Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images
The Dallas Mavericks’ decision to trade franchise centerpiece Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a 2029 first round NBA Draft pick seemed like a wildly foolish decision even when the outcome was still a hypothetical. Now that the result of the deal has been fixed, the trade is actually worse than initially believed.
On February 2, 2025 — not even one full year ago — NBA insider Shams Charania broke the news that the Mavericks and Lakers had agreed to a deal for Luka Doncic, one of the best players in the NBA.
In exchange, the Mavericks received likely future Hall of Famer Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a first round draft pick. The word out of Dallas at the time was that they wanted Davis to turn them into a defensive-minded force. Best laid plans…
After it was reported that Davis would be missing at least six weeks with another injury, news broke that the Mavericks have had renewed trade talks around the 32-year-old, with multiple teams reportedly being interested, seemingly spelling an end to his time in Dallas.
The statistics underlying the Dallas Mavericks’ trade for Anthony Davis make the whole fiasco seem even worse for the team
For as miserably as this trade fails the eye test for the Mavs, the underlying data actually makes it seem worse thanks to mind-blowing facts such as: Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving played just 29 games together, and that Davis appeared in just 29 games for the Mavs, all of which were effectively meaningless.
Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis only played 25 minutes together on the Mavs. Crazy. 🥲
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) January 13, 2026
The Mavs traded Luka Doncic’s entire prime for 29 meaningless games of Anthony Davis
Unreal.
— Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer) January 13, 2026
Furthermore, since joining the Mavericks, Davis has suffered from the following injuries: abductor strain, detached retina, calf contusion, sore achilles, groin spasms, and ligament damage.