most significant trades in NBA history.
The identity of the mystery team remains unknown, but it will be interesting to see if any details emerge about which other franchise had the opportunity to acquire Doncic before the Lakers.
