Out of absolutely nowhere the NBA was sent into meltdown on Saturday night, with the Dallas Mavericks stunningly trading superstar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in a package revolving around another huge name in Anthony Davis.
Everyone was blindsided, including Doncic, Davis and LeBron James who so often has significant say in trades his team makes. The most frustrating aspect for rival fans, and most certainly Mavericks fans, is that Dallas seemingly didn't even open up a bidding war for arguably a top three player in the league.
The Warriors didn't even get an opportunity at Luka Doncic
Most fans and analysts believe that the Mavericks got significant unders for the MVP candidate, with Noah Weber of The Smoking Cuban going as far as to suggest that "this is undoubtedly the worst trade in NBA history."
One of the most shocking parts of the entire scenario is that ESPN's Shams Charania -- who most people believed had been hacked when he announced the trade -- further reported that it was the Mavericks who actually approached the Lakers offering Doncic.
The Mavericks approached the Lakers recently and offered Luka Doncic, sources tell ESPN. Lakers brass met and believed the 25-year-old Doncic has the ability to be the face of their franchise for the next decade while giving Anthony Davis a win-now move in Dallas.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 2, 2025
If Dallas had openly floated Doncic's name among the league, can you just imagine what sort of offers they would have received from perhaps every team around the NBA? The fact this didn't materialize is particularly frustrating for the Golden State Warriors who are perhaps the team most pressing for another legitimate star to pair with Stephen Curry.
While all the talk has been about former All-Stars Zach LaVine and Jimmy Butler in recent days, the Warriors could have instead completely rewritten the trajectory of the entire franchise by acquiring Doncic.
Now, Golden State don't have a player anywhere near the calibre of Anthony Davis (aside from Curry), meaning they wouldn't have been able to match the offer from a win-now standpoint. They do have a plethora of young players and future draft assets in comparison to the Lakers though, which the Mavericks may have then been able to on-trade for another star player.
The fact they (or any other team) didn't even get the opportunity is incredibly annoying, and is only made worse by the Lakers getting their hands on a franchise cornerstone that is sure to make them relevant for at least the next decade.
Throughout the history of the league the Lakers have always had an enviable ability to attract superstar players, and this time around the Mavericks just handed them one on a silver platter without inviting anyone else to the dinner table.