The Luka Doncic Deal: One Year Later, Four Pressing Questions
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Feb. 2, 2026 marks 12 months since the Los Angeles Lakers stunned the NBA by acquiring perennial MVP candidate Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks midway through the 2024-25 campaign. The move, executed only eight months after Doncic carried Dallas to the NBA Finals, remains one of the league’s most surprising transactions. ESPN spoke with team and league sources to gauge how the two franchises — and the NBA at large — are dealing with the fallout.
Are the Lakers closer to a championship?
Los Angeles entered Madison Square Garden on Feb. 1 with a 29-18 record, almost identical to last season’s 28-19 mark posted hours before the trade. The similar records hide a key reality: injuries have limited Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves to just eight joint appearances this season.
Doncic leads the NBA with 33.7 points per game, but the Lakers sit 25th in defensive rating and fifth in the Western Conference. A push for another early-February deal appears necessary to shore up three-and-D depth if Los Angeles hopes to contend this spring.
How does Dallas move beyond the brief Anthony Davis era?
The “AD era” never truly took root. Dallas supporters spent last spring mourning the loss of Doncic, then watched lottery luck — a 1.8% chance that turned into the No. 1 pick — deliver teenage forward Cooper Flagg. With Flagg now the franchise centerpiece, every roster decision is filtered through his development.
Officials have been canvassing the market for the 32-year-old Davis, currently sidelined until late February with a left-hand ligament injury. The ideal haul includes at least one first-round pick, young talent and expiring contracts, but club governor Patrick Dumont is in no rush. Some staffers would accept pure salary relief to maximize future flexibility around Flagg, a stance Dumont has not fully endorsed.
What does the trade mean for this year’s deadline?
Former Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison, architect of the Doncic deal, was dismissed in November. His replacements have shifted from a “win-now” window built around Kyrie Irving and Davis to a longer view centered on Flagg and another possible lottery pick. While a Davis trade could wait until summer, Dallas may still trim payroll and convert two-way guard Ryan Nembhard to a standard deal before Thursday’s cut-off.
The Lakers are juggling two timelines. In the short term, they can attach a 2031 or 2032 first-rounder to more than $40 million in expiring contracts (Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, Maxi Kleber) to add help beside Doncic, James and Reaves. Looking ahead, Doncic is under contract for three more seasons, giving Los Angeles up to $50 million in projected cap room this summer and nearly twice that amount in 2027, along with three movable first-round picks (2026, 2031, 2033) after draft night.
What are insiders saying now?
Executives and agents remain astonished that Dallas accepted a package headlined by Davis, whose trade value has dipped sharply since. Multiple league figures told ESPN the Mavericks would be in dire straits had they not won the lottery.
On the Lakers’ side, building the ideal roster around Doncic is proving difficult. Before the swap, Dallas had surrounded him with rim-running shot blockers, three-and-D wings and a secondary playmaker — the exact mix Los Angeles is still trying to assemble. Reaves fills the playmaking role, but most complementary pieces must be added through future trades or free agency.
The next week’s trade deadline and the coming offseason will show whether either organization can turn last year’s seismic gamble into long-term success.
Source: ESPN
