Grading The Trade: The Three-Team Trade Involving Luka Doncic and Anthony Davis
February 3rd, 2024
By Alan Lu
Late Saturday night, the NBA world was rocked to its core when a three-team trade was announced involving the Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, and the Utah Jazz that sent superstar forward Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, and superstar big man Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks. Doncic had helped lead the 2024 Dallas Mavericks get to the 2024 NBA Finals at the age of 25, and he is a five-time NBA All-Star.
There were rumblings that Dallas were concerned about his weight and about having to pay him the supermax, per Brian Windhorst, so the Mavericks made a surprise trade by dealing him to the Los Angeles Lakers. There were also rumblings that Anthony Davis wanted to play power forward, next to a center, and in Dallas, he’ll certainly get his wish by playing next to Daniel Gafford. For Doncic, he gets to play with LeBron in Los Angeles, even though he did not demand to be traded nor was notified by Nico Harrison ahead of time. Unfortunately for Luka, he is said to now be ineligible to receive the supermax and he can now only sign for the max, because the supermax requires a player to have stayed with one team prior to becoming eligible to receive that contract. (For those that wonder if a supermax contract is a thing, it most certainly is. There is a blurb on it regarding the NBA salary cap on Wikipedia.)
This was definitely a very surprising trade for sure. It definitely made the fan experience very interesting, and on the surface, it seems that NBA GMs are just as interested in making eyebrow raising trades just as much as fantasy basketball GMs. But was it worth it for the teams involved to make this trade? Here, I’ll to break this trade down in full detail, and assign each of the teams a grade and find out for myself.
Luka Doncic is a soon-to-be 26-year old superstar that was traded in a surprise three-team deal that sent him to the Los Angeles Lakers, and his arrival to Los Angeles will be greatly anticipated around the world. (Photo: Gary A. Vasquez/USA Today Sports, via Lakers Nation)
The Los Angeles Lakers received:
Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber, Markieff Morris
The Lakers receive a transcendent talent in the 6-8 point forward Luka Doncic, whose superb shot making, playmaking skills, and basketball IQ helped the Mavericks get to the 2024 NBA Finals, and he’s proven to be the best player in the 2018 draft class, as he has averaged nearly 30 points per game while being a consistent triple-double threat on a nightly basis.
The only downside are questions about his defense and that he is currently injured due to having a calf strain. Doncic did play 92 games last season (70 regular season games and 22 playoff games), and he averaged nearly 40 minutes per game in those games combined, which is a ton of minutes to play over the course of one NBA season. Therefore, he’ll need to go to a team that can load manage him more for the regular season so that he can be healthy for the playoffs.
That said, Doncic has proven to be one of the best players in the game when healthy, and this trade gives the Lakers a young superstar that will help them both in the present (when he becomes healthy) and for the foreseeable future. And as for the supposed weight issues? That shouldn’t be much of a concern at all. The past several MVPs have included Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid, both of whom are at a similar weight to Doncic, and Denver has won the title in 2023 with Jokic. And as for the defense wins championships thing that Nico said? Well, the Mavericks defeated LeBron’s Miami Heat in 2011 when they were led by superstar forward Dirk Nowitzki, whose superb offensive skills led the way, and they had solid players around them that could play strong defense. If anything, Nico’s comments could become the fuel that could give Doncic the push he needs to win a title for the Lakers in the future.
As for the fit with the Lakers, it’ll definitely be interesting, but it also could potentially be a challenge for them, at least initially. At first glance, both LeBron and Doncic are really good with the ball in their hands, but they along with head coach JJ Redick also are smart and skilled enough to make it work, and infusing their talents with a motion-based concepts along with gifted shooters and playmakers could allow them to both shine on the court. The Lakers will miss the interior play of Anthony Davis, but they gain a really talented perimeter player in Doncic, and it will be an opportunity for Jaxson Hayes to step up for the Lakers.
Maxi Kleber is a tall, 6-10 forward that historically has excelled in a supporting role as an energetic 3 and D forward, but he had a down season with Dallas prior to breaking his foot recently, so he may be out for an extended time. He is unlikely to contribute right away due to being injured, but if healthy for the playoffs, Kleber could be another possible rotation piece that could create mismatches that could swing in the Lakers’ favor, but that is if Kleber can return to full health and play as well as he did in prior years.
Markieff Morris was on the 2020 Los Angeles Lakers’ championship team, and he could provide a stabilizing locker room influence. He hasn’t played much or very well this season though, so in terms of his actual play this year, not much should be expected at all. That said, if he can manage to play as well as he did in previous years, he could maybe be a floor spacing big man that could at best provide spot minutes off the bench.
Overall, the major coup for the Lakers obviously was that they managed to snag Luka Doncic out of this trade. Unfortunately, they had to give up Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and one first round pick (as well as Jalen Hood-Schifino), so in the present, the Lakers will have to reconfigure their team to make their team work, but given the high skill level of Luka, LeBron, and the strong coaching talents of Redick, I have confidence that they will find a way.
In addition, the Lakers also did not have to part with Dalton Knecht, nor did they have to trade multiple first round picks away to get Doncic. I mean, in looking at trades other teams made, the Knicks gave up five first round picks to get Mikal Bridges, and the Timberwolves gave up five first round picks (and other players) to get Rudy Gobert, so the fact that the Lakers only gave up one first round pick (but did give up Anthony Davis) to get Luka Doncic was surprising.
