The NBA landscape has completely changed after an early Sunday morning blockbuster three-team trade that is one of the most shocking in league history.
The Mavericks are sending Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris to the Lakers while Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick are going to Dallas, according to multiple reports.
The Jazz are the third team in the deal and are acquiring guard Jalen Hood-Schifino and two 2025 second-round draft picks from the Clippers and Mavericks.
ESPN’s Shams Charania was the first to report the stunning trade.
According to Charania, the Mavericks recently offered Doncic to the Lakers, who believe they are getting a bonafide star they can build around for the future.
As for the Mavericks, general manager Nico Harrison told ESPN he thinks that defense is the backbone of any team that aspires to win a title and that Davis fits this bill completely.
The Los Angeles Times reported that a longstanding relationship between him and his Lakers counterpart, Rob Pelinka, played a role in getting the deal done.
Harrison worked at Nike for 19 years, last serving as vice president of North America basketball operations, where he worked with athletes like Lakers great Kobe Bryant.
Pelinka was Bryant’s agent before he became a Lakers exec.
“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,” Harrison told ESPN.
Dallas, according to ESPN, had apprehensions about Doncic’s conditioning.
He was eligible for a supermax extension this coming summer.
In Doncic, the Lakers are acquiring one of the best players in the NBA since his arrival in 2018-19, when he won Rookie of the Year.
He has been a five-time All-NBA member, finished in the top five in the MVP voting three times and helped the Mavericks reach the NBA Finals last season.
For an eighth-place Dallas team this year, he averaged 28.1 points, 8.3 rebounds and 7.8 assists in 22 games.
Doncic has not played since Christmas Day, when he strained his left calf.
He will now pair with one of the greatest players in the history of the NBA in LeBron James.
James, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, learned of the trade while at dinner with family after beating the Knicks on Saturday night and did not know that the trade was in the works.
He loses a nine-time All-Star center in Davis who was averaging 25.7 points and 11.9 rebounds before the trade.
Davis sat out the Lakers’ win on Saturday at Madison Square Garden with an abdominal muscle strain.
In coach JJ Redick’s first year at the helm, the Lakers sit in fifth place in the Western Conference with a 28-19 record, having won eight of their last 10.
