12 Jan 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Maverick’s guard Luka Doncic (77) reacts from the team bench during the second half of the match against Denver Nuggets at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Pictures It was shortly after midnight on Sunday in the eastern time zone when the ESPN social media post almost broke the internet.
“Dallas Mavericks is shopping for Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris to Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first round, sources tells ESPN. Three-team agreement which includes Utah,” The message about X, previous Twitter, read.
Immediately fans and even NBA players expressed doubt that a trade in such megaproportions could have happened. And when other media quickly confirmed the news, the sports world began to process a league-raising and an outstanding trade in two all-NBA players, of which one-Doncic-is a 25-year-old global superstar that led its team to the NBA final in June last year.
Neither Davis nor Doncic had not yet commented on trade from early Sunday morning, but after having had time to process the news, some NBA players weighed exactly what trade means: that no player is a sure thing to stay in their team with the trade deadline approaching Thursday.
“Must pack them bags in case now,” CJ McCollum from New Orleans Pelicans published to X. “If Don (Doncic) was trading only Lord knows.”
Phoenix star Kevin Durant told reporters gathered around him in the dressing room after Suns’ 127-108 Road loss to Portland Trail Blazers that trade emphasizes that the NBA is a company.
“Players are held to a different standard for loyalty and commitment to a program, but the organizations are not held at the same standard from the outside world,” Durant said, leaving that the door has opened to let more shocks follow.
“You start to see such things, as an organization, you can get a little more courage to do a few things,” he said about teams that changed superstars. “You see another team trade away someone like it. This must be the biggest trade I have seen since I have been in the league or since I have seen the sport. This is crazy. So yes, every other team can gain confidence and say F — It, I’ll trade some of my top players if this doesn’t work. ”
It was not just basketball players who reacted to the trade in distrust.
Dallas Cowboys All-Pro Linebacker Micah Parsons summarized what many athletes and non-athletes expressed on social media.
“Yoo WTF is going on in Dallas?” He wrote.
For Emmanuel Acho, a former NFL linebacker, current TV analyst and local product, the news hit hard.
As a native in Dallas, who went to MAV’s first NBA finals in 2006 and the parade 2011. I can certainly say that shopping Prime Luka Doncic is one of the biggest mistakes in sports history.
This is organizational malpractice. I’m sick. pic.twitter.com/7niweyhtjh
– Emmanuel I think (@emmanuelacho)) February 2, 2025
“As a Dallas native, which went to Mav’s first NBA finals in 2006 and the parade in 2011, I can certainly say that shopping Prime Luka Doncic is one of the biggest mistakes in sports history. This is organizational malpractice. I’m sick.”
-Field level media
