Nobody Was Hacked -- Luka Doncic Is Actually a Los Angeles Laker

Daniel Waddleton

Feb 2, 2025

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THE TRADE WAS so shocking that when Shams Charania first broke the news on social media, everyone assumed ESPN’s insider had been hacked.

He wasn’t. Luka Doncic is a Los Angeles Laker.

Late last night, the Dallas Mavericks sent their 25-year-old phenom, along with Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris, to the Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a 2029 first-round pick. The deal also included the Utah Jazz as a third team, with Utah acquiring Jalen Hood-Schifino, a 2025 Clippers second-round pick, and a 2025 Mavericks second-round pick.

The Lakers now have an unsolvable player in Doncic who, through his first seven NBA seasons, has averaged 28.6 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 8.3 assists per game with a 59% true shooting percentage. He’s already a five-time First-Team All-NBA selection, has made two Conference Finals, and was just three wins away from an NBA championship eight months ago.

The NBA world is still reeling.

The immediate reaction around the league and in the media is simple: How could Dallas do this? Just eight months removed from an NBA Finals run -- with a real argument that this iteration of the team was even better than last season’s -- how could the Mavericks trade away the centerpiece of their roster and the face of the franchise at just 25 years old?

Mavericks GM Nico Harrison has had to answer these questions. Here’s what he had to say:

“We really feel like we got ahead of what was going to be a tumultuous summer, with him being eligible for the supermax and also a year away from being able to opt out of any contract,” Harrison said. “And so we really felt like we got out in front of that. We know teams have been loading up to try to sign him once that becomes available.”

“I believe that defense wins championships,” Harrison said, regarding his motivation to trade for Anthony Davis specifically. “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.”

If Harrison believes this move gives the Mavericks their best shot at winning now, then that’s his stance. However, he also mentioned the future despite acquiring a soon-to-be 32-year-old big man with a lengthy injury history. When asked about that, Harrison responded:

"The future to me is three to four years from now. The future ten years from now? They'll probably bury me and [Mavericks coach Jason Kidd] by then. Or we'll bury ourselves."

Whether you agree with him or not, Harrison’s comments make it clear why the deal happened.

With Doncic eligible for a $345 million supermax extension, the front office clearly didn’t believe he was committed enough to his conditioning and nutrition to sustain his level of play for the duration of that contract. Instead, they wanted to get ahead of the situation, land one of the league’s best defensive players, and fully lean into the defensive identity they’ve been building over the past two seasons.

Essentially, they’re betting that Doncic has hit his ceiling, not because he lacks the talent to improve, but because they believe his body will continue to break down. They’re betting he’s the next Joel Embiid or Zion Williamson -- franchise players with generational ability but long-term health concerns due to a lack of commitment to their bodies, whose teams stuck by them only to see years of contention slip away due to their inability to stay on the court.

But that’s what makes the trade even more shocking. Embiid and Williamson haven’t even reached half the heights that Doncic has, and yet those teams STILL haven’t moved on from their stars.

There are only so many players on this planet who can single-handedly alter the course of a franchise and lead a team to championship heights. When teams get one, they don't ever let them go unless they force your hand.

Based on everything we know so far, Doncic never gave any indication that he wanted out.

This will go down not only as the most shocking trade in NBA history but probably the riskiest one as well. This goes deeper than just roster construction and Doncic's overall talent level. We’re talking about the face of the franchise.

Doncic was beloved in Dallas. Mavericks fans had every reason to believe that their homegrown superstar would be a staple of the team throughout the 2020s and beyond.

And now, out of nowhere, the rug has been ripped out from under them. I can’t even imagine what a Mavericks fan is feeling right now.

I want to deep dive into the move from the perspective of both teams, because aside from the shock factor, this also completely shakes up the West landscape.

. . .

Okay, So We Have Luka Doncic... What Now?!?!

If you’re the Lakers, it didn’t matter what this trade meant for their title chances this season, you had to do it.

The franchise was staring at a directionless future once LeBron James retired, especially if they had sacrificed their unprotected picks in 2029 or 2031 in a last-ditch effort to squeeze another title out of the LeBron-Davis era.

