Less than five full days before the NBA trade deadline, the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks, with a bit of help from the Utah Jazz, pulled off a ground-shattering deal. The Lakers sent Anthony Davis, guard Max Christie and a 2029 first-round draft pick to Dallas, who shipped 25-year-old superstar guard Luka Doncic to L.A. along with big men Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris.
Everyone across the sports world is scratching their heads trying to make sense of this deal and how it will affect both L.A. and Dallas. Dallas general manager Nico Harrison told ESPN that his motivation behind this trade was to get better on the defensive end.
“I believe that defense wins championships,” Harrison told ESPN. “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.”
Davis will give the Mavs a legitimate rim-protector, as well as an excellent rebounder, and of course, he is also an outstanding scoring threat. He’s averaging 25.7 points, 11.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game this season, and he can score from both in the paint and the perimeter.
He will now team with guard Kyrie Irving, an eight-time All-Star, to try to help the Mavs ascend in the Western Conference.
Doncic and Irving had carried the Mavs to the NBA Finals last season despite winning a modest 50 games and finishing in the fifth spot in the West. But there were some concerns about their perimeter defense, and they currently hold a disappointing 26-23 record and are only in eighth place.
Ever since Doncic emerged as a superstar about five years ago, Dallas has been trying to build a championship-caliber roster around him. Thus far, it has failed, and it has essentially hit the reset button, although Davis is about six years older than Doncic.
The team now has an intriguing set of big men. Davis, P.J. Washington, Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II will make the Mavs a large and imposing team, and Irving will continue to set the pace in the backcourt and run the show. Christie, meanwhile, will give them a young and emerging 3-and-D off-guard, while Spencer Dinwiddie will continue to help out with ball-handling duties off the bench and Klay Thompson will continue to throw in arrows from beyond the 3-point line.
