Doncic, who had dragged an otherwise unremarkable Mavericks team through the Western Conference, became the face of their failure. Dallas coach Jason Kidd was forced to come out and defend his maligned star, even though without Doncic, the Mavericks were a faded Kyrie Irving and a bunch of role players.

As soon as the trade sending Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers was announced, everyone immediately knew it was a bad trade for the Dallas Mavericks. Just beyond trading away a 25-year-old megastar in Doncic, the return they got of Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a 2029 first-round pick felt lackluster. And that's because it was.

In a stunning late-night deal, the Dallas Mavericks have traded star guard Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers as part of a three-team deal with the Utah Jazz.