Now, they have a 25-year-old face of the franchise. If he stays healthy, the opportunities to build a contender around Doncic for the next decade are endless. And even if he doesn’t, Lakers fans will keep buying his jersey and showing up whenever he’s on the court.

With that said, I do believe this move hurts the Lakers’ chances of winning one more championship with LeBron. At least for now.

This team was finally starting to come together. They were 8-2 in their last 10 games, ranking ninth in offense and third in defense during that span.

JJ Redick’s influence was taking shape, Austin Reaves and Max Christie were having different kinds of breakout seasons, and the team made a savvy move by acquiring Dorian Finney-Smith for D’Angelo Russell. Defensive ace Jarred Vanderbilt was back, and most importantly, LeBron looked rejuvenated after a sluggish start to the season.

On top of all the positive momentum this past month, it doesn’t even mention the Lakers’ biggest advantage come playoff time: Anthony Davis’ ability to become a defensive playoff cheat code. With guys like Christie, Gabe Vincent, Finney-Smith, and Vanderbilt supporting him on the perimeter, the Lakers’ defense wasn’t perfect, but it was going to be good. As long as AD elevated his play -- as he always does in the postseason -- they would reach a championship level defensive benchmark.

Then it would have come down to offense. Between Reaves, LeBron, Davis, and whatever they could've added at the trade deadline, did they have enough shot creation to win four straight playoff rounds? It wasn’t going to be easy, but there was reason to believe the team could put their name in the ring as a contender out West.

Now? The roster has been flipped on its head.

The Lakers went from being relatively thin in shot creation compared to contenders, to possibly the strongest shot creation team in basketball. However, that newfound strength came at a cost -- they’re now lacking point of attack defense, and perhaps most concerning, they go from the second best center in the West playoff field, to being without a playoff-caliber center on the roster.

They must find a big man and, ideally, another perimeter defender to handle opposing backcourt scorers -- a role Christie was beginning to thrive in during the team’s turnaround.

At this point, they’ll take any competent center, but the ideal fit would be a vertical lob threat who’s also strong defensively. A lot of Doncic's best teams have featured rim-to-rim bigs, and his success with Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford in Dallas is proof of concept on how valuable that archetype is alongside him.

Robert Williams III, in theory, would be a great fit. Yet his shaky durability makes him unreliable for a significant playoff role. Myles Turner or Clint Capela might be more realistic options and depending on what the Lakers are willing to part with, they could also look to add that point-of-attack defender in the process.

This is where the Austin Reaves piece gets interesting. His skill set makes him a natural fit next to Doncic long-term -- a guard with on-ball juice who, like Kyrie Irving in Dallas, is also comfortable playing off the ball as a spacer and secondary playmaker.

Yet if the Lakers are serious about maximizing their chances right now while LeBron still has gas left in the tank, Reaves might have to be the piece they move to land the best possible return. Other tradeable assets include Rui Hachimura, whose $17 million salary is now more expendable after the addition of Finney-Smith and the influx of offensive firepower with Doncic, but Reaves would undoubtedly fetch the best value.

As currently constructed, the Lakers might honestly be better off trading LeBron if they aren’t willing to part with Reaves or their 2031 first-round pick -- fully committing to a Luka-led reset. But with James holding a no-trade clause and publicly stating he’s staying in LA, the front office will likely try to find a way to reshape this roster into a legitimate contender around Luka and LeBron.

. . .

Please Tell Me There’s Light at the End of This Tunnel!?

If Nico Harrison truly believes Doncic is on the path to becoming the next Joel Embiid or Zion Williamson -- an all-time talent whose body won’t hold up -- then I guess you respect him making such a bold decision.

However, I hate that they did it now instead of waiting until the end of the season. I genuinely believed this Mavericks team had a real shot at winning the Finals.

Beating Oklahoma City would’ve been a tall task, especially if Dereck Lively II wasn’t 100% or unavailable, but it was possible. Beyond OKC, I would’ve comfortably taken Dallas in any Western Conference playoff series, and aside from Boston, I probably would have picked them in any potential Finals matchup.

I truly believed this was the third-best team in basketball when fully healthy, and it’s frustrating that we’ll never get to see what this Mavs team could’ve accomplished. Now, despite the roster still being immensely talented, the balance of the team feels off.