For the long-term, this was a tremendous move on the Lakers’ part to get Doncic, and it seems that they managed to luck their way into getting Luka.
Trade Grade for the Los Angeles Lakers: A+
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Anthony Davis helped the Lakers win the 2020 championship in the Orlando bubble, and he will be a 10-time All-Star after being selected as a reserve this year, but the Mavericks are making a massive gamble by trading away Luka Doncic to get him for their team in a blockbuster three-team trade.
(Photo: Jim Dedmon/Imagn Images, via SB Nation’s A Sea of Blue)
The Dallas Mavericks Received:
Anthony Davis, Max Christie, 2029 LAL 1st Round Pick
On the surface, it appears as if the Mavericks are getting a player of almost an equal talent level, and they acquired the soon-to-be 32-year old Anthony Davis, a superstar big man that has provided strong scoring and interior defense over the years. On the downside, he also has been injury prone over the years, but top of that, Davis doesn’t shoot well from the outside and also wants to primarily play power forward, which can make it challenging for Dallas to optimally space the floor, even though they do have Kyrie and Klay, because both Anthony Davis and Gafford aren’t outside shooters, and PJ Washington would most likely have to downshift from playing the four to the three.
In the present, Davis will add to their interior play, especially with Dereck Lively currently injured, but losing the sterling offensive skills of Doncic could be a huge loss for Dallas. Davis is currently on a two-year deal plus a player option, so if he picks up that option, he’d be 35 years old at the end of that contract. While players tend to decline as they get older, there are always exceptions, and LeBron has proven that players can succeed even at that age. The health of Davis will be important, and it will be interesting to see if Dallas will have enough floor spacing to operate on offense, as they will need to reconfigure their team to adjust.
Max Christie is an athletic swingman that has excelled in a reserve role as a 3 and D player for the Lakers this season prior to being traded to Dallas. He is a young swingman that has shown the potential to excel as a complementary player both either as a starter or off the bench. He’ll give the Mavericks some much needed depth, as he could give Klay a breather, and Max is a player that should be a key contributor in the present, and could be a solid player in the long run.
The Mavericks managed to get a 2029 first round pick from the Los Angeles Lakers, and while they received one first round pick, they did not get multiple picks, as they probably viewed Doncic and Anthony Davis as similar to each other in terms of talent. Still, it seems they didn’t ask or get nearly enough picks in return, and four years from now, it’s possible that the Mavericks could end up being a bad team, as most of their core players are in their early to mid 30s. On top of that, that 2029 first round pick could end up being a late first round pick, as the Lakers are probably going to be a good team with Luka for a long time, as long as he is healthy, and at best that pick is an interesting dice roll that may or may not pan out. For the present, the Mavericks were able to get players that are almost similar in talent, but in doing so, they gave up a superstar (Luka Doncic) that some regard to be a generational talent, which could cost their franchise significantly in the long run.
Trade Grade For The Dallas Mavericks: C
The Utah Jazz Received:
Jalen Hood-Schifino, 2025 Clippers 2nd Round Pick, 2025 Mavericks 2nd Round Pick
The Jazz didn’t give up very much at all, and it was reported that all they gave up were cash considerations ($110,000 in fact, via MassLive) to get two second round picks, a steal in any way you look at it, as well as a promising player in Jalen Hood-Schifino that hasn’t played much at all in this league. That said, they did seem to unknowingly facilitate a trade that netted the Lakers Luka Doncic, so maybe the Jazz should be penalized a bit for allowing this trade to happen. But still, the Jazz did a very good job on their end of the deal, as they added draft capital, along with a talented project player that still has room to grow his game at the NBA level.
Trade Grade For The Utah Jazz: B+
It will be interesting to see how the season unfolds, and the 2025 NBA Playoffs will be pivotal to see how the Lakers and Mavericks incorporate their players into the fold. It will be interesting to see if the Mavericks’ eyebrow-raising gamble will pan out, as they are currently 26-24, 9th in the Western Conference, and they most likely would still need to make upgrades to become viable title contenders this year. The Lakers have been solid this year, and they made a strong move that will help them both this year and in the long run, and while they’ll need some time to figure out how best to use their team, they get a really good player that will help them for years to come.
So in recap, here are my trade grades for the teams that were involved in making this trade:
The Los Angeles Lakers: A+
The Dallas Mavericks: C
The Utah Jazz: B+
Were these grades too high or low? Maybe. But time will tell to see how this trade pans out for all of the teams that were involved in making this deal happen. The Lakers made a terrific move that will help them for a long time, while Dallas’ move seemed to be very short-sighted with not much of an eye for the future. While Dallas did receive a good, star player in Anthony Davis, their sacrifice to get him appears to be too much, as they gave up Luka Doncic to get Davis, and I think that the Mavericks will miss the talents of Luka Doncic and what he had brought to their team.
As time progresses, we’ll see who ends up winning this trade in the long run, and it’ll be fun to watch how it all plays out. All in all, this was a historic trade that could have long-lasting ramifications on this league, and the Lakers are positioned to benefit for a long time.