Let’s talk about what will go down as one of the most controversial trades in sports history, a trade that millions of NBA fans never expected. The trade that broke Mark Cuban’s heart.
The trade deadline was rapidly approaching and caused teams to make impulsive decisions at a chance to rebuild their franchise. On Feb. 2, I got the most absurd notification from ESPN. After a few seconds of confusion and astonishment, I tapped the notification and saw a monumental trade involving three NBA teams. Luka Doncic was sent to the Los Angeles Lakers, Anthony Davis was sent to the Dallas Mavericks and Jalen Hood Schfino was sent to the Utah Jazz.
The Dallas Mavericks made the worst decision they could’ve made this season and possibly in franchise history. They gave away their young franchise player for an injury-prone Davis. In their first game without Doncic, Davis did not play due to injury, and the Mavericks lost by a brutal 43 points.
Although Davis can be moved to the power forward position or even small forward, the Mavericks already have decent players to fill those spots. In his debut, he had 26 points, 16 rebounds and 7 assists, though he ultimately injured himself in the third quarter.
The Mavericks should regret trading away Doncic, who is arguably in the prime of his career and has earned the nickname “Luka Magic” to represent his unbelievable shots. While Davis has already played 13 seasons as an NBA starter and is noticeably declining.
Despite all the positives from this trade, the Lakers no longer have a dominant center. Davis averaged 12 rebounds per game and 2.2 blocks per game this season with the Lakers. Without Davis, the Lakers will likely struggle to get easy points under the basket and to deny opposing shots in the paint.
Although the Lakers lost their main center position, they earned themselves one of the best point guards in the league. Doncic wasn’t performing at a level that fans thought he would in the first few games. In his debut, Doncic only scored 14 points and seemed somewhat nervous. Though on Feb. 22, Doncic had a rebound performance, scoring 32 points and snatching 10 rebounds, seeming to get back in the groove. If Doncic continues to score big numbers for the Lakers, they can become a serious problem for strong teams around the NBA.
On the other hand, the Mavericks will likely become a terrible team with Anthony Davis. Their most reliable player is Kyrie Irving, averaging 24.7 points per game, although he is getting old. Irving is a talented, versatile player, but without Doncic, he will likely struggle to cooperate with his less skills teammates. Since Kyrie has to play the point guard position, he will have to take charge and try to create plays with a former rival, Klay Thompson.
On Feb. 26, the Lakers played against the Mavs in Los Angeles for the first time since Doncic parted ways. Davis once again did not play due to being injured, which isn’t surprising at all. The Lakers beat the Mavs 107-99, with Doncic leading the Lakers in rebounds and assists.
Even Mavs fans are angered. Fans were escorted out of the American Airlines Arena for holding signs that read “Fire Nico” referring to the Mavs General Manager that traded away the face of their franchise.
