On February 1st, 2025 Shams Charania announced that the Dallas Mavericks would be sending Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers as part of a three-team trade. The three teams involved are the Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers, and the Utah Jazz. The trade sees the Mavericks sending Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber, and Markieff Morris to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and the Laker’s 2029 unprotected first-round pick. The Jazz would receive Jalen Hood-Schifino, a Clippers 2025 second-round pick, and the Maverick’s 2025 second-round pick. This is largely considered to be the biggest NBA trade of all time and the most unexpected.
Originally, the trade also included the Mavericks receiving rookie Dalton Knecht and multiple first-round picks, but Rob Pelinka was reportedly able to convince Nico Harrison that Luka’s future would be rocky due to injuries, conditioning, and his lifestyle in general. The Mavericks were concerned about Luka’s weight, which allegedly got up into the high 260s.
Dalton Knecht would be traded to the Charlotte Hornets days later for center Mark Williams which understandably left a bad taste in the mouths of Mavericks fans since it took the Mavericks six years to find Luka a center and the Lakers did it in less than a week. However, the trade would eventually be rescinded due to a failed physical.
The most intriguing thing about the Mavericks now to me is their defense. They have a lot of good defenders on their roster. Dereck Lively and Daniel Gafford are a great defensive center rotation. Dante Exum and Max Christie are pretty good defensive guards, and PJ Washington, Caleb Martin, and Naji Marshall are great defensive forwards.
I am curious to see what the Maverick’s rotation will look like. I wonder when fully healthy how many minutes guys like Jaden Hardy, Dante Exum, and Olivier Maxence-Prosper get. I think Dante Exum will still get playing time for ball-handling duties and Jaden Hardy might get playing time for offensive purposes. It is interesting to see our stance on Jaden Hardy because we’re so focused on defense. I don’t understand the hate for Jaden Hardy. He is on an incredibly team-friendly contract and has been shooting the three very well this year. I think he needs to be the shooting guard. When he is the point guard I see the flaws that many people seem to point out such as the tunnel vision but I have also seen some good playmaking out of him. I don’t get how people are so quick to give up on a 22-year-old who is playing like a 22-year-old is supposed to. Not every player will develop and adjust to the NBA as fast as Luka and Lively, especially without the playing time.
I also don’t understand the hate for Spencer Dinwiddie. He was a point guard signed to the minimum but people treat every mistake he makes on such a different level than a guy like Kyrie Irving. I don’t think people realize how hard it is to go from DNP coach decisions to playing 30 minutes a night. One thing you have to understand about Spencer Dinwiddie is that he’s filled every role essentially. He’s spent time barely touching the court such as when he was in Detroit, he’s spent time being the number one option when people were injured like some of his time in Brooklyn, and he’s spent time being the premier guy off the bench. Yes, he does take some bad shots from time to time but he has also hit some huge shots for us such as TWO clutch threes in a comeback win against Memphis on December 3rd.
The minutes from Olivier Maxence-Prosper have been impressive lately. The main problem with him has always been how raw he is. He has the frame and the effort he just needed to put it together and while I still think there is a long way for him to go he has impressed in the increased minutes he’s received due to the large amount of injuries that the Mavericks have sustained. I also like what I’ve seen from Kessler Edwards recently. I think if the Mavericks don’t do something with their final roster spot I would be content with him getting that spot and then resigning Jazian Gortman to that 2way contract. Kessler Edwards has played impressive defense such as an amazing block on Yves Missi late in the game against the New Orleans Pelicans on 1/29 and has even hit a few shots even if he does hesitate to shoot at times.
I’m going to miss Quentin Grimes but I understand them trading him to get something back if they felt like they wouldn’t be able to retain him. He has been huge for the Mavericks this year taking big defensive assignments, and hitting big threes like he did against OKC, and he even has the highest dunk score this season from a massive poster on Celtics’ big Luke Kornet. I believe that the Mavericks see Max Christie as his replacement as he is younger and does a lot of similar things. I think trading Grimes to the 76ers for Caleb Martin was to acquire the bigger defensive wing that they’d reportedly been after for so long. Another positive with Caleb Martin is that he seems to love playing against the Boston Celtics, who are one of the biggest threats in the league.
In 22 games with the Mavericks this year Luka Doncic had averaged 28.1 points, 8.3 assists, and 7.8 rebounds a game. No question fantastic production and his presence will be missed in Dallas greatly.
In 42 games this season, Anthony Davis is averaging 25.7 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game. On Theo Pinson’s podcast, Spencer Dinwiddie said that Anthony Davis is probably the fourth-best player he’s ever played with, behind only Kevin Durant, Luka Doncic, and Lebron James. Spencer said that Davis made him feel like an All-NBA defender because his job just became to stay in front of his guy and if his assignment got to the paint Davis would take care of the rest.
On February 4th, Max Christie made his Mavericks debut against the Philadelphia 76ers and went 4/4 behind the arc. He scored 15 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and one steal in 32 minutes. An impressive debut no doubt.
On February 6th, the Mavericks pulled off an extremely impressive win against the Boston Celtics in which they were up 27 points at one point. A lot of players stepped up in this game such as Klay Thompson scoring 23 points in the first half, Naji Marshall scoring 20 in 29 minutes, and Spencer Dinwiddie scoring 22 points on 70 percent shooting from the field.
When the Mavericks played the Houston Rockets on February 8th, they looked like a whole different team. Anthony Davis greatly changed the team and they looked very good. In 31 minutes Davis scored 26 points, 16 rebounds, 7 assists, and three blocks. He very likely would’ve scored a triple-double if it wasn’t for a no-contact injury that he sustained in the 3rd quarter. Anthony Davis will reportedly miss multiple weeks with an adductor strain.
If they can stay healthy I see the Mavericks as a genuine title contender. The only teams I think can bring them trouble are the Thunder, Celtics, and Cavs. I like the matchup against the Timberwolves and I don’t think the Nuggets have enough firepower to stop Dallas. Obviously, this is only if healthy which has been a major struggle for the Mavericks this year.
