People are still stunned by Luka Doncic getting traded to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis, even people within the league. Doncic was the obvious franchise player for the Dallas Mavericks, and there was a chance that he could be with them for the rest of his career. Nonetheless, general manager Nico Harrison had other ideas and wanted to prioritize the future of the team.

Ex-Mavericks player Chandler Parson recently spoke about the trade and mentioned that Doncic had just made a big investment in Dallas a week ago.

“I find it extremely disrespectful… I'm also not buying that [Jason] Kidd just didn't know… [Luka Doncic] just bought a $15M house, just closed like last week in Dallas… He cried when he found out,” Parsons said on the Run it Back show.

This trade came by surprise from not only people around the league but Doncic as well, especially if he had just bought a new place to live in.

Parsons also said during the show that he texted Mark Cuban and told him he was confused about the trade, and the former Mavericks owner replied with “That makes two of us.”

Luka Doncic traded to the Lakers

Related Dallas Mavericks NewsArticle continues below
NBA Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki (41) shoots over San Antonio Spurs forward Matt Bonner (15) during the second half at the AT&T Center. The Mavericks won 103-94.
Dirk Nowitzki joins LeBron James, Steve Nash to break down signature play
Duke Blue Devils forward Cooper Flagg (2) dribbles the ball against the Houston Cougars during the second half in the semifinals of the men's Final Four of the 2025 NCAA Tournament at the Alamodome.
DeMarcus Cousins proposes Mavericks’ Kevin Durant-Cooper Flagg swap
Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic looks on from the team bench during the second quarter against the Washington Wizards at the American Airlines Center.
Jerome Miron-Imagn Image

After the trade, Nico Harrison had a few interesting comments on why he traded Luka Doncic, including how far he's looking into the future.

“The future to me is 3-4 years from now. The future 10 years from now — they’ll probably bury me and [Jason Kidd] by then. Or we’ll bury ourselves,” Harrison said during his press conference.

There have been several factors people think led to the Mavericks trading Doncic, and one of them has been his conditioning. Doncic has not always been the best in-shape person, but when he gets on the court, he's going to dominate the opposing team. Even with him being hurt for most of the postseason last year, Doncic still led the Mavericks to the NBA Finals, but his conditioning issues showed up when the lights shined the brightest.

Doncic was also set to be eligible for the supermax, and there's a chance that the Mavericks didn't want to sign him to such a large deal.

Now, Doncic will have the honor to lead one of the greatest franchises in NBA history, and he also gets to play alongside LeBron James for the time being. Everyone will be excited to see what Doncic is able to do while he's with the Lakers, and if the Mavericks will regret trading a top-3 player.