BLOCKBUSTER: Los Angeles Lakers trade Anthony Davis to Dallas Mavericks for Luka Doncic

One of the biggest trades in NBA history went down early Sunday morning as NBA insider Shams Charania is reporting a three-team deal between the Los Angeles Lakers, Utah Jazz, and Dallas Mavericks, that sees Anthony Davis heading to Dallas, and Luka Doncic heading to L.A.

BREAKING: The Dallas Mavericks are trading Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick, sources tell ESPN. Three-team deal that includes Utah.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 2, 2025

To	To	To
Anthony Davis	Luka Doncic	Jalen Hood-Schifino
Max Christie	Maxi Kleber	2025 2nd-rounder ()
2029 1st-rounder ()	Markieff Morris	2025 2nd-rounder ()

According to Charania, the Mavericks were the ones who started getting this trade rolling, approaching the Lakers over the last couple of weeks to start facilitating this deal. An interesting note is that Lakers' forward LeBron James was not made aware of this trade until after it was announced, as he was out for dinner when he found out L.A was dealing AD, and receiving Doncic in return.

"I believe that defense wins championships," Mavs general manager Nico Harrison told ESPN's Tim MacMahon regarding his motivation to make the shocking trade for Davis. "I believe that getting an All-Defensive center and an All-NBA player with a defensive mindset gives us a better chance. We're built to win now and in the future."

Doncic will be looking for a contract extension this summer, and while he loses out on the supermax, the Lakers can still offer him a five-year deal, at $229 million.

Here are the contracts going out in the blockbuster AD/Luka trade.
Here are the contracts going out in the blockbuster AD/Luka trade.

To LA Lakers:

🏀Luka Doncic ($43M, $46M and $48.9M (P))

*⃣He is extension eligible this summer: 5/$229M

🏀Maxi Kleber ($11M and $11M)

🏀Markieff Morris ($2.1M)

To Dallas:

🏀🏀Anthony Davis ($43.2M, $54.1M,…
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) February 2, 2025

Doncic is currently sidelined with a calf strain but was targeting a Feb. 8 return. Doncic is averaging 28.1 points, 8.3 boards, 7.8 assists, and two steals across 22 appearances this season. Meanwhile, Davis has posted 25.7 points, 11.9 boards, 3.4 assists, and 2.1 blocks per contest over 42 appearances this season.