The NBA trade deadline came and went at the end of the first week of February, and now, no more deals can be done until the offseason. The NBA campaign is such a long haul, and when the playoffs come into view in April, the boost of a fantastic exchange can be a real momentum changer for teams. There are plenty of trades to discuss, but one dominant story took everyone, including the players themselves, by surprise.

Five-time NBA All-Star Luka Doncic was THE story as the Dallas Mavericks power forward went to the LA Lakers in a trade that saw Anthony Davis go the other way. Even Kansas City Chiefs star quarterback and big Dallas fan Patrick Mahomes got involved on social media by saying he felt sick at the thought of the move. After his Super Bowl performance in New Orleans against the Philadelphia Eagles, Mahomes might feel a lot sicker than that initial reaction now.

NBA stars like Doncic don’t get traded like this, especially in their prime when all is seemingly well and good. After all, Dallas made the finals in 2024. The question that came with this bolt from the blue is who got the better exchange. The Lakers have 17 Championship titles, and there is much excitement in the prospect of combining the supreme ball-carrying talents of Doncic and LeBron James to supercharge a tilt at one another. NBA odds have been influenced by the prospect of this marriage of talents.

However, there are different shades of this argument. On the one hand, the Lakers have two of the most skilled offensive players in history. Doncic still has his peak years ahead of him, while James can be the wise old head who lets the younger man do his thing.

However, both players are similar in that they need ball control to be effective. Will James be happy to play second fiddle? There is also a concern that the Lakers now have a huge defensive hole without Davis. The Slovenian may be a superstar, but it’s well-known that his defensive statistics are mediocre. James and Doncic might just be too big for each other and the team because they are both ball-dominant, and the holes could appear elsewhere.

This is why the Mavericks may still come up trumps after all. On the face of it, it seems crazy to trade a player with the influence and top-five MVP regularity of Doncic. However, Mavericks GM Nico Harrison truly believes that titles are won on defense. Although Doncic was a major influence in getting to the finals against the Boston Celtics, getting Davis, a three-time winner of league blocks, is the missing part that can get the Mavs over the line.

“Anthony Davis fits our time frame; if you pair him with Kyrie and the rest of the guys, he fits right along with our time frame to win now and win in the future, and the future to me is three-four years from now,” said Harrison after the trade. They have an eye on the future, which didn’t include their star man in his prime.

Talking of the future, the Charlotte Hornets almost lost their promising young center, Mark Williams, the 2022 ACC Defensive Player of the Year, to the Lakers in the less-talked-about part of the mega-deal that involved Davis and Doncic. However, the deal was pulled after Williams’s physical history came to light. Dalton Knecht, who recently tied the record for the most points scored by a rookie in NBA history, stays at the Lakers.

The San Antonio Spurs may not have a dream season in the Western Conference, but they have pulled off a great heist by securing star guard De’Aaron Fox from the Sacramento Kings. Fox had an incredible breakout season in 2023. He was selected to his first All-Star Game and All-NBA Team,  leading the league in steals and powering the Kings to their first postseason berth for 17 seasons.

Fox has already starred alongside Victor Wembanyama in his Spurs debut in a tight victory over the Hawks. The French giant made a huge play to be in the top 10 NBA players for his assists and rebounds in a minimal team. Now he has a colleague who can boost the team on the floor; this is good to go for the Spurs.

The trades are always a story in the NBA season’s narrative. The Lakers and Mavericks trade might not result in a title for either team, but it will have a huge influence on breaking news stories going forward.