{"id":121517,"date":"2025-02-02T18:14:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-02T23:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=121517"},"modified":"2025-02-03T00:20:16","modified_gmt":"2025-02-03T05:20:16","slug":"what-does-luka-doncic-trade-mean-for-mavericks-and-what-is-next","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/02\/02\/what-does-luka-doncic-trade-mean-for-mavericks-and-what-is-next\/","title":{"rendered":"What Does Luka Doncic Trade Mean For Mavericks and What Is Next?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a surprising early morning trade, the Dallas Mavericks sen<\/a>t Luka Doncic<\/a> to the Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> for Anthony Davis<\/a>. What are the Mavericks doing, and what is next?<\/p>\n

This Doncic-Davis deal is the definition of a blockbuster, as both players are franchise-type players. Mavericks<\/a> fans are reportedly heartbroken, but could the trade work out well for them?<\/p>\n

\u201cThis s— broke my heart,\u201d Mavericks fan Stewart Svobada told Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News<\/a>. \u201cThey just sold everything away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Svobada wasn’t the only Mavericks fan stunned by the trade, and for good reason. Dallas, coming off its first NBA Finals appearance since claiming the 2011 NBA title, sits eighth in the conference with a 26-23 record heading into this afternoon’s game at Cleveland.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m hoping to wake up from a bad dream,\u201d Dallas native Dmitri Jordanou said when asked by McFarland his thoughts. \u201cYou have the most talented Mavericks team in Mavericks history, and you have Luka right here. It\u2019s like, \u2018Boom.\u2019 We just went to the finals, we finally get this team around him, it\u2019s all right here, and then you trade him? It\u2019s the biggest joke ever.\u201d<\/p>\n

What Does Luka Doncic Trade Mean For Mavericks and What Is Next?<\/h2>\n

While Dallas is just two-and-one-half games behind the sixth-place Los Angeles Clippers,<\/a> the Mavericks have trended down since losing Doncic to injury on Christmas Day. Since falling to Minnesota on December 25, the Mavs have lost 12 of their last 20 contests and are only three games clear of 12th-place San Antonio.<\/p>\n

Granted, Doncic was not the only player Dallas has lost to injuries. Dereck Lively II<\/a> is dealing with right ankle stress and likely won’t return to the court in March. Dwight Powell<\/a> (hip) missed his eighth straight game against the Cavaliers<\/a>. No Maverick has appeared in every game this season, and only five have missed fewer than 10 contests.<\/p>\n

Plus, Doncic<\/a> was expected to return before the All-Star break<\/a>, though there was no definitive timetable. The Mavs have seven games until the break. The Mavs were 13-14 without their star guard prior to the Cavaliers game. So, the brass may have thought that the team would be out of contention for a top-six seed by the time Doncic returned, though Davis is expected to sit out a few more days with an abdomen strain.<\/p>\n

Why The Mavericks Made Trade<\/h4>\n

However, according to Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison, the real reason Dallas made the trade with Los Angeles was the Mavericks’ defensive inefficiencies. The Mavericks are eighth in offensive rating at 115.8 and 13th in defensive rating at 112.4. Not surprisingly, the Mavs were worse on both ends of the floor, with Doncic falling to 19th in both categories over the last 19 contests.<\/p>\n

“I believe that defense wins championships,”\u00a0Harrison told ESPN<\/a>. “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.”<\/p>\n

ESPN also reported that the Mavericks weren’t thrilled with Doncic’s lack of conditioning. That shouldn’t be surprising, as Doncic has been criticized for his weight since entering the NBA<\/a>.<\/p>\n