Luka Dončić is a member of the Los Angeles Lakers.
That’s a sentence that would have made anyone laugh merely 12 hours ago.
Even in the wacky world of professional sports, few transactions have been more shocking and seemingly fake than what went down on Saturday night as ESPN’s Shams Charania announced — and then had to re-announce due to rumors of being hacked — that the Lakers had acquired Luka in a trade that sent Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks.
As speculation swirls faster than lightning around the NBA media, let’s take a moment to slow down and review the basketball players, contracts, and picks involved in this trade, per Shams.
The Trade
Lakers receive…
– Luka Dončić
– Maxi Kleber
– Markieff Morris
Mavericks receive…
– Anthony Davis
– Max Christie
– 2029 first-rounder (LAL)
Jazz receive…
– Jalen Hood-Schifino
– 2025 second-rounder (LAC)
– 2025 second-rounder (DAL)
Dončić, 25, is in year three of a five-year, $215.2 million designated rookie extension with a $49 million player option for 2026-27. Kleber, 33, is in year two of a three-year, $33 million deal, and Morris, 35, is on an expiring contract.
The Mavericks are taking on three more seasons of the 31-year-old Davis at an estimated total of $175.4 (player option for 2027-28), via Spotrac.
They are also getting a very promising young shooting guard in Max Christie, 21, who is in the first year of a four-year, $32 million deal (player option for 2027-28).
The draft capital being exchanged in this trade has caused an uproar, as Mavericks fans are in disbelief that Dallas wasn’t able to acquire more than just one first-rounder for one of the world’s top-3 players in his prime.
Then there is the hilarious side-plot that former Boston Celtics and current Utah Jazz GM Danny Ainge got in on the deal for a pair of second-rounders.
With the basketball and financial details of the trade having been made clear, expect boatloads of analysis to pour in over the next 48 hours (or more) surrounding undeniably the craziest trade in NBA history.
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