The Dallas Mavericks dropped a bombshell on the sports world over the weekend, trading away Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers in a three-team deal with Anthony Davis as the centerpiece of the return package.
Dallas’ decision to part ways with the 25-year-old superstar remained a shock even days after the trade, but what was just as surprising as the Mavs’ decision to end Dončić’s time in Dallas was their approach to the deal.
Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison confirmed that he approached the Lakers about trading Dončić while only one other team knew he was available, according to The Athletic. Such a decision essentially prevented a bidding war for one of the top players in the league.
As the dust started to settle on the deal, FOX Sports’ top personalities and contributors weighed in on the Dončić move. Here are some of the notable reactions to a trade that still has many scratching their heads.
Jason McIntyre: Mavericks made a mistake but their negotiating method wasn’t wrong
Like many, McIntyre didn’t like that the Mavericks opted to trade Dončić, believing they were operating out of fear that he wouldn’t live up to the five-year, $345 million extension he was eligible for. McIntyre disagreed with the notion that the Mavs made a mistake in limiting their possible trade partners in this deal, however, as Dončić is set to become a free agent in 2026.
“It doesn’t work like that,” McIntyre said Monday. “Remember, they had to ship Luka somewhere they knew he could sign. Nobody’s going to try and rent Luka for a year and then just have him walk and give up the whole franchise. I actually narrowed it down and only came up with three teams that could have gone after Luka had a bidding war.”
Those teams were the Boston Celtics, the New York Knicks and the Miami Heat, with McIntyre pointing to their big-market prestige and assets as reasons why they could’ve made a deal for Dončić. Still, McIntyre doesn’t think it would’ve been smart to create a bidding war. “The second the league got wind of Luka Dončić being on the market, it would’ve been a total disaster,” he said. “The price would’ve gone down. Luka would’ve checked out. Kyrie Irving and company would’ve been like, ‘What are we doing? We’re trading Luka?'”
How will Luka Dončić impact the Los Angeles Lakers?
Rachel Nichols: Mavericks’ approach was completely wrong
Nichols, however, disagreed with McIntyre. She thinks that his argument doesn’t hold because the Lakers essentially got Dončić “sight unseen.”
“The Lakers traded for him without knowing what kind of contract he would sign a year-and-a-half from now,” Nichols said. “By the way, I think if you polled most teams in the league, not all, but most, they would take a guaranteed year-and-a-half of Luka Dončić and say, ‘We can convince him that this is the place he wants to stay.’ The Mavericks did it with Kyrie Irving when they traded for him and only had three months to convince him.”
The Mavericks were able to ink Irving to a multi-year deal when he was a free agent in 2023 and made it to the NBA Finals in the following season. Nichols thinks that could’ve happened if the Mavericks traded him to another team.
“The idea that Luka could’ve made a list, and they wouldn’t have had any takers if it wasn’t his preferred destination, I don’t really buy that,” Nichols added. “I think Luka Dončić is such a unique talent and the idea you’d have him for a year-and-a-half — look at what Toronto did with Kawhi Leonard. They were like, ‘Great, we’ve got him for a year, we hope we can convince him to stay. But even if we can’t, it’s worth it.’ Guess what? They couldn’t convince him, and it was still worth it.”
Rachel Nichols on Dallas Mavericks trading Luka Doncic to the Lakers
Ric Bucher: A fan of the deal for both teams
Bucher, a longtime NBA insider, is one of the few who approved of the trade for both teams. His rationale for liking the deal on the Lakers’ end was essentially the same as everyone else’s.
“We’re seeing something that we’ve never seen before, which is a team making a decision not involving LeBron James and basically saying, ‘We’ve got your replacement, and we are turning the page,'” Bucher said Monday. “That’s what the move in getting Luka Dončić has done for the Lakers. I think it’s a brilliant move for the Lakers because Anthony Davis was not that type of guy, in terms of being your alpha and a guy that you build around.”
As for why he was a fan of the deal for the Mavericks, Bucher actually thinks that it makes them more of a “championship-caliber team” this season. “If you look at the way the Dallas Mavericks are constituted and you add Anthony Davis to the vehicle that Luka drove to the Finals,” Bucher added. “I look at the landscape of the NBA, I love the fact that Nico Harrison said, ‘I’m not buying that Luka Dončić — he might have been able to get us to the Finals last year but then was not able to seal the deal — I’m not sure if that’s going to change. I like the way my team is playing. If I can get a guy that’s playing at a Defensive Player of the Year level and is one of the best bigs in the league, I think that could be the difference maker in winning a title.
“He was fearless in making this happen, and he [has] put it all on himself.”
Paul Pierce: This is a great trade to line up the Lakers’ future, but LeBron and Luka can’t play together
Pierce was in disbelief when he heard the news, but he quickly realized this was a great way for the Lakers to start planning for their future. On the flip side, the former NBA star had his reservations about the two superstars in Dončić and James playing together in Los Angeles, even suggesting a trade for the 40-year-old as a last ditch effort to win another championship before retirement.
“Initially, I was in shock and I didn’t believe the news,” he said. “It took me a minute for it to register, because I was like, ‘I’ve never seen a player in their prime, in the MVP talks every single year, get traded.’ Coming off of a Finals appearance at 25-years-old. That’s just something that’s never happened … so when it sunk in — I was shocked. I was just like, ‘Why would the Lakers or Dallas do this?’ Moreso, ‘Why would Dallas do this than anything?’”
“They can’t play together,” Pierce continued. “They require the ball. They’re ball-dominant players that dictate everything their team does. This wasn’t a play for this year. … This is a great trade to line up the future because now you can start thinking about building around Luka. If I [were] the Lakers, I would trade Bron to start that process early. It’ll give Bron another opportunity to win a championship because it’s not going to happen on this team. You can trade Bron to … Cleveland. You know, if you can get an Evan Mobley back, pairing with Donovan Mitchell and [Darius] Garland … do that.
“Because I still feel like LeBron got enough in the tank to win a championship but it’s just not happening here in L.A.”
Chris Broussard: Not a good fit and Lakers won’t be contenders
While Dončić and James can dominate a court on their own, Broussard, like Pierce, fears the two scorers will have a tough time co-existing if they continue their respective styles of play. Broussard’s main concern is the Lakers defense, as he believes the team will now be worse off without Davis.
“I don’t think they’re contenders,” he said. “Defensively, they are going to be horrific. If LeBron does try to be the great defender again, he’ll probably get hurt. He can’t go out there and do that. Luka is arguably the worst on-ball defender in the league. He gets blown by more than just about anybody, so defensively, they were a lower tier defensive team with Anthony Davis.
“I do think that it’s a tough fit because Luka puts the ‘B’ in ball-dominant. I mean, he’s more ball-dominant than LeBron was in his prime, and I think Luka cannot play off the ball. He will just be standing there. LeBron has gotten better at playing off the ball in the last few years, but he’s not great at playing off the ball either. … They’re not a great shooting team. They have no size.
“I think they’re a step back now. It’s about chemistry and fit.”
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