Nine-Year NBA Veteran Predicts Big Consequence of Luka Doncic Trade

When the Dallas Mavericks traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, it created a massive ripple effect across the entire NBA.

For the Lakers, they now have a perennial All-Star who can keep their franchise in title contention for the next decade and may have also extended the career of LeBron James. For the Mavericks, the team now has to focus all of their efforts on Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis.

In the eyes of former Memphis Grizzlies forward Chandler Parsons, not only do the Grizzlies have to place all of their bets on Irving, but the point guard now holds all of the leverage over Dallas. Parsons made his thoughts known on FanDuel TV's Run It Back show.

"You just traded Luka. The keys are his, the offense is his, the franchise is his, he's eligible for a huge pay-day," Parsons said of Irving. "I think he's 32 or 33 years old, which is gonna pay him $50 or $60 million until he's 37 years old."

Kyrie Irving has more leverage over the Mavericks than LeBron James does over the Lakers this offseason 👀

"You don't trade Luka Dončić for no reason. ... They made this trade to win right now. They can't just let Kyrie walk." - @ChandlerParsons @MichelleDBeadle | @TeamLou23 pic.twitter.com/e2YM4JVwb8
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) February 20, 2025

Parsons doubled down on his statement, claiming that Irving has all of the leverage and all of the power over the Dallas Mavericks.

"You don't trade a Luka Doncic for no reason", Parsons said. "Kyrie's got all the leverage, he's got all the attention, he is their guy moving forward, him and Anthony Davis. They made this trade to win right now, they can't just let Kyrie Irving walk after trading Luka... he's got all the leverage, he's got all the power."

Feb 22, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) points to players for positioning during the second half against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images | Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images

For the next three to four seasons, it's going to be a massive race between the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks in terms of who wins a championship first. If the Lakers win with Doncic, Mavericks fans will never forgive their team for trading him away.

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