Before the trade deadline this season, the Dallas Mavericks did the unthinkable and traded franchise cornerstone Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Although the Mavs didn’t give Doncic away for free — they acquired a package led by star big man Anthony Davis in the trade — many have argued that Dallas shot itself in the foot with the deal.
Now, the Lakers need a big man, and the Mavs have one in Daniel Gafford who could help L.A. But according to a report, people around the NBA wonder about the optics of Dallas working with the Lakers on another deal after how the last one went.
“Gafford, we know, is a surefire Doncic fit because of their time together in Dallas,” wrote Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times. “He’s about to enter the final year of his deal and plays on a roster with Dereck Lively and Anthony Davis, making it unlikely that there’s more cash headed his way from the Mavericks.
“The trouble, of course, is that people around the NBA wonder how it would look if Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison engaged [Rob] Pelinka and the Lakers on another trade after the last deal between the teams was so unpopular that it caused protests.”
This season, Gafford averaged 12.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game while shooting 70.2 percent from the field, and when Dallas reached the NBA Finals in the 2023-24 season, he started every game of the team’s playoff run.
His familiarity with Doncic would likely go a long way, and at 26 years old, his age certainly isn’t a concern. There are clearly some reasons to like the idea of a Gafford deal from a Lakers perspective.
However, after the Doncic trade significantly impacted the reputation of Harrison and the Mavs, one has to imagine that the franchise will be careful about doing business with the Lakers again.
The good news for Dallas is that after winning the draft lottery, the team now has a chance to add star prospect Cooper Flagg to its win-now core. The future is starting to look bright again for the Mavs, who may also have a shot to contend in the Western Conference in the immediate future once they get healthy.
As for the Lakers, they’re looking to capitalize on the remainder of Doncic’s time with star teammate LeBron James, but even after James walks away, the team still needs to have a core built around Doncic. There’s no better time than now to start adding some more pieces that can help Doncic for a long time in L.A.
