The Los Angeles Lakers have officially acquired five-time All-Star and five-time First Team All-NBA selection Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks.
In a three-team deal that also involved the Utah Jazz, the Lakers acquired the Doncic, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris in exchange for All-NBA big man Anthony Davis, guard Max Christie and the Lakers’ 2029 first-round draft pick. The Jazz will receive Lakers guard Jalen Hood-Schifino along with 2025 second-round picks from the Mavericks and Los Angeles Clippers.
The absolute blockbuster trade was reported mere hours after the Lakers’ impressive road victory over the New York Knicks on Saturday night. Davis has been absolutely excellent this year and was recently named to his 10th All-Star team, but the opportunity to trade for Doncic, one of the NBA’s best talents, was just too good to pass up.
This season, Doncic is averaging 28.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 7.8 assists and a career-high 2.0 steals, but has been limited to 22 games this year due to injury. He has yet to play since Christmas Day when he suffered a calf injury, but has been ramping up recently and is expected to be able to return to the court soon.
Kleber is unlikely to play the rest of the season as he recently underwent surgery to repair a broken foot. While he could potentially return in the postseason, the reserve big man likely won’t be suiting up in purple and gold until the 2025-26 season. He has one year remaining on his contract after this one.
Morris, of course, was part of the Lakers’ 2020 championship team, but has barely played for the Mavericks this season, appearing in only seven games.
Davis has been one of the best bigs in basketball and has been the cornerstone for the Lakers on both sides of the court. He is averaging 25.7 points, 11.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.3 steals and 2.1 blocks per game. Christie, meanwhile, is enjoying his best season of his young career, developing into a solid 3-and-D wing and becoming an important part of the starting lineup averaging 8.3 points on 37.1% shooting from 3-point range.
The Lakers selected Hood-Schifino 17th overall in last year’s NBA Draft, but the point guard has made little impact in his time with the franchise and now will get the chance for a clean slate with the Jazz before hitting free agency this summer.
LeBron James ‘surprised’ by Luka Doncic trade to the Lakers
The general reaction from across the NBA world at the news of this blockbuster trade was absolute shock and LeBron James was right in line with everyone else.
A recent report noted that LeBron was ‘shocked’ at the news and had no idea there were any talks between the Lakers and Mavericks on a potential Luka Doncic deal.
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