By Jovan Buha, Christian Clark, Tony Jones, David Aldridge and Alex Andrejev
The Los Angeles Lakers are acquiring Luka Dončić from the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Anthony Davis as part of a late-night blockbuster that sent shockwaves through the NBA, league sources confirmed Saturday.
The stunning move sends Dončić, a five-time NBA All-Star, to one of the league’s top markets to compete alongside LeBron James in what are likely the waning years of James’ Hall of Fame career. It marks the first team other than Dallas that Dončić — a 2018 first-round pick — will play for in his seven-year NBA career.
The 25-year-old Dončić was eligible to sign a five-year, $345 million contract extension with the Mavericks this summer. All signs pointed toward him putting pen to paper on that historic deal with Dallas before this abrupt move.
Mavericks players were blindsided by the trade. One player, according to a source briefed on his thinking, believed Dončić would accompany Dallas on its five-game road trip.
Social media stunned as Lakers trade Anthony Davis to Mavericks for Luka Dončić
Instead, Dončić, who has been oft-injured this season, appears headed for Los Angeles. He’s played in just 22 games, averaging 28.1 points, 8.3 rebounds and 7.8 assists in those contests, and he hasn’t competed since sustaining a calf strain on Christmas.
For Davis, 31, it ends a six-year stint with the Lakers that included an NBA championship in 2020. The 10-time All-Star averaged 24.8 points, 11 rebounds and 3.2 assists while with Los Angeles, and is now slated to pair with eight-time All-Star Kyrie Irving in Dallas.
The multi-team deal, which includes the Utah Jazz, will also see the Lakers land Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris, while the Mavs will acquire Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick, league sources confirmed. ESPN first reported the news of the trade.
The Jazz will receive Jalen Hood-Schifino and multiple second-round picks, per league sources. ESPN reported those picks will be a 2025 Los Angeles Clippers second-rounder and a 2025 Mavericks second-rounder.
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Lakers land Dončić with eye toward succession plan
There has been speculation for weeks as to what the Lakers’ next move was going to be — or not be — with the deadline approaching.
Leagues and team sources suggested tempering expectations with the Lakers only possessing underwhelming mid-sized salaries and two first-round picks that they valued highly.
No one saw this coming.
In a seismic move that’ll determine the franchise’s direction for years to come, the Lakers have acquired the next face of their franchise in Dončić. They are set up as well as possible for the post-James era.
I can’t tell what’s real and fake anymore on these apps. Luka really going to the lakers or nah ?
— CJ McCollum (@CJMcCollum) February 2, 2025
The cost was steep: Davis, their best player and the next face of the franchise, an emerging 3-and-D wing in Christie and their 2029 first-round pick unprotected. The Lakers will take a notable step back defensively and don’t have as deep of a roster as they previously did. They also clearly need a starting center — something Davis was clamoring for before being dealt.
But the prize was undoubtedly worth it in Dončić, a generational talent who has often been compared to James due to his unprecedented blend of scoring, playmaking and basketball IQ at his size. He’s already been to the conference finals and NBA Finals. James is the kind of mentor who can show him how to get over the championship hump.
The Lakers’ offense will skyrocket once he’s healthy, and as James eventually decides on his future in the coming seasons, Dončić can take the mantle of the next great Laker.
As has historically been the case with the Lakers for decades, they always find their next superstar. — Jovan Buha, Lakers beat writer
What this trade means for the Mavs
Only eight months removed from an NBA Finals appearance, the Mavericks are trading their superstar guard who they targeted in the 2018 draft.
Dončić, a teenage prodigy who won EuroLeague MVP at 19 years old, was named an All-Star in his second NBA season. In 2022, Dončić’s playoff heroics helped the Mavericks make a surprise run to the Western Conference Finals.
Last spring, Dončić got Dallas back to the Conference Finals again alongside running mate Irving. This time, Dallas advanced to the NBA Finals. Dončić averaged 32.4 points, 9.6 rebounds and 8.2 assists in Dallas’ five-game series win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. His game-winning shot over Rudy Gobert in Game 2 was a defining moment of the series.
The Mavericks entered this season with championship aspirations. They had won 15 of 17 games going into their Christmas Day game against the Timberwolves. Dončić exited that game in the first half with a left calf strain and has been unable to play since. He was expected to return sometime before the All-Star break.
Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison is expected to address the team before Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers to explain why Dallas made this trade, league sources said.
Last summer, the Mavericks acquired Klay Thompson in a sign-and-trade. Thompson signed a three-year deal worth $50 million to play alongside Irving and Dončić. That trio wound up playing in 20 games together before Dončić got hurt and then was traded.
