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Dave McMenamin
NEW YORK — In a blockbuster trade that figures to impact the Western Conference balance of power for years to come, the Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks and Utah Jazz agreed to a three-team deal that will swap Anthony Davis for Luka Doncic, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania late Saturday.
The Lakers will receive Doncic, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris from the Mavericks, sources said. Dallas will receive Davis, Max Christie and the Lakers’ 2029 first-round pick.
The Jazz will receive Jalen Hood-Schifino, the LA Clippers‘ 2025 second-round pick and the Mavericks’ 2025 second-round selection.
“I believe that defense wins championships,” Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison told ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, explaining his motivation to deal Doncic for 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.”
The trade talks were initiated by Dallas, league sources told ESPN, and began a few days ago. Harrison and Rob Pelinka, the Lakers’ vice president of basketball operations and general manager, have a long-standing relationship dating to when Harrison was Kobe Bryant’s marketing manager at Nike and Pelinka was Bryant’s agent.
The Lakers’ front office, ownership group and coaching staff were in alignment on the deal, excited to acquire a young superstar in Doncic while recognizing it takes a lot to get a lot in the NBA.
Lakers superstar LeBron James learned of the trade when it broke while he was out to dinner with family after Saturday’s win against the Knicks in New York, sources close to James told ESPN. James was surprised by the news, sources said. Davis and Doncic were also not informed of the trade ahead of time, sources told Charania.
The Mavericks were motivated to move Doncic because of his constant conditioning concerns, sources told MacMahon. There had been significant frustration within the organization about Doncic’s lack of discipline regarding his diet and conditioning, which team sources considered a major factor in his injury issues.
Though Doncic was relatively lean by his standards when he reported to camp, his weight ballooned to the high 260s early this season, sources said. He sat out five games in late November, when the Mavericks listed him with a sprained right wrist, an extended absence to allow Doncic to focus on his conditioning. He had a similar early-season layoff in the 2022-23 season.
Doncic has been limited to 22 games this season because of a variety of injuries. He has twice strained his left calf since reporting to Dallas before training camp in late September, although the Mavericks reported the fall injury only as a calf contusion, sources said.
Doncic has not played since straining his calf again on Christmas Day but has been targeting a return before the All-Star break later this month, sources told MacMahon. Davis has sat out the Lakers’ past two games after being diagnosed with an abdominal muscle strain earlier this week. Davis was expected to be reevaluated in a week, the Lakers said Wednesday.
Doncic was in line to receive a five-year, $345 million contract this summer, but because of the trade, he is no longer eligible for a supermax deal, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
The deal is as stunning as it is historic. It’s the first time that two reigning All-NBA players have been traded for each other midseason, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Davis will join a team featuring a coaching staff led by Jason Kidd, who was an assistant coach with the Lakers’ 2020 championship team, and assistant coach Jared Dudley, who was a role player on the 2020 Lakers squad.
There was one game — Phoenix–Portland — still going on in the NBA on Saturday night when reports began swirling of the trade. Suns guard Devin Booker said someone in the stands told him and his teammates of the trade.
“They said Luka. I said, Luka Garza?'” Booker said, referencing the Minnesota Timberwolves center.
Booker wasn’t trying to be funny. He just thought what many probably thought — that there was no way the Mavericks would move Doncic.
“It’s crazy, man. I really don’t know what to say about it,” Booker said. “Luka being a guy that everybody has claimed is untouchable and untradeable. The NBA shows you again. Can’t predict. It’s a business. They’re always having a conversation about you. So don’t think you’re safer than you are.”
Added fellow Suns star Kevin Durant: “Insane. It’s crazy. Crazy. Damn, would of never thought Luka Doncic would get traded. At his age, midseason, the NBA is a wild place, man. If he can get traded, then anybody is up for grabs.”
There was immediate shock on social media when the news hit as well.
“Luka getting traded from Dallas has to have a deeper story behind it,” Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson wrote on X. “This just doesn’t happen on a random Saturday night.”
“Wait what?” posted Patrick Mahomes, the star Kansas City Chiefs quarterback who sits courtside at Mavericks games occasionally during the offseason, NBA playoffs included.
And Knicks guard Jalen Brunson wondered if it was a joke: “April fools right?” he asked.
The trade significantly altered the NBA betting market, as the Lakers moved from 40-1 to 16-1 to win the NBA title at ESPN BET early Sunday morning, behind only the Oklahoma City Thunder (+225) and Denver Nuggets (+1400) in the Western Conference.
The Mavericks, on the other hand, dropped from 25-1 to 40-1 at ESPN BET before moving back to 33-1 early Sunday.
The Lakers entered Saturday tied with the Timberwolves and Suns for the 11th-longest championship odds. But after the trade, the Lakers leapfrogged the Timberwolves, Suns, Clippers, Rockets, Grizzlies, Bucks and Mavericks to have the sixth-shortest odds.
Among players with at least 400 games, Doncic’s 28.6-point average is third in NBA history behind only Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain — both at 30.1.
Doncic also is one of only three players in NBA history with career averages of at least 25 points, seven rebounds and seven assists per game. The other two are James and Oscar Robertson.
Doncic was third in the MVP voting last season after averaging 33.9 points, 9.8 assists and 9.2 rebounds per game, easily one of the greatest statistical seasons in league history. Doncic — who turns 26 later this month and has referred to James as an “idol” — had a 73-point game against the Atlanta on Jan. 26, 2024, tying the fourth-highest scoring total ever in an NBA game. Only Chamberlain (100), Bryant (81) and Chamberlain (78) scored more.
Davis, an All-Star pick this year for the 10th time in his career, turns 32 next month. He was part of the NBA’s 75th anniversary team, helped the Lakers win the NBA title in the bubble in 2020 and — like Doncic — is a five-time All-NBA selection.
Doncic is averaging 28.1 points, 8.3 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game this season. Davis is averaging 25.7 points and 11.9 rebounds.
Dallas plays at Cleveland on Sunday, while the Lakers are off until visiting the Clippers on Tuesday night.
The Lakers and Mavericks play each other twice more in the regular season: first on Feb. 25 in Los Angeles and then on April 9 in Dallas.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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