Well, as if De’Aaron Fox suddenly being available wasn’t enough to bring the NBA trade deadline to life, how about a blockbuster deal no one saw coming involving two of the league’s biggest superstars?
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That is exactly what we got on Sunday afternoon as, out of nowhere, the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks agreed to a deal, also involving the Utah Jazz, in which they swapped Anthony Davis and Luka Doncic.
Of course, there was more to the deal with Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris also being sent to L.A. while Max Christie and a Lakers 2029 first-round pick was shipped to Dallas.
Utah, meanwhile, received Jalen Hood-Schifino, a Clippers 2025 second-round pick and Mavericks 2025 second-round pick in the trade.
Predictably, given how unexpected the move was, the entire sporting world — not even just the NBA world — was quick to react on social media with Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who plays in this month’s Super Bowl, even weighing in.
Suns superstar Kevin Durant described it as the “biggest trade I’ve seen since I’ve been in the league”.
“Or since I’ve been watching the sport. This was insane,” he added, per The Athletic’s Jason Quick.
“Insane. It’s crazy. crazy,” he continued. “Damn, would have never thought Luka Dončić get traded at this age, midseason.”
“The NBA is a wild place. If he can get traded, anybody is up for grabs.”
Once the initial shock wore off, more people started to ask questions — namely one in particular — why would the Mavericks make this move in the first place?
As elite a player and, specifically, defender as Davis may be, Doncic was the face of the franchise and only just entering his prime while the Mavericks had only got the NBA Finals last year, in the end falling short at the hands of the Boston Celtics.
ESPN’s Tim MacMahon later reported that Dallas had “major concerns about moving forward with Luka Doncic due to his constant conditioning issues and the looming commitment of another supermax contract extension this summer”.
Doncic was due to earn $US345 million over five years.
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