On Feb. 2, 2025, The Los Angeles Lakers, The Dallas Mavericks, and The Utah Jazz grouped together to conduct arguably the most significant blockbuster trade in NBA history, which resulted in star forward Luka Doncic going to the Los Angeles Lakers and star center Anthony Davis going to the Dallas Mavericks, with draft picks and guard Jalen Hood-Schafino going to the Jazz. Fans of both teams were either super joyful or absolutely livid. More anger was felt on the Maverick’s side for Doncic’s departure.
Criticism of the decision, calling it “awful” and “stupid,” was plastered across the internet for weeks following the trade, and fans bashed Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison for making this trade in the first place.
Since then, the Mavericks organization has seemingly been on a downward spiral, with multiple players star players such as Kyrie Irving and newly arrived Anthony Davis out on long-term injuries. Specifically, Kyrie Irving’s ACL tear rules him out for the season. The team’s record is now standing at 33 wins and 37 losses at tenth place in the Western Conference.
Despite the event impacting teams thousands of miles away, the aftershocks have been felt even here in Short Pump.
“I’m not a fan of either team, but this trade is so stupid for the Mavericks. I mean, you take a 25-year-old star who has been shining ever since they arrived in the NBA and trade him for an injury prone power forward and a bag of chips.” Washington Wizards fan and senior Andrew Brandon said.
The Lakers, on the other hand, have been on an upward turn after acquiring Doncic from Dallas. The team’s record as of now is 43 wins and 25 losses, and the team holds onto third place in the Western Conference. In his Laker’s debut, Doncic totaled up 14 points, five rebounds, and four assists in only 14 minutes of play.
“I am a Lakers fan so this news is super exciting to me. I love Luka Doncic already as a player, and now I have an even better reason to watch him play,” senior Sepehr Mazaheri said.
On Feb. 7, 2025, the Lakers and Mavericks played each other for the first time since the trade. Doncic came out of the game with a win and a triple-double, earning19 points, 15 rebounds, and 12 assists. A photo of Luka Doncic staring down his former GM Nico Harrison circulated around internet after the game.
Time will be the deciding factor for who actually won this trade. But with Anthony Davis still battling an injury and only playing one game for Dallas so far, it is looking more like Los Angeles will come out on top as they make a playoff push. For Dallas, it may be time to look forward to next season as they continue to get swarmed by new injuries.
