Mavericks fans won't like this stat after disastrous Luka Doncic-Lakers trade

The Luka Doncic trade proved to be as bad as everyone thought.

Apr 9, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks center Daniel Gafford (21) and Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) in action during the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Dallas Mavericks GM Nico Harrison swears he traded Luka Doncic in an effort to win now and in the future. That quote made no sense at the time considering Doncic was a 25-year-old megastar coming off a trip to the NBA Finals and was traded for an oft-injured and older Anthony Davis, but it was worth seeing how the season would go.

It instantly blew up in Nico Harrison's face, as the Mavericks missed the playoffs after a Play-In Tournament loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night. Even the most pessimistic fans never saw the Mavericks completely missing the playoffs when the trade happened, and most analytics would back that up.

READ MORE: Anthony Davis gets brutally honest about season with Mavericks

According to ESPN's analytics, The Mavericks had a 70% chance of making the playoffs before the Doncic-Davis trade. They would be eliminated from playoff contention 77 days later, a collapse of epic proportions.

The Mavericks had a 70% chance of making the playoffs prior to making the Luka-AD trade.

Dallas has now been eliminated from playoff contention over two months later.

(via ESPN Analytics) pic.twitter.com/fzg3Ata6Kn

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 19, 2025

On December 8th, BasketballReference gave the Mavericks a 99% chance of making the playoffs. To go from a nearly guaranteed chance to make the playoffs to missing in entirely is inexcusable and something Nico Harrison will have to answer for this offseason if he somehow keeps his job.

Dallas will now have to rely on 33-year-old Kyrie Irving to come back to full strength after ACL surgery if they want to make a run next season. Anthony Davis is bound to miss games given his injury history, as is Irving, which gives Mavs fans little hope of being able to make some noise.

READ MORE: NBA insider reveals tension with key Maverick's injury

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