"A perennial MVP candidate being blindsided and sent away midseason? In the season after carrying his franchise to the NBA Finals? As he's approaching his prime? One year later, the deal that sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers is still a stunner. And people around the league are still scratching their heads about the Dallas Mavericks getting what's widely perceived as a pennies-on-the-dollar return, with all due respect to 10-time All-Star Anthony Davis."
""I've never seen a transaction that caused so much collective shock and confusion around the league," a prominent agent, who didn't have a client involved in the deal, recently told ESPN. Our NBA insiders tackle four of the biggest questions facing the Lakers, Mavericks and the rest of the league on the one-year anniversary of one of the NBA's most stunning deals."
"Are the Lakers any closer to a title one year after the trade? Hours before the trade went down last season, a Lakers' win over the New York Knicks on Feb. 1 lifted their record to 28-19. This season, they came into New York on Feb. 1 with a nearly identical 29-18 record. Does that mean the trade was a wash? Well, of course not."
The midseason trade sending Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers stunned the NBA and left widespread disbelief about the Mavericks' compensation in return for 10-time All-Star Anthony Davis. Team records around the trade date have been similar year-over-year, but injuries limited Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves to just eight games together this season. Davis has played 29 games as a Maverick while Doncic has played 67 for the Lakers over two seasons. Doncic leads the league in scoring at 33.7 points per game, but a 25th-ranked defensive rating undermines championship prospects despite a fifth-place Western Conference position.
Read at ESPN.com
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