NEW YORK — Just one hour after picking up one of their biggest wins of the season, the Lakers made a far bigger move off the court with one of the most shocking trades in NBA history.
The Lakers are acquiring five-time All-Star Luka Dončić in a trade that sends nine-time All-Star big man Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks, a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed to the Southern California News Group on Saturday night.
ESPN’s Shams Charania was the first to report the trade, just an hour after the Lakers beat the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
The details of the trade, according to Charania:
The Lakers acquired Dončić, Maxi Kleber, Markieff Morris;
The Mavericks acquired Davis, Max Christie, Lakers’ 2029 first-round pick;
The Utah Jazz acquired: Jalen Hood-Schifino, Clippers’ 2025 second-round pick, Mavericks’ 2025 second-round pick.
The blockbuster deal will allow the Lakers to build around one of the league’s brightest young stars in Dončić, the 2018-19 Rookie of the Year who’s made the All-NBA first team in five of his six full seasons in the league.
The deal was made in total alignment between the Lakers’ front office, led by general manager Rob Pelina, and the coaching staff, led by Coach JJ Redick.
Dončić, who’s averaged 28.6 points, 8.7 rebounds and 8.3 steals in his career, has been sidelined since Dec. 25 because of a strained left calf.
Much more to come on this story.