Abdimalik Mohamed, sports editor

A trade that was never expected  to happen took place late Saturday, Feb. 1 and it shook up the entire sports world. Luka Doncic, the 25-year-old superstar was traded from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 protected first round pick as reported by ESPN. 

The magnitude of this trade cannot be understated. This deal took place behind closed doors and it stunned everyone including Doncic himself. When he was traded to the Lakers, Doncic said in a quote to ESPN, “I had to check if it was April 1. I really didn’t believe it.” This trade is shocking because Doncic led the Mavericks to the NBA finals merely months ago. The trade was also shocking because this was not the best offer that the Mavericks could’ve gotten for him. Don’t get me wrong, Anthony Davis is no slouch here and is a perennial all-NBA player, but for Doncic? ESPN indicated in another article that the smoke coming out of Dallas is that they were not happy with his conditioning and his willingness to sign a supermax extension to stay in Dallas in 2026.

ESPN asked one of Doncic’s new teammates Markieff Morris about the conditioning and weight problems the Dallas Mavericks used as excuses to trade Doncic. Even he said, “I hear the stuff about him not being in shape, but if you can go in an NBA game and get 30 and 15 and 10 like it’s nothing, then I don’t really know what shape is,” Morris said. “You’re going to see it really soon. You’ll make the [determination] if he’s in shape or not.” How this deal seemingly got done was that Mavericks General Manager Nico Harrison and Lakers General Manager Rob Pelinka met up for coffee last month. This is typical between two men who have a long lasting friendship going back to when Pelinka was Kobe Bryant’s agent and Harrison was a Nike executive. ESPN also stated that in this meeting, Harrison mentioned Doncic and wondered what it would take for the Lakers to bid for his services. Those talks progressed over weeks. 

Harrison was looking at Anthony Davis who he also had a relationship with from their time at Nike together. Harrison wanted the defensive tenacity and the size of the 6 foot 10 inch tall Davis who was also looking for a move to the power forward position. So as the weeks went on and on, Pelinka and Harrison kept tabs on the players and talks intensified on the week of the trade. Even Lakers head coach JJ Redick and Anthony Davis’ agent Rich Paul weren’t clued in on the deal, according to ESPN.

While Doncic may have been kept in the dark about the trade, it will be interesting to see how he grows with the Lakers in the future. It will also be fascinating to see if any other unexpected trades occur in the NBA this season or if after this one the dust will settle for the league.