When news broke about Luka Doncic being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, many were surprised by the return the Dallas Mavericks got for trading away a top-three player in the league. Granted, L.A. parted ways with Anthony Davis and Max Christie, but the necessary draft capital was lacking.
One could argue that Davis is worth multiple first-round draft picks given he is viewed as one of, if not the best two-way big in the league. That’s in addition to Christie playing extremely well since moving into the starting lineup for L.A.
Ultimately, there seemed to be no bidding war for Doncic though because if there was one, it could be assumed that he would not be wearing a Lakers jersey as plenty of other teams had more draft capital to part with.
After the deal went down, it was reported that the Lakers were the only team Dallas spoke with about a Doncic trade. However, it appears the Mavericks also reached out to the Milwaukee Bucks and Minnesota Timberwolves to gauge their interest in parting with their superstars, via NBA reporter Gery Woelfel:
Well, my curiosity prompted me to contact several NBA sources and garner their feedback on this seismic trade. To my utter surprise, some of those officials flat-out disputed Harrison’s comments that he strictly communicated with just the Lakers.
According to two NBA sources, the Mavs had interactions with at least two other teams besides the Lakers. They claimed the Mavs also had conversations with the Bucks and Timberwolves.
According to one source, the Mavs reached out to the Bucks. But the Bucks made it clear to Mavs they wouldn’t trade Antetokounmpo even though his future with the team is murky.
As for the Timberwolves, it’s only logical that any potential deal between the Mavs and Timberwolves would have included Anthony Edwards, their ascending 23-year-old superstar.
The league sources I contacted regarding the Doncic-Davis declined to divulge specifics of the Mavs talks with the Bucks and Timberwolves, but they were adamant those talks took place.
Milwaukee is limited in terms of draft assets like the Lakers, but the Mavericks likely would have preferred acquiring Giannis Antetokounmpo over Davis. An argument can be made whether which hypothetical package would be better, but Antetokounmpo seemed to be off the table.
For Minnesota, it would have been intriguing to see if they would be willing to swap Anthony Edwards for Doncic. Seeing how the former Maverick eliminated the Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals last season, it’s reasonable to think Minnesota would consider a swap of young superstars although it obviously never came to fruition.
All in all, it seems that Doncic truly fell into the Lakers’ lap, and now they have a 25-year-old superstar to build around for years to come.
Luka Doncic: calf is feeling good but play was ‘rusty’ in first two games with Lakers
When acquiring Luka Doncic, there was an inherent risk given his contract and that he has not played since Christmas Day due to a calf strain. Now with two games under his belt and an All-Star break to get back into shape, Doncic shared that his calf is feeling good. He did admit, however, that he has felt a bit ‘rusty’ since he had not played in several weeks
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