With the NBA trade deadline on Thursday, February 6, the NBA news is buzzing with hot names such as: Zach LaVine, Jimmy Butler, De’Aaron Fox, Brandon Ingram and more.
The NBA trade deadline is the last day teams can make trades with each other; 3:00 P.M. is the exact time of the deadline. Typically when a trade happens it has been rumored at some point in the news, but that was not the case late Saturday night.
The defending Western Conference champions, the Dallas Mavericks, are home to NBA star Luka Doncic. Doncic has been out since Christmas with a calf strain. Since that Christmas day the Mavericks have struggled without their star and were desperately awaiting his return. Mavs General Manager, Nico Harrison, had other plans, as he called up the Los Angeles Lakers about wanting them to take Luka off their hands and the Mavs wanted All-NBA big man, Anthony Davis. Lakers General Manager, Rob Pelinka, never thought Harrison was serious, but took the offer, sending Doncic to Los Angeles and Anthony Davis to Dallas.
The news broke publicly and had fans wondering if ESPN reporter Shams Charania’s phone was hacked. Fans couldn’t believe their eyes at first sight. Shams then wrote, “Yes this is real,” to prove that his phone was not hacked and this trade actually went down.
Not a single soul around the planet knew about this trade idea before it happened or even heard a rumor. Left confused and excited, social media erupted fast. Mavericks fans were stunned and disappointed as to why the franchise would dump off their 25 year old franchise star who just made the NBA Finals and finished the prior season averaging a near triple-double with 34 points per contest. However, the Mavericks got a great player in return in Anthony Davis who helped propel the Lakers to a championship of their own in 2020. Neither Doncic, Davis or even the head coaches on the teams heard about the news prior to it happening, which is uncommon.
LeBron James, who is the Lakers franchise centerpiece, was even ghosted by the trade talks. Typically when a transaction goes down the notable players and staff members on the team are given a heads up.
The big reason the Mavericks front office approached LA about Luka was because they were concerned about Luka staying fit as he reportedly put on nearly 30 pounds since his injury diagnosis. Although Luka is known for his unique build and all, as a 6’7 ball-handler in the NBA pushing 270 lbs is unacceptable. The Lakers seem to have no concern making sure Luka stays fit and gets back into shape as soon as they can.
This trade probably favors the Lakers better because Luka Doncic is 25 and has many years of basketball left in him, while Davis is 32 next month with maybe only seven or eight years left. But, regardless of the years down the line, both teams will still be contenders as they were before, just with a little superstar swap.
Expect the Lakers to approach Thursday’s trade deadline with the mindset of getting a starting Center since Davis has been shipped off. The Utah Jazz were also involved in this trade but only received a young and unproven guard and draft picks.
The full trade details below:
Los Angeles Lakers get:
Luka Doncic (from DAL)
Maxi Kleber (from DAL)
Markieff Morris (from DAL)
Dallas Mavericks get:
Anthony Davis (from LAL)
Max Christie (from LAL)
2029 first-round pick
Utah Jazz get:
Jalen Hood-Schifino (from LAL)
2025 second-round pick
2025 second-round pick