The Los Angeles Lakers have acquired guard Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks in a three-team trade.
The trade was announced early on Sunday morning in which the Lakers acquired Doncic, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris from the Mavericks in exchange for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a 2029 first-round pick. The Utah Jazz received Jalen Hood-Schifino, a 2025 Los Angeles Clippers second-round pick, and a 2025 Dallas Mavericks second-round pick.
The trade came at a surprise to many around the league as there was no indication that Doncic was available for trade. Doncic, a five-time National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star, had been the cornerstone of the Mavericks franchise for the last half decade as he led them to the NBA Finals last season. However, the Mavericks became concerned with his conditioning as injuries this season have limited him to playing in only 22 games this season. This was believed to be attributed to his sudden gain in weight which reached past 260 lbs.
The other big news of this trade is forward Anthony Davis heading to the Mavericks. In a similar way to Doncic, there had not been an indication that Davis was going to be traded before the league’s trade deadline on Feb. 6. With this move, he will be joining a frontcourt that includes center Daniel Gafford and center Dereck Lively II. With the Mavericks currently ninth in the Western Conference, Davis will bring a veteran presence to a team that hopes to return to the playoffs.
This trade extends the Lakers window of contention. With Doncic teaming up with forward LeBron James, the Lakers have as good of a chance as any team to win this season’s NBA Championship. They currently sit at fifth in the Western Conference and have a good chance to move up the standings.
The Lakers and Mavericks will play each other two more times this season, with the first matchup taking place on Feb. 25 in Los Angeles and the second one occurring on Apr. 9 in Dallas.
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/43659380/sources-mavericks-trading-doncic-lakers-anthony-davis
