Dallas Mavericks fans are probably feeling a bit shocked after learning about the trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in a three-team deal that brings Anthony Davis to Dallas.
Some videos have been circulating showing upset Mavs fans gathered near the American Airlines Arena. Surprisingly, there wasn’t even a game in Dallas that night, but fans still wanted to be close to the arena where Doncic had played for seven seasons.
One fan expressed their dismay by saying, ‘It feels like my best friend just got shot in the head right in front of me,’ as captured in footage shared by X by 105.3 The Fan’s Jake Riepma.
‘This is absolutely the worst day in Dallas Mavericks history,’ another added.
One fan took it a step further, saying the deal was worse than anything the NFL’s Cowboys, MLB’s Texas Rangers and NHL’s Stars have ever done: ‘This is the worst trade of all time in Dallas history. You can not name me a worse trade than this one.’
As first reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Lakers are sending Davis, a 2029 first-round pick and Christie to the Mavericks, in exchange for Doncic, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris.
Footage of angry Mavs supporters surfaced late Saturday night, showing a handful of mourners sharing their grief in the area surrounding American Airlines Arena
Luka Doncic has been battling injuries since Christmas amid questions about his conditioning
The Jazz are also receiving Jalen Hood-Schifino from the Lakers, a Mavericks 2025 second-round pick and a 2025 Clippers second-rounder via the Lakers, as Charania posted to X after midnight on the East Coast.
Charania said ‘yes , this is real’ in a subsequent tweet, as he acknowledged fans’ bemusement at the astonishing deal.
Doncic, just 25, was seen as a franchise cornerstone in Dallas, where he led the Mavs to the NBA Finals last season alongside Kyrie Irving.
Nearly everyone was blindsided by the news, including Doncic, Davis and LeBron James, according to Charania.
ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reported that James was out to eat in New York with family after beating the Knicks on Saturday when he first learned he was losing the 31-year-old Davis, who missed the game with an abdominal strain.
There has been reporting that James had grown tired of playing alongside Davis, with whom he won a title in 2020.
Bill Reiter, the NBA Insider for CBS, told his channel he heard talk last year within the Lakers organization that James was growing frustrated with Davis, who has battled a series of injuries in Los Angeles.
‘It wasn’t that AD was going to be traded, it was just something to keep an eye on – that LeBron is frustrated with AD and doesn’t think that it is working,’ Reiter said of what he heard in 2024.
James, 40, hit back abruptly on X, replying to the video clip with a Pinocchio emoji and a clown emoji plus the comment: ‘You a fkn lie!!!’
LeBron James has slammed claims that he wanted Anthony Davis to leave the Lakers
James angrily hit out at a reporter who said he had grown frustrated with teammate Davis
Davis is signed to Klutch Sports, the agency owned and run by James’ agent and close friend, Rich Paul. He missed his team’s win against the Knicks on Saturday night with an abdominal injury, while Christie played and scored 15 points.
Meanwhile, the Knicks’ Jalen Brunson asked if it was ‘April Fools’ while the Pacers Tyrese Haliburton said ‘Shams got hacked?’
That shock also applied to Chiefs quarterback and Dallas Mavericks fan Patrick Mahomes, who wrote ‘I’m sick rn.’
Doncic will get a chance to face his old team when the Lakers host the Mavs on February 25.
There have been reports that Doncic’s conditioning was the root of the negotiations.
Doncic was reportedly pushing 270 pounds when Mavs GM Nico Harrison ended talks on a $345 million extension with the franchise cornerstone to pursue Saturday night’s historic trade with the Lakers and Jazz.
Marlen Davis (L) and US basketball player Anthony Davis attend the Vanity Fair Oscars Party at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills in 2024
Slovenia’s Luka Doncic and his fiancée Anamaria Goltes are pictured on social media
Officially it was concerns over Doncic’s defense – and not his conditioning – that prompted Harrison to swap the 25-year-old offensive wizard for 10-time All-Star Anthony Davis, rising guard Max Christie, and a future first-round draft pick.
‘I believe that defense wins championships,’ Harrison told ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, who was first to report Doncic’s 270-pound heft. ‘I believe that getting an All-Defensive center and an All-NBA player with a defensive mindset gives us a better chance. We’re built to win now and in the future.’
Doncic did not push for a trade, according to long-time NBA insider Marc Stein . Rather, Stein reports, the two sides were headed towards that five-year, $345 million extension until Saturday. And as sources have since revealed to MacMahon, the Mavs ‘had major concerns about moving forward with Luka Doncic due to his constant conditioning issues.’
Unfortunately for Doncic, he’s no longer eligible for that extension, according to former Brooklyn Nets assistant general manager and current ESPN salary cap analyst Bobby Marks. What’s more, Doncic and his $43 million salary now go from Texas, where there is no state income tax, to California , where rates can go as high as 12.3 percent. For now, he remains signed through the 2025-26 season and has a player option for 2026-27.
DailyMail.com has reached out to Doncic’s agency and the Mavericks for further comment.
