Anthony Davis is a four-time first-team All-NBA selection, a three-time pick for the All-Defensive team, an NBA champion. He’s averaging 25.7 points and 11.9 rebounds per game in this NBA season, a month before his 32nd birthday.
And despite his credentials, Dallas Mavericks fans and others wondered why their team would sign Davis if it meant transferring Luka Doncic, a dynamic scorer who led the league in points per game last year and won five consecutive All-NBA awards, instead.
All before he turns 26 later this month.
Who traded Doncic for?
Late on Saturday night, the Mavericks dealt Doncic, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris to the Los Angeles Lakers for Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick, per ESPN.
Utah was involved as a third team to facilitate the trade, receiving Jalen Hood-Schifino, the Los Angeles Clippers ‘ 2025 second-round pick and the Mavericks ‘ 2025 second-round selection.
Why was he traded?
As the Mavericks prepare to make the NBA playoffs, Dallas general manager Nico Harrison stated to ESPN early on Sunday that Doncic’s shortcomings as defender and Davis’ excellence at that end of the floor were key factors in the deal.
In the NBA Finals in June, the Doncic-led Mavericks defeated the Boston Celtics.
“I believe that defence wins championships”, Harrison said. I think we have a better chance of getting an All-Defensive center and an All-NBA player with a defensive mindset. We’re built to win now and in the future”.
Additionally, Doncic’s failure to emphasize conditioning aggravated the Mavericks’ frustration, according to the ESPN report. While he’s listed at 6-foot-6 (1.98m), 230 pounds (104kg) by NBA.com, he reportedly weighed more than 260 pounds (118kg) early this season.
Concerns about his weight have increased his risk of injuries, such as the calf strain he sustained on Christmas Day in a Minnesota Timberwolves loss.
Doncic hasn’t played in a while, but he’s expected to make a comeback by the All-Star break this month. He has been limited to 22 games this season.
More inquiries will likely be raised about the agreement between Harrison and Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd.
LeBron James was involved in the Doncic trade, right?
Tristan Thompson of the Cleveland Cavaliers wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that “Luka getting traded from Dallas has a deeper story behind it.” “This just doesn’t happen on a random Saturday night”.
In Cleveland in 2016, Thompson and LeBron James won the NBA title. And while James has long been a target for the Lakers front office, ESPN reported that this trade was different.
When James learned about the trade, James was reportedly dining with his family on Saturday night following the Lakers’ victory over the Knicks in New York.
According to ESPN, Doncic and Davis were also informed of the agreement after the Mavericks and Lakers reached it.
Tim Cowlishaw, sports columnist for The Dallas Morning News, wrote in his Sunday piece that the trade doesn’t add up for him – and repeats franchise history.
There is something missing here, Cowlishaw said, “I will say it now and I will say it again 48 hours from now.” Some of this trade must have been reported, or some bizarre set of circumstances that led Harrison and the Mavericks to this absurdly silly path.
Remember that Jason Kidd was traded by the Mavericks at the age of 23 so he could play in eight All-Star games with Phoenix and New Jersey before completing his career there with the franchise’s single championship. As good as Kidd was obviously going to be, he wasn’t there yet. He wasn’t first-team all-NBA year after year like Luka has been until this injury-plagued season. “
Is Anthony Davis a viable Dallas replacement?
Since suffering an abdominal strain on Tuesday in the Lakers’ 118-104 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, Davis has been sidelined. He was expected to miss at least one week. When will he begin wearing a Dallas uniform?
The Mavericks, in eighth place in the Western Conference, are set to face the Cavaliers in Cleveland on Sunday. After Dereck Lively II recovers from a foot fracture, they are supposed to start a starting lineup that includes guards Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson, forwards Davis and P. J. Washington, and centre Daniel Gafford.
Cowlishaw remained mystified.
” That’s right, a player (Davis) six years older than Luka is now coming to Dallas, presumably to tag team with two other 30-somethings, Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson, to lead this team to, what, a play-in game? The Mavericks are aiming to win in a Western Conference in which Oklahoma City, Houston, and Memphis, who all have young athleticism, “write in his head,” “they will just run you off the floor with their youth and athleticism.”
Source: Aljazeera
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