Giving up on Doncic, Giving up on the Future
Last night, the Mavericks made one of the most unpopular trades in NBA history, sending their seventh-year superstar, Luka Dončić, to the Los Angeles Lakers. In return, the Mavericks received a package headlined by Lakers big man Anthony Davis. While this move certainly makes the Mavericks roster more balanced, the return for Dončić simply was not enough to consider trading him. As a result, the Mavericks have seemed to mortgage their future away.
Giving up on Luka Dončić this early into his career is something that the Mavericks should never have even entertained. In six full seasons, he’s placed top eight in MVP voting five times, with the only exception being his rookie season. Of those five top-eight finishes in MVP voting, three were top-five finishes with his best season coming last year, leading the league in scoring at 33.9 points per game to go along with 9.8 rebounds and 9.2 assists. Dončić would have been a frontrunner for the award again this year if it had not been for a calf injury that has seen him miss over 25 games already this season.
One main reason to hold onto Dončić is his age. At age 25, Dončić has plenty of great basketball left in him, despite having seven years of experience already. To give up on a player in their prime for a 31-year-old with an extensive injury history is just bad business. Although Dončić is a free agent after next season, he had not requested a trade from Dallas and likely would have signed a contract extension instead.
Secondly, there is a lackluster return. Had it been known that Dončić was on the market, just about all 28 other NBA teams could have offered Dallas a more competitive package. Only receiving one first-rounder in this deal is terrible, not only considering Dončić’s value but also considering the age gap between him and Davis. While Max Christie is a piece that helps them look towards the future, his contributions of eight points per game will not fill the hole left by Dončić. Not to mention the two valuable role players that the Mavs also gave up, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris.
Additionally, trading Dončić for Davis simply does not move the needle, making the team championship contenders. Currently sitting eighth in the Western Conference, pairing Davis with Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson isn’t threatening enough to the top teams in the conference. The acquisition of Davis also results in a logjam at the power forward and center positions, as the team now has Davis to go along with Daniel Gafford, Derrick Lively, and P.J. Washington. Dallas may look to move one of these players to receive a talented small forward who can be added to the starting lineup right away.
Mavs general manager Nico Harrison was quoted saying, “Defense wins championships,” after the deal, citing Luka’s defensive struggles as a reason for the trade. While Luka does struggle defensively and has in the past, more blame should go on the Mavericks front office rather than Dončić. Although Dončić’s defense was targeted in the playoffs last year, the team was overwhelmingly outmatched in the NBA Finals last season, losing to the Boston Celtics in five games. One player improving from bad defense to serviceable or even great defense would not have shifted the finals from four games to one in favor of the Celtics to four games to three in favor of the Mavericks.
Instead of trading for defensively challenged players like Kyrie Irving, or signing an overrated roleplayer in Klay Thompson, Harrison should have done better at surrounding Dončić with defense. In fact, Anthony Davis would have been a perfect pair for Dončić. As mentioned before, at age 25, Harrison had plenty of time to find and surround Dončić with talent that best suited the team. Instead, the team decided to part ways with their star, not even one full season after reaching the NBA Finals.
In the end, the move is not perfect for the Lakers either. There are still legitimate concerns considering Luka Dončić’s attitude, defense, and conditioning. These factors should not be ignored. Dončić needs to step up as a player and needs to act with more humility as a teammate. With that being said, these are things that the organization could have ironed out had they been more determined to make things work. If that was unsuccessful, the team could have held Dončić more accountable for his defense and his physical shape, similar to the Miami Heat. Not only should they have given it another chance, but if they did decide to trade Dončić afterward, he still would have garnered the same if not more value back in return. Instead, the team will have to hope that their aging trio, including 31-year-old Davis, 32-year-old Irving, and 34-year-old Klay Thompson can bring them a title soon before they begin to regress.
