Mavericks trading Luka Doncic to Lakers looks even worse a year later

The Dallas Mavericks will forever be flamed with their Luka Doncic trade.

Los Angeles Lakers forward/guard Luka Doncic heads to the locker room after the game against the New Orleans Pelicans. | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

The Dallas Mavericks are still recovering after the Luka Doncic trade changed everything for the franchise.

With the trade deadline approaching, Bleacher Report writer Bryan Toporek ranked the top 10 players traded at the deadline in years past and Doncic was on top of the list.

"Dončić averaged a league-high 33.9 points, 9.8 assists and 9.2 rebounds per game in 2023-24. He's the only player in NBA history to post those marks across an entire season. Oscar Roberston is the only other player in league history to match his career averages of 28.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 7.3 assists across his first seven seasons," Toporek wrote.

"Had the Mavericks opened up a bidding war on Dončić instead of negotiating exclusively with the Lakers, one NBA executive told Howard Beck of The Ringer that they likely could have gotten "the biggest haul in NBA history." Instead, they weren't even able to wrangle both of the Lakers' tradable first-round picks because they kept talks so clandestine.

"According to ESPN's Tim MacMahon, the Mavericks "were motivated to move Dončić because of his constant conditioning concerns." Had they not traded him, he would have become eligible for a five-year, $345.3 million supermax extension this offseason, which they seemingly had reservations about handing him."

READ MORE: The Mavericks' ticking time bomb, Anthony Davis, may have just gone off

Dallas Mavericks forward Anthony Davis is defended by Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic. | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Doncic trade still haunts Mavericks

Things have gone incredibly poorly for the Mavs since the trade, as they now find themselves among the league's top rebuilding projects despite being the Western Conference representative in the NBA Finals in 2024.

It doesn't help that Anthony Davis is now out for what's likely to be at least a month as he deals with his fourth major injury since the trade a year ago.

The Mavs had their reasons for the trade, and regardless of how that has turned out for them a year later, they have to live with the consequences. They are beginning to figure things out with Cooper Flagg as their new franchise cornerstone, but until he turns the Mavs into a competitive team, the Doncic trade will still have a large sting.

The Mavs are back in action against the Chicago Bulls at 7 p.m. CT inside the United Center. Fans can watch the game on FanDuel Sports Network or stream it on NBA League Pass.

READ MORE: 3 overreactions as Mavericks lose Anthony Davis to another injury, fall again to Jazz

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