{"id":122881,"date":"2025-02-08T19:43:04","date_gmt":"2025-02-09T00:43:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=122881"},"modified":"2025-02-08T19:43:04","modified_gmt":"2025-02-09T00:43:04","slug":"max-christie-is-another-gem-the-lakers-could-regret-losing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/02\/08\/max-christie-is-another-gem-the-lakers-could-regret-losing\/","title":{"rendered":"Max Christie Is Another Gem The Lakers Could Regret Losing"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> have a history of letting talented young players walk away, only to watch them thrive elsewhere. Max Christie<\/a> is shaping up to be another example. After struggling to carve out a role in his first two seasons, Christie finally found his footing under JJ Redick. However, the blockbuster trade<\/a> that sent Anthony Davis<\/a> to Dallas has now made him a key piece for the Mavericks. As Max Christie flourishes in his new role, Lakers fans may soon regret losing another promising guard.<\/p>\n

Max Christie Is Another Gem the Lakers Could Regret Losing<\/h2>\n

Redick\u2019s Trust Unlocked Christie’s Potential<\/h3>\n

Christie\u2019s early years in Los Angeles were marked by inconsistency. Despite playing 61 games in his second season, Darvin Ham rarely trusted him. His limited role became even more evident in the 2024 playoffs, where he didn’t see a single minute on the court. This was a stark contrast to his rookie year when he at least logged 33 playoff minutes.<\/p>\n

Perhaps Ham wasn\u2019t a fan of Christie’s laid-back demeanor, but Redick saw something different. When Redick took over, he made it clear that Christie would play an important role<\/a>. It wasn\u2019t an easy start, though. In October, Christie struggled, posting a brutal –36.1<\/a> net rating despite the Lakers\u2019 indifferent 3-2 start. His shooting woes didn\u2019t help\u2014he hit just 25% from deep that month.<\/p>\n

Yet, Redick stuck with him. Injuries forced the Lakers to rely on Christie, and he responded. By January, he was shooting 39.2% from three on 5.6 attempts per game. More importantly, he became the perfect defensive complement to Austin Reaves<\/a>. While Reaves\u2019 offensive skills were never in question, his defensive struggles were well-documented<\/a>. Christie stepped in as the Lakers’ best perimeter defender, guarding elite scorers nightly.<\/p>\n

His emergence justified the Lakers\u2019 decision to sign him to a four-year, $32 million<\/a> contract. At the time, there were debates about whether he was worth it. But by midseason, that contract looked like a bargain.<\/p>\n

The Luka Doncic Trade Changed Everything<\/h3>\n

Then came the blockbuster. The Lakers stunned the NBA by trading Davis for Luka Don\u010di\u0107<\/a>. The move set off a chain reaction. For one, it shook up<\/a> the trade deadline, as teams scrambled to react. But it also created a rift<\/a> between Mavs fans and the front office. Some fans protested before the team\u2019s first home game post-trade. A GoFundMe campaign targeted Nico Harrison and the Adelson family, with fans blaming them for moving on from Don\u010di\u0107<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Through it all, Harrison remained firm: the Mavericks viewed themselves as contenders. That\u2019s why when Christie was included in the deal, his departure wasn\u2019t just a throw-in. The Lakers may have valued him, but Dallas saw him as a critical piece.<\/p>\n

A Seamless Fit in Dallas<\/h2>\n

Unlike his early years in Los Angeles, Christie has found immediate trust from Jason Kidd. Through his first three games with the Mavericks, he\u2019s averaging<\/a> 31.4 minutes per game. And he\u2019s thriving.<\/p>\n

His stat line\u201417.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists\u2014has been nothing short of impressive. His shooting splits (51.6% from the field, 66.7% from three, and 76.5% from the line) are unsustainable, but they show his potential. More importantly, he\u2019s filling a key role as a point-of-attack defender.<\/p>\n

Before acquiring Christie, the Mavericks were so desperate for perimeter defense that they considered trading<\/a> Daniel Gafford<\/a> just weeks ago. Klay Thompson<\/a> has defended well this season, but he\u2019s better suited for bigger, slower opponents. Quentin Grimes<\/a> had started growing into the role, but the Mavericks valued turning<\/a> him into Caleb Martin<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Christie has already proven he can handle elite scorers. On January 25<\/a>, he held Stephen Curry<\/a> to 13 points on 4-of-17 shooting. That type of defensive ability is invaluable for a team with championship aspirations.<\/p>\n

The Lakers\u2019 Growing List of Regrets May Include Max Christie<\/h3>\n

Christie\u2019s minutes in Dallas aren\u2019t guaranteed. Martin will eventually return from injury, and competition will be fierce. But given his team-friendly contract and his ability to contribute on both ends, he looks like a steal. At just $8 million per year, he\u2019s one of the best-value 3-and-D wings in the league.<\/p>\n

For comparison, Herbert Jones<\/a> is in the first year of a four-year, $53.82 million<\/a> contract. The Lakers<\/a> let Christie go while keeping older, more expensive players who don\u2019t offer the same long-term upside.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t the first time the Lakers have made this mistake. They let Alex Caruso<\/a> walk to Chicago, only to see him become an elite defender. They failed to retain Malik Monk<\/a>, who has since flourished in Sacramento. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope,<\/a> a key part of their 2020 title run, was also let go and has since won a second chip with the Denver Nuggets<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Lakers fans may soon add Christie\u2019s name to that list. He just recorded his second-highest<\/a> career point total (23) in his Mavericks home debut. After the game, he summed up the team’s intentions<\/a> perfectly:<\/p>\n

“We hung our hat on defense. We were able to score a little, but our defense, I think, is what carried us through the game.”<\/em><\/p>\n

For a team looking to make a deep playoff run, that mindset is invaluable. The Lakers may not have realized what they had in Max Christie, but the Mavericks certainly do.<\/p>\n

The Los Angeles Lakers have a history of letting talented young players walk away, only to watch them thrive elsewhere. Max Christie is shaping up to be another example. After struggling to carve out a role in his first two seasons, Christie finally found his footing under JJ Redick. However, the blockbuster trade that sent […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5018,"featured_media":122899,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,1608,30,26],"tags":[2037,240,4556,3839,2279,1105,1133,700,4916,4975,49881,48],"class_list":["post-122881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","category-basketball","category-mavericks","category-lakers","tag-alex-caruso","tag-anthony-davis","tag-austin-reaves","tag-darvin-ham","tag-jj-redick","tag-kentavious-caldwell-pope","tag-luka-doncic","tag-malik-monk","tag-max-christie","tag-nba-contracts","tag-nico-harrison","tag-stephen-curry"],"modified_by":"Frederick Okocha","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122881","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5018"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=122881"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122881\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":122901,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122881\/revisions\/122901"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/122899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=122881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=122881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}