Lakers trade for Mavericks’ Luka Dončić in blockbuster NBA deal

Australia Basketball World

Luka Dončić led Dallas to the NBA Finals last season. Anthony Davis won a championship with the Los Angeles Lakers.

They’re switching teams now — in an absolute blockbuster trade.

Dončić is being traded by the reigning Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers for Davis, a person with knowledge of the agreement confirmed to the Associated Press.

Dončić, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris are headed to the Lakers, while Davis and Max Christie are going to Dallas, the source told AP on condition of anonymity, because neither team can announce the deal while it awaits league approval.

A tall young black man with a white headband bounces a basketball.

Lakers forward Anthony Davis is headed to the Dallas Mavericks. (AP Photo: Jacob Kupferman)

The Utah Jazz also are involved in the deal, said the source. ESPN, which first reported the trade, said Jalen Hood-Schifino and two draft picks will be headed to the Jazz.

The Dallas Morning News also reported those details.

The trade news broke about an hour after the Lakers beat New York at Madison Square Garden. Davis was not with the Lakers for the game; he has been back in Los Angeles because of an abdominal injury that needed assessing.

Dončić, who is from Slovenia, has not played for Dallas since Christmas Day, when he was sidelined with a strained left calf.

“I believe that defence wins championships,” Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison told ESPN.

“I believe that getting an All-Defensive centre and an All-NBA player with a defensive mindset gives us a better chance. We’re built to win now and in the future.”

The deal, at least for now, would pair Dončić with LeBron James as the new 1-2 punch in Los Angeles, while Davis would be forming a new star duo with Kyrie Irving in Dallas.

It also reunites Dončić with his former teammate, Lakers coach JJ Redick.

Dončić was one of the Mavs on the floor when Redick came out of a game for the final time on May 11, 2021.

There was one game still going on in the NBA on Saturday night when reports began swirling of the trade — Phoenix against Portland.

Suns guard Devin Booker said someone in the stands told him and his teammates of the trade.

“They said ‘Luka’. I said, ‘Luka Garza?'” Booker said, referencing a Minnesota centre.

Booker wasn’t trying to be funny. He just thought what many probably thought — that there was no way the Mavericks would move Dončić.

“It’s crazy, man. I really don’t know what to say about it,” Booker said.

“Luka being a guy that everybody has claimed is untouchable and untradeable. The NBA shows you again — can’t predict. It’s a business.

“They’re always having a conversation about you. So don’t think you’re safer than you are.”

Added fellow Suns star Kevin Durant: “Insane. It’s crazy. Crazy. Damn, would of never thought Luka Dončić would get traded.

“At his age, mid-season, the NBA is a wild place, man. If he can get traded then anybody is up for grabs.”

There was immediate shock on social media when the news hit as well.

“Luka getting traded from Dallas has to have a deeper story behind it,” Cleveland centre Tristan Thompson wrote on X.

“This just doesn’t happen on a random Saturday night.”

Dallas plays at Cleveland on Sunday, while the Lakers are off until visiting the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night.

It’s not clear when Dončić or Davis could play for their new clubs: the trade still needs NBA approval, and both are dealing with injuries without any publicly known firm timetable for their returns.

Among players with at least 400 games, Dončić’s 28.6-point average is third in NBA history behind only Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain — both at 30.1.

When healthy, he’s typically somewhere between dynamic and unstoppable.

He was third in the MVP voting last season after averaging 33.9 points, 9.8 assists and 9.2 rebounds per game, easily one of the greatest statistical seasons in league history.

Dončić — who turns 26 later this month and has referred to James as an “idol” — had a 73-point game against Atlanta on January 26 last year, tying the fourth-highest scoring total ever in an NBA game.

Only Chamberlain (100), Kobe Bryant (81) and Chamberlain again (78) ever scored more.

Davis, an All-Star pick this year for the 10th time in his career, turns 32 next month.

He’s part of the NBA’s 75th anniversary team, helped the Lakers win the NBA title in the bubble in 2020, and — like Dončić — is a five-time All-NBA selection.

AP