Overnight, an entire city and fans grieve in the shock of losing their star. Face of the Dallas Mavericks, Luka Doncic was traded for seasoned Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers on February 1, 2025 — a day Maverick fans will never forget.
After leading Slovenia to victory in European basketball, Doncic was picked third overall for the 2018 NBA draft. He was selected by the Atlanta Hawks and was then traded to the Dallas Mavericks, where he won 2018-19 Rookie of the Year. Not too long after, he became the heart and face of the Mavericks. During the 2023-24 NBA season, Doncic led the league in scoring — the first European to do so — and took the Mavericks to their third ever NBA Finals appearance.
“I have family in Texas, so I go to Dallas often,” Joshua Robinson (12) said. “I see how much the city loves and appreciates Luka.”
News of the trade was a complete shock to not only fans, but also to the players themselves. Davis explained that he was spending time with his family when he received the news via phone call. Doncic would later state that he planned to continue the rest of his career playing for the Mavericks.
“I woke up to my wife telling me to check my phone,” Curt Rakestraw said. “I had 45 texts all about Luka.”
Maverick fans were distraught not only because they lost their star player, but also because of who they lost him in exchange for. Anthony Davis was the first overall pick for the 2012 NBA draft and was 31 when he was traded to the Mavericks. Though he has led a successful and decorated career, his constant injuries and reduced playing time seem to signal its soon end.
“Anthony Davis is good but not as good of an asset as Luka,” Robinson said. “He’s older and more fragile.”
Upsetting and mysterious news is always accompanied by speculation. Some fans blamed an insider who simply did not like Doncic for orchestrating the trade. Though the main fan conspiracy is based on the fact that the Mavericks and Lakers’ general managers — the ones responsible for the trade — previously knew each other through their work for Kobe Bryant, a now deceased NBA player. Many fans believed the Mavericks general manager orchestrated the trade as a favor to his friend at the Lakers.
“[The general managers] have a working relationship with each other,” Rakestraw said. “But every team has a [general manager], and lots of them are friends with each other.”
Despite many theories, the most plausible reason for the trade is the NBA salary cap. The Mavericks knew they could not afford to keep Luka for very long.
“Because of Luka’s big-time achievements, his contract can jump up significantly higher,” Rakestraw said. “His contract was going to be the biggest in NBA history.”
A salary cap is the total maximum amount a team can spend on player salaries. For the 2024-25 season, the cap is set to $140.588 million. If a star player takes up a significant chunk of a team’s salary cap, the team cannot afford to keep them or to keep multiple high level players. The salary cap is designed to even out the league by ensuring one team cannot keep all the best players in the league, but there is a loophole. NBA teams can go above their salary caps if they pay fines, so teams with significantly higher funds can afford multiple stars on their rosters. The Los Angeles Lakers have more than enough funds to constantly keep stars — like Doncic — on their rosters.
“If one guy on your team is making $80 million of your salary cap, you only have $60 million to build the entire rest of your team with,” Rakestraw said.
Many NBA teams have been diminished because they could barely afford “supermax” contracts — a maximum five-year contract a team can offer a star player in order to keep them. If a team cannot afford to build a talented support team for their star players, there could be a chance they are ruined once that player leaves or is injured. The Mavericks most likely knew that collapse would be their fate if they kept Doncic.
“Luka is so much better than anyone else who has ever been traded like this,” Rakestraw said. “But [the Mavericks] were going to run into really complicated team building problems in the future.”
After the trade, although the Mavericks still have highly talented players like Kyrie Irving and now Anthony Davis to keep them successful, the Lakers have the clear advantage. They can afford to keep star players like LeBron James, Austin Reeves, D’Angelo Russell and now Luka Doncic to ensure they remain a championing team.
“I was so mad [at the trade] because the Lakers always have the best players just fall into their laps,” Rakestraw said. “They never go through periods of struggle like other NBA teams have to.”
Though the exact reasons for the trade remain unknown, fans’ reactions are clear. Maverick fans are left without a player they have loved for years, while Lakers fans can look forward to years with a new talented young player.
“I think [the trade] will set up the Lakers for a successful season and future,” Robinson said. “They will have another star player after LeBron retires soon.”