Luka Doncic to Lakers, Anthony Davis to Mavs in Blockbuster -Handel

On By Littum

The deal was Set together secretlyWith only a precious few people who knew what was happening. Luka Doncic didn’t know. Anthony Davis didn’t know it. Their coaches didn’t know it. Their teammates didn’t know it.

And then it happened – an absolute blockbuster. Doncic led Dallas Mavericks to the NBA final last season, Davis won a championship with Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, and now they are changing teams in a step that stunned most in the league.

“I thought I would spend my career here, and I wanted to give you a championship so badly,” Doncic said in a written farewell message to Mavs fans. “The love and support that you all have given me is more than I could have ever dreamed of.”

Doncic was traded by the reigning Western Conference champion Mavericks to Lakers for Davis as part of a three-team agreement. The trade was announced on Sunday morning after the teams received the required league approval.

Trade interviews that took place in about a month were kept extremely tight by Maverick’s general manager Nico Harrison and Lakers GM Rob Pelinka.

Mavs -coach Jason Kidd’s first reaction? “Shock,” Kidd said, though he later added that he thinks it’s the right step for his team in the future.

Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris also went against Lakers, while Max Christie went to Dallas. Utah Jazz was also involved and got Jalen Hood-Schifino and another other round from both Mavs and Lakers.

“Sport is about transformative moments,” Pelinka said. “We are inspired by these moments that Lakers fans know, expect and love with a franchise that continuously begins new eras of greatness. … Luka is a one-of-a-kind, young global superstar who will lead this franchise in the coming years. His murderer instincts and commitment to winning championships will be a driving force for the team. “

The trade news broke short after Lakers beat Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Davis was not with Lakers for the game; He has been to Los Angeles because of an abdominal injury that needed assessment.

Doncic hasn’t played for Dallas since ChristmasWhen he left a game with a strained left calf. The deal can come at a serious price for Doncic, which now cannot sign a five-year SuperMax contract extension this summer, which could have been worth about $ 345 million.

It was never clear if Mavs would have offered such a massive deal. Doncic would also have had an opportunity to leave as a free agent after the 2025-26 season, and it is certain that other teams with the hope of landing the Slovenian star would have planned for such scenarios.

“There are other teams that loaded,” Harrison said Sunday. “He would be able to make his own decision at some point whether he wants to be here or not whether we want supermax him or not or whether he wants to opt out. We had to take all that into consideration and I feel like we got out in front of what could have been a stormy summer. “

Doncic is still eligible for an extension this summer, with the maximum that Lakers could offer him to be five years of about $ 230 million – a difference of $ 115 million than what Supermax could have been.

“Luka definitely did not deserve this. … he really respected Dallas, ”said Sasa Doncic, Luke’s father, on Slovenian TV on Sunday.

The deal pairs Doncic with LeBron James as the new 1-2 punch in Los Angeles, while Davis would form a new star duo with Kyrie Irving in Dallas. And it reunite doncic with his former teammate, Lakers -Trainer JJ Redick.

Doncic was one of the Mavericks players on the floor when Redick came out of a game for the last time on May 11, 2021.

For Mavericks, the decision largely came down to what Davis is doing at the defensive end of the floor.

“We think defense wins championships and we bring one of the best two -way players into the league,” Harrison said. He added that Davis’ ability to be elite at both ends makes him “a unique unicorn” in the NBA.

“We feel we are built to win now as well as in the future,” Harrison said.

There was still a game in the NBA late Saturday night when the trade started to get up it was to be Phoenix-Portland. The 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, referring to a Minnesota Center.

Booker did not try to be fun. He just thought what many probably thought – that there was no way that Mavs would move Doncic.

“It’s crazy, man. I really don’t know what to say about it, ”Booker said. “Luka, a guy who everyone has claimed, is untouched and tireless. NBA shows you again. Cannot predict. It’s a business. They always have a conversation about you. So don’t think you’re more secure than you are. “

Added colleagues Suns star Kevin Durant: “Insane. It’s crazy. Crazy. Damn, would never think that Luka Doncic would be traded. At his age, the middle season, the NBA is a wild place, man. If he can be traded, there is someone ready to get hold of. “

Dallas played in Cleveland on Sunday, while Lakers is out of until they visit Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night. It is not clear when Doncic or Davis could play for their new clubs; There is no fixed schedule for their returns from damage.

Among players with at least 400 matches, Doncic’s average of 28.6-points third in the NBA story behind Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain-Begge of 30.1.

He was third in the MVP vote last season after an average of 33.9 points, 9.8 assists and 9.2 rebounds per year. Fight, easily one of the greatest seasons in the league story. Doncic-there will be 26 years later this month and mentions James as an “idol” a 73-point game against Atlanta on January 26, 2024, tying the fourth highest scoring sum ever in an NBA game. Only Chamberlain (100), Kobe Bryant (81) and Chamberlain (78) scored more.

Davis, an All-Star election this year for the 10th time in his career, will be 32 next month. He is part of the NBA’s 75th anniversary team, helped Lakers win the NBA title in the bubble in 2020, and-equals Doncic-are a five-time all-NBA election.

Doncic average 28.1 points, 8.3 rebounds and 7.8 assists this season. Davis is an average of 25.7 points and 11.9 rebounds.

Harrison understands the risk and anger among some in the Mavs fan base; Some people protested outside the team’s arena in Dallas on Sunday. He has shopped away a young superstar, one who could easily be one of the game’s best players in the next decade, for a player in his 30s with a challenging injury story.

“I understand the size of it,” Harrison said. “The easiest thing for me to do is do something and everyone would praise me for not doing anything. But we really believe in it and time will show if I’m right. “