The Dallas Mavericks have had one of the most tumultuous last 12 months of any team in NBA history. From making an NBA Finals, to trading their superstar Luka Doncic, to landing the first overall pick of the draft, nobody has gone through more of a rollercoaster ride than Mavericks fans.
While things might be shaping up well for a team that features Cooper Flagg, Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, and some promising big men, the team hit a low point after trading Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.
To make the results of the move even worse, Zach Cram of ESPN named Dallas trading Doncic to LA as the worst move in the NBA since 2020.
Even Shams Charania, who reported the news, thought someone hacked his phone because no one expected the move. The trade changed the futures of the Mavericks, Lakers, and the entire NBA for the foreseeable future, marking the first time two reigning All-NBA players were traded for each other mid-season.
Doncic Trade Worst of the Decade
The Doncic trade had a unique fallout, with fans protesting the move at the arena and chanting ‘Fire Nico!‘ to general manager Nico Harrison during games, a trend that has continued until recently.
“Could any other transaction be No. 1?” Cram asked. “The most recent entry on this list is also the worst, and perhaps the most shocking, transaction in NBA history.”
The Doncic trade was ranked ahead of moves like the Milwaukee Bucks trading for Damian Lillard and the Phoenix Suns moving a historic amount of assets for Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal.
Cram made the distinction that, like the Milwaukee and Phoenix blunders, Dallas made the mistake of trading away their star, not giving up too much to add one.
“The other trades at the top of this list are mostly about teams trading too many assets to bring in a star,” Cram wrote. “The Doncic deal, conversely, came when a team traded away a beloved incumbent star who had led that organization to the Finals the previous summer and made a record five first-team All-NBA appearances through age 24.”
Doncic set the Mavericks’ single-game scoring record with 73 points in an early 2024 game against the Atlanta Hawks. In his seven seasons with the team, he recorded the third-highest points per game in NBA history, and became the first player to record six straight 30-point triple-doubles.
Dallas Hopes To Shake It Off
While they ranked atop ESPN’s list for worst moves of the decade, the Mavericks are in a better spot than many would imagine after trading one of the best players in franchise history.
“Their future looks brighter than that of the Suns, Bucks, Nets or Kings,” Cram wrote about other teams at the top of his ‘biggest roster mistakes’ article. “Flagg and Anthony Davis — the centerpiece of Dallas’ return for Doncic — could lead Dallas back to contention with speed.”
The Mavericks are without Irving for at least a majority of the season after he suffered an ACL injury in March. However, he did sign a three-year $119 million extension over the offseason, so the assumption is that once healthy, he’ll remain a significant contributor in the future.
Dallas also made the offseason move to acquire D’Angelo Russell on a two-year deal to help run the offense in Irving’s place, while also losing Spencer Dinwiddie in free agency.
None of the players on the Mavericks roster is Doncic, and though the hype is there for Flagg, it’s hard to say anyone besides Dirk Nowitzki will mean as much to the franchise as ‘Luka Legend.’
Cram’s list featured some massive debacles from teams around the league, but the seismic implications of the Doncic trade will likely keep it at the top of this list for the rest of the decade.
“Only one transaction was so absurd that it became a flashbulb memory, and fans across the world will remember, for decades to come, where they were when they learned the news,” Cram wrote in closing. “That, more than anything else, is why the Doncic trade ranks No. 1: It transcended typical transaction reactions and penetrated the very heart of sports fandom.”
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