Star guard Luka Doncic is now a member of the Los Angeles Lakers organization after the Dallas Mavericks traded him to the storied franchise for a package centered around big man Anthony Davis.
But according to a report from The Athletic’s Sam Amick, there were informal conversations about him being dealt to the Minnesota Timberwolves prior to that Lakers trade going down.
The Mavericks and Timberwolves allegedly discussed the idea of swapping Doncic and star guard Anthony Edwards in the weeks before the Slovenian changed teams.
“While this spicy what-if scenario never gained any traction, league sources tell The Athletic that the Mavericks and Timberwolves informally discussed the prospect of swapping Dončić for 23-year-old, three-time All-Star Anthony Edwards in the weeks before the Lakers deal went down,” Amick wrote. “More specifically, Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison reached out to the Timberwolves and asked if there was any chance they’d be willing to trade Edwards. He was promptly told no. The Timberwolves, league sources say, were stunned that Dallas was contemplating parting ways with Dončić.”
Edwards is another one of the league’s brightest young stars along with Doncic. The Timberwolves have been a perennial playoff team in recent years with him leading the way and just recently appeared in their first Western Conference Finals in two decades.
Minnesota might not be on track to finish as a top-three seed in the Western Conference standings like it did a season ago, but the 23-year-old has the team well-positioned to qualify for the playoffs once again this year.
The Timberwolves sit as the No. 8 seed in the conference, and Edwards is averaging 27.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game so far in the 2024-25 campaign. He’s also shooting 43.7 percent from the field and 40.5 percent from 3-point range in his fifth season in the pros.
Ironically, Edwards and Doncic faced off recently, as the Timberwolves and Lakers did battle on Thursday night.
Los Angeles came out on top in that contest by nine points behind some impressive all-around play from Doncic. He totaled 21 points, 13 rebounds and five assists.
Edwards totaled 18 points, six rebounds and five assists in the losing effort.
The Lakers have now ballooned their current winning streak to four games with their victory on Thursday. They will try for their fifth consecutive win when they take on the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night.
It’s interesting to think about how the trajectories of the Mavericks and Timberwolves franchises would have been altered had the teams agreed to swap stars. Perhaps both teams would have better records right now if the deal came to fruition.
