One year ago, the Dallas Mavericks made one of the most controversial trades in NBA history by sending Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. Wednesday, they closed the book on the disaster deal by sending Anthony Davis to the Washington Wizards.
Dallas sent the 10-time All-Star to the Wizards for a package of draft picks and expiring contracts, in what is effectively a salary dump. It’s a disappointing return from a trade process that began by trading a 25-year-old All-NBA guard and ended with little but cap space.
The overall Luka Doncic return is stunningly bad
Dallas originally dealt Luka Doncic for Davis, shooting guard Max Christie (13.4 points, 43.1 3P% in 2025-26) and a single first-round pick, the Lakers’ selection in 2029. Former Mavericks GM Nico Harrison declared that “Defense wins championships” after the deal, before the oft-injured Davis got hurt in his very first game in a Mavericks uniform. Davis took the floor for only 31 games of his year-long Mavericks career.
It’s three years away, but the 2029 Lakers pick doesn’t looks great, mainly because the team has Doncic.
In Tuesday’s deal, the Mavericks got more first-rounders than they did for trading Doncic, though they’re far from high-quality picks. The Mavericks get a first-round pick from the Oklahoma City Thunder in this year’s draft, which is projected to be the last pick in the first round. In 2030, Dallas gets the Golden State Warriors’ first-rounder, which is protected for picks 1-20.