Early Sunday morning, February 2nd, 2025, Shams Charania dropped a bomb tweet that still has the sports world shook. The Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers, and Utah Jazz made a trade that will forever change the landscape of the NBA.
The Lakers acquired Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber, and Markieff Morris. The Mavericks got Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and the Lakers first-round pick in 2029. Utah received Jalen Hood-Schifino and two second-round picks.
This is the most shocking trade in the modern era and the first time in NBA history that two All-NBA players were traded for each other midseason.
The Lakers pair Luka Doncic with LeBron James and they have found their next transcendent star, post James era. And the Mavericks hard-pivots to a Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis duo.
After just making the NBA finals, the Mavericks are surprisingly moving on from the face of their franchise.
According to reports, the Mavericks were concerned with Doncic’s conditioning and giving him a super max contract and was ready to move on.
Let’s analyze how this deal affects the Oklahoma City Thunder for the rest of the season — and the remainder of their championship window as the Lakers envision Doncic as their next face of the franchise for the foreseeable future.
For the short-term. What does this mean for the Thunder’s title odds for the rest of this season? This helps their odds.
The Mavericks were poised as the biggest threat to Oklahoma City. The Thunder has struggled against Dallas, dating back to last year’s playoff series.
Now, the entire identity of the Mavericks has changed. With the perennial MVP candidate now gone, Dallas won’t have nearly the same impact from the perimeter.
With the addition of Anthony Davis, they’ll try to impose their size on teams. Kyrie Irving will now bear much larger responsibilities — as the main primary creator on the perimeter.
Oklahoma City, who has the best personnel in the NBA, to defend perimeter players. Along with, having Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein on the front-court. Oklahoma City has the personnel to perfectly counter the Dallas Mavericks.
The Lakers are a very interesting case. Acquiring Doncic completely changes their dynamics. There will be a major adjustment period, between the fit of Doncic and James. Plus, the Lakers have major depth problems in the front-court.
Anything can happen in a playoff series, especially when you have the talent of Doncic and James. And as long as Doncic and James plays, Los Angeles will have a chance against anybody in the West — including Oklahoma City.
Now, for the long-term. Expect the Lakers to be big-time threats to the Thunder. Doncic is the perfect piece to build the future around, as he is a six-time All-Star, with five All-NBA selections, and is the league’s reigning scoring champion.
Even when James retires, Doncic will still be in Los Angeles. The 25-year-old is in his prime and will be one of the league’s top players over the next decade.
Add-in, how attractive of a market Los Angeles is and the rich history of their franchise. Lakers fans should be excited but they will have to be patient for a bit.
For the Mavericks, it’s totally understandable to feel pessimistic about their future.
Dallas got significantly older, by the Irving-Davis duo, but both are in their 30s and have a history of not being fully reliable to staying on the court. Trading away a player like Doncic sets a franchise back for years.
They’ve shorten their window, and as currently constructed, they’ve 2-3 years to compete for the title.
The state of Dallas greatly affects Oklahoma City. They own Dallas’ 2028 first-round swap. Irving will be 36 years old and Davis will be 35 years old.
It’s easy to envision that neither will be on the Mavericks by then or not the same player they are now. Which could make that swap very valuable.
The rivalry that was brewing between Dallas and Oklahoma City won’t have the same feeling now. They became the Thunder’s top rival over the last two seasons and proved to be their biggest threats.
The NBA lost the chance of both teams going back-and-forth in playoff series and potentially developing into a great rivalry. All the debates between their MVP candidates in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luka Doncic between both fanbases are now gone.
Read More NBA News From Stadium Rant Here: NBA News
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to our newsletter here. Check out Stadium Rant Original shows on our Youtube channel and subscribe! Give our socials Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok a follow for more great content!
