Why, Dallas? Why?

On the night of Feb. 1, the sports world paused for a brief moment in total shock. 

That night, ESPN Senior NBA Insider Shams Charania, in a tweet that shook the sports world, announced that the Dallas Mavericks had traded Luka Doncic, the face of their franchise, to the Los Angeles Lakers.

But just what exactly did the Mavs get for their star? Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round draft pick. That’s it.

This marks the first time in NBA history that two All-NBA players were traded for each other midseason, according to ESPN.

In all honesty, it is an absolutely pathetic return for the Dallas Mavericks.

You don’t need to look back that far to see what kind of return they could have gotten for him. Just a couple of years ago, the Oklahoma City Thunder got a king’s ransom worth of draft picks (plus all-star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) that they used to build the best team in the Western Conference.

It’s not that hard to see why the Mavericks could have gotten so much more for Luka Doncic. He has been one of the best players of this generation. At the age of 25, Doncic has made the All-NBA team five out of his first six seasons, averaging over 28 points and around 8 assists a night.

He’s been especially prolific in the playoffs, leading the Mavericks to the NBA Finals last season despite playing through a leg injury.

Mavs fans have been devastated, going as far to hold protests outside the American Airlines Center. Luka was supposed to be the guy, the successor to the great Dirk Nowitzki. Dallas loved him and Luka loved Dallas. 

The organization, not taking too kindly to it, removed fans from the arena during games for calling for general manager Nico Harrison to be fired.

While it seems that the other two teams in Texas, the San Antonio Spurs and the Houston Rockets, have been improving their rosters and setting up their stars for success, in one move, the Mavs seemed hell-bent on torpedoing their own franchise.

What happens next? The Mavericks, as constructed, are not a bad team. Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis are both incredible players, though they are getting older. But, it was a team that was built around Luka Doncic. 

If they do not win a championship in the next three years, this will go down as one of the worst trades in NBA history, and Harrison will forever be known as “the guy that traded Luka.”

On the flipside, Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka looks like a genius for getting Doncic on his team for cheap and securing the future face of the franchise. 

Luka, when healthy, is a top-10 player in the league and will be entering his prime with the Lakers. 

 And this season, he will be a great piece alongside LeBron James, as the Lakers try to make a post-All-Star break push in the West.