Every team in the NBA would sell their soul to get to get a player like Luka Doncic on the roster. The Dallas Mavericks apparently couldn’t wait to get rid of him.
The Mavs made the stunning decision to trade Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in the early hours of Sunday morning. Doncic is joining LeBron James in Los Angeles, while Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a 2029 first-round pick going to Dallas. This has a case as the most shocking trade in sports history: there were no mummers that Doncic could be traded, but Dallas lead executive, Nico Harrison, had reportedly been planning it for weeks.
Doncic never asked for a trade. So why did Dallas make the move? The Mavs immediately leaked their reasoning for trading Doncic, and it came down to two things: his conditioning, and his eligibility for a supermax contract in the offseason worth $345 million.
ESPN reporter Tim MacMahon covers the Mavs as well as anyone. Minutes after the trade, he put out this post explaining Dallas’ side of the trade.
The Mavs had major concerns about moving forward with Luka Doncic due to his constant conditioning issues and the looming commitment of another supermax contract extension this summer, sources told ESPN.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) February 2, 2025
Harrison then took a shot at Doncic’s defensive ability. Of course Doncic has never been known for his defense, but he’s one of the three best offensive players in the world and just entering the prime of his career. Harrison flat out said that he believes Davis’ defensive ability gives his team a better chance to win than Luka’s offensive brilliance.
“I believe that defense wins championships,” Mavs GM Nico Harrison told ESPN regarding his motivation to trade Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis. “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 was transparent in explaining his decision to Dallas Morning News reporter Brad Townsend, as well. The Mavericks knew they were going to have to offer Doncic a supermax contract extension in the offseason worth $345 million. The way Harrison explained it, Dallas seemed to have some reservations that Doncic would accept the deal.
“We really feel like we got ahead of what was going to be a tumultuous summer, him being eligible for the supermax and also a year away from him being able to opt out of any contract,” Harrison said. “And so we really felt like we got out in front of that. We know teams, they’ve had it out there, teams have been loading up to try to sign him once that comes available.”
I’m calling BS on the idea that Dallas thought Doncic might turn down the offer, which would allow him to eventually leave in free agency a year later. There’s no precedent for a star player turning down that type of money. Dallas just got gun-shy about offering it to him, partially due to his conditioning and injury issues.
There’s always a luxury tax component in a trade like this. It wasn’t a surprise to hear Dallas dodged the tax after this move.
With Anthony Davis waiving his trade bonus, Dallas is now $628K under the luxury tax.
They were $5.1M over prior to the trade.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) February 2, 2025
Did Harrison have a mandate from ownership to get under the tax line? It wouldn’t be a surprise if that was true. Under this new CBA with more punitive luxury tax restrictions, teams everywhere want to stay out of the tax. They just usually don’t do it by trading one of the best players in the NBA.
The Mavs making this trade because of worries over Doncic’s long-term fitness makes some sense — especially after watching Joel Embiid basically being unable to play after signing a three-year, $192 million extension last summer. The issue is who they got back: Davis is an excellent player, obviously, but he has even greater durability concerns than Doncic has ever had. Davis has been mostly healthy this year, but he’s currently out with an abdominal injury.
Doncic is out with a calf injury himself, and this is the third time he’s had a similar injury in his career. Still, Doncic is about to turn 26 years old and is just entering the prime of his career. Davis is about to turn 32 years old, and is on the downside of his prime.
It’s unreal that the Mavs would do this trade, though they know Doncic’s injury history and mental preparation better than anyone. It’s still a head-scratcher for Dallas.