Before the trade, the Mavericks were a backcourt-driven team with a well-constructed frontcourt around their stars. PJ Washington was proving to be an ideal modern four, and the rotating tandem of Lively and Daniel Gafford gave them 48 straight minutes of high-level center play -- two bigs with similar archetypes seamlessly swapping in and out to maintain consistency.

Now, insert Anthony Davis.

We just discussed how he becomes a defensive cheat code in the playoffs, but some of his key skill sets overlap with what Dallas already had. The team now has a higher defensive ceiling, but they were already solid on that end. Meanwhile, the offense now has far bigger question marks than whatever defensive concerns existed before.

In the backcourt, Kyrie Irving moves up to be the lead initiator of the offense -- a role that hasn’t always resulted in great team success. Irving is an elite offensive player, but his best years have come as a second option next to LeBron, Luka, or Kevin Durant. His time as the primary engine in Boston was rocky. He’s not a natural playmaker, and despite his brilliance as a scorer, he has stretches where he fades in and out of games.

So you might say, “Well, Anthony Davis can help fill in those gaps offensively." The irony in that -- Davis has the exact same issue.

Like Irving, he thrives as either a play finisher when another creator creates an advantage, or in isolation late in the shot clock. But neither Irving nor Davis are true facilitators who consistently look to set up teammates.

Also when it comes to big scoring outputs from Davis, he can be somewhat matchup-dependent. There are certain matchups where he completely dominates -- when defenders aren’t quick enough to stay in front of him on face-ups or strong enough to keep him off the offensive glass and slow down his post game.

But when Davis faces big men who have both the strength to avoid being bullied and the quickness to stay in front of him in the mid-post or track him on rolls, he can struggle. He’s not a naturally dominant over-the-top scorer, which can make his offensive impact inconsistent against well-equipped defenders.

And what happens now to the Lively-Gafford tandem offensively, which thrived playing with Doncic?

When Lively shared the court with Doncic, the Mavericks were +16.6 points per 100 possessions. Without Luka? That dropped to just +2.1.

When Gafford shared the court with Doncic, the team was +5.7 per 100 possessions. Without him? -1.5.

I’m not saying Lively and Gafford will suddenly stink now, but they were two bigs who fit perfectly with Luka’s pick-and-roll-heavy playstyle -- especially Lively -- who had developed into a solid short-roll playmaker when teams would blitz Doncic off screens.

Everyone’s offensive responsibilities increase. The burden to keep the offense flowing is suddenly much higher, and it’s unclear if the current roster is equipped to handle that shift.

All of a sudden, Spencer Dinwiddie becomes an indispensable piece for this team. I liked his role as a heat-check bench scorer, who also gave Dallas the option to keep their steady two-guard creator setup when Doncic or Irving sat.

Now? He is going to become a necessity as opposed to a luxury, especially when Irving goes to the bench.

Then there’s Klay Thompson. Without Luka’s gravity, the team will need to be more intentional in keeping Klay within the offense and getting him good looks. There are now a lot of shots up for grabs, and the Mavericks will need him taking more then he previously did.

One positive point for the roster is that it shouldn’t be overlooked that Dallas also acquired Max Christie in the deal. He was a huge reason for the Lakers' turnaround after their rough December stretch, emerging as a really effective 3-and-D two-guard. He still has some serious growing to do as a decision-maker with the ball, but at just 22 years old with the improvement we’ve already seen in just three seasons, I would buy Christie's stock right now just as Dallas has done.

So one thing is clear: the defense will be great. I wasn’t as sold on the idea that Harrison should’ve shopped Doncic around as others seemed to be, because clearly he wanted a win-now piece, and I’m not sure he was going to do better than Anthony Davis if that was the case.

Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jayson Tatum, and Victor Wembanyama weren't going anywhere, and what else was going to be better than Anthony Davis in the present day?

However, it’s just very difficult not to feel like they pulled the plug on something special too soon. This team was built perfectly around Luka, with everything you could ask for in a supporting cast.

Now, there are clear imbalances, fit questions, and an overall sense that everything has been shaken up.

I know Mavericks fans are more upset about Doncic being out of their lives for good than whatever title chances they had this season being ruined, but not giving this iteration of the team one more shot at a title after last season is what stings the most for me.