Mavericks' Return for Luka Doncic Looks Even Worse After Lakers Latest Trade

When the Dallas Mavericks traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in February of 2025, it was almost universally seen as the worst trade in NBA history.

It has somehow gotten worse since.

For those who need a refresher, the Mavericks sent out Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber, and Markieff Morris to the Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a 2029 unprotected first-round pick.

One year later, the Mavericks essentially salary-dumped Anthony Davis to the Washington Wizards, along with Jaden Hardy, D'Angelo Russell, and Dante Exum, for Khris Middleton, Tyus Jones, Marvin Bagley III, AJ Johnson, and five total draft picks, including the 30th and 48th picks in this year's draft, as well as future second-rounders.

Middleton, Jones, and Bagley were all expiring contracts, which gave the Mavs a lot of financial flexibility this offseason. They still didn't have a lot to show for trading a top-5 player in the NBA, though.

Tuesday evening marked the start of NBA free agency, and the Lakers just paid a hefty price for a free agent in a sign-and-trade. The price they paid only makes the Mavericks' return for Doncic look worse.

Jan 24, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) controls the ball against the Dallas Mavericks during the game at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Los Angeles Lakers Massively Overpay for Walker Kessler

On Wednesday, it was announced that the Lakers had acquired Walker Kessler from the Utah Jazz in a sign-and-trade, agreeing to send the Jazz unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, as well as pick swaps in 2028 and 2030.

On top of that, they handed Kessler a four-year, $130 million contract. Kessler only played in five games last year due to injury, and wouldn't have qualified for the 65-game requirement for awards in any of the last three seasons.

That's a lot of money to hand over for someone who really hasn't been available recently, and even more assets to give up. That's the difference between a good executive (Danny Ainge) and a terrible one (Nico Harrison).

BREAKING: The Los Angeles Lakers are acquiring Walker Kessler from the Utah Jazz for unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033 and first-round swaps in 2028 and 2030, sources tell ESPN. Kessler will sign a massive four-year, $130 million deal with the Lakers. pic.twitter.com/rt8b17fEQZ
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2026

Nico Harrison should've had all of the leverage in that negotiation with Rob Pelinka, but he was only able to extract one first-round pick out of Luka Doncic. Even if you include the first-round picks received from the Anthony Davis trade, that's only the 30th pick from this year's draft, and a top-20 protected pick from the Warriors in 2030. That's more than likely to become a second-round pick.

There's no reason the Mavericks shouldn't have been able to pull all first-round picks and swaps from the Lakers when they sent out Luka Doncic.

Maybe he returns to Dallas in 2028 and doesn't matter (and by the looks of this current Lakers roster, he may want to get out of there), but it still looks disastrous.

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