Dončić, who turns 26 years old later this month, is just entering his prime years.
Davis is in his 13th NBA season. He remains one of the league’s most productive big men. He is averaging 25.7 points, 11.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocks.
Davis expressed a desire to play alongside other centers in Los Angeles. If the Mavericks want to play Davis at forward, they can insert either Daniel Gafford or Dereck Lively II next to him.
Davis is under contract through the 2026-27 season. He has a player option in 2027-28 for $62.8 million.
Moving Dončić will increase the load Irving must carry offensively. The 32-year-old is in the midst of a strong season, all while he has been dealing with a bulging disc in his back. Irving has a decision to make about his future this summer. He holds a $44 million player option for next season. — Christian Clark, Mavericks beat writer
Was this the right move for Utah?
The Jazz, in the middle of a rebuild, are in salary accumulation mode and will continue to be in the days leading to the trade deadline, according to league sources.
This is Utah’s second trade of the day. They earlier completed a deal with the Los Angeles Clippers, picking up a second-round pick and the salary of Mo Bamba and PJ Tucker. The Jazz are expected to move on from Bamba in the near future, according to league sources.
The question is why would the Jazz work to help the Lakers? Utah owns Los Angeles’ 2027 first-round picks, top-4 protected. This is a trade that should make the Lakers a better team, and maybe even a championship team. This certainly may devalue the pick a bit. — Tony Jones, Jazz beat writer
L.A. gets a young superstar, but where does this leave Dallas?
How do the Lakers, consistently, decade after decade, pull this off?
They got Kareem in his prime. They got Kobe at the start of his career. They got Shaq in his prime. They got Pau Gasol in his prime. They got James, if not in his prime, not all that far past it. They got…Davis in his prime.
And, now, they get Dončiċ, who has been first-team all-NBA five straight years, and just led his good but hardly impregnable franchise to the finals within the past year, as he enters his prime. They now have the post-LeBron era ready to go. If Luka is ball-dominant — you look up “heliocentric” in the dictionary, and there’s his picture — he’s still a great talent and other great talents will want to play with him.
The Lakers’ part of this trade is easy to understand. This season does not matter. They had to prepare for the next decade without LeBron. They just have.
But I’m trying to process this from the Mavs’ perspective. If you accept at face value that they still had issues with Dončiċ’s conditioning and were worried about his long-term future because of it — and didn’t want to commit a $345 supermax contract to him this summer — OK. I don’t get the timing of doing it now, though, because you could sign him to the supermax and still have, at least, 15 to 20 teams that would line up and try to make a deal for him. It’s Luka Dončiċ. He’s a superstar. Superstars his age never become available via trade. But, OK. You want to trade him now.
But, if that’s the case…you don’t call the Miami Heat and ask for Bam Adebayo? You don’t call the Memphis Grizzlies and ask for Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane? You don’t call the Cavaliers and ask for Evan Mobley? You don’t call…the Milwaukee Bucks…and ask for Giannis? You focus solely on Davis?
I’ve been covering the NBA for 37 years. Almost nothing that happens – deals, free agent signings, coach hirings/firings – rises to the level of, as the great Ben Bradlee used to call them, “Holy S–t” stories. You just get used to the unexpected.
This is a “Holy S–t” trade.
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) February 2, 2025
Davis is still a great player, to be sure. He may well be a first-team all-NBA selection this season. But he’s a 31-year-old great player with a history of injuries, and your remaining co-star in Dallas, Irving, is 31. You just sent your 25-year-old, top-five player in the NBA to the Lakers for Davis, along with one future first-round pick.
The Knicks just gave up five first-rounders…for Mikal Bridges!
What in the name of Al Bianchi is going on here?
By all accounts, Dončiċ had no idea this was about to happen, and hadn’t issued any type of trade request internally. So, it doesn’t matter whether he would have re-signed with the team that acquired him now. There’s no guarantee he’s going to re-sign with the Lakers, either, and L.A. pulled the trigger, anyway. Because you pull the trigger for Luka Dončiċ! And you figure out the rest later! Other teams with younger superstars would have pulled the trigger for Luka, too. He’s that good.
One has to wonder if this would have happened had Mark Cuban still been the primary owner of the franchise. Lord knows Dončiċ and the Mavs have had their issues over the years, and if one can accept at face value the notion that the New Orleans Pelicans aren’t certain that they can stick with Zion Williamson long-term with his injury past, you can at least begin to see why Dallas no longer thought Luka was worth the trouble.
But, Lord. They better be right. — David Aldridge, NBA columnist
— Marcus Thompson, Fred Katz and Mike Vorkunov contributed to this report.
Required reading
(Photo: Tim Heitman / Getty Images)
