Neither LeBron James nor Anthony Davis: the NBA star that convinced the Mavericks to trade Luka Doncic

The Los Angeles Lakers take on the Dallas Mavericks at Crypto.com Arena in LA on Tuesday (February 25), with Luka Doncic set to come up against his former team for the first time since his shock trade to California.

Upon his return from a calf injury, the Slovenian made a relatively low-key start to his time alongside LeBron James with the Lakers, averaging fewer than 15 points per game in his first three appearances.

Doncic hits form for Lakers vs Nuggets

However, after sitting out the win over the Portland Trail Blazers, Doncic hit his stride in Saturday’s victory against the Denver Nuggets, recording 32 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and four steals.

Possibly not the best timing for the Mavs, who Doncic will be keen to prove a point to in Los Angeles.

Dallas Mavericks' new direction without Doncic

It has been widely reported that Dallas General Manager Nico Harrison was the man who instigated the trade, which saw Anthony Davis and Max Christie also move to Texas, and Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris to LA.

The story goes that Harrison felt the Mavs had to “change direction” to secure a second NBA championship, and that moving on a generational talent was the way to do so.

The Texans reached the NBA Finals last season but were well beaten, 4-1, by the Boston Celtics. Many believe Dallas’ struggles in the series were the reason they chose to trade Doncic, who isn’t especially known for his defensive work. That and the performance of Jaylen Brown, named NBA Finals MVP, against him.

The man who “shut down” Doncic in the NBA Finals

One person who holds that view is NBA reporter Marc Spears, as he revealed on the “Cedric Maxwell Podcast”.

“People talk about what Jaylen Brown did offensively but that dude, he is the reason why Luka got traded. He shut him down in the finals, what he did to Luka in the finals, shutting him down, guarding him full court, making it unbearable offensively.

“That led Dallas to start questioning Luka as the leader of this team, questioning whether he was in shape or not.”

Doncic still averaged over 29 points per game in last year’s NBA Finals, although the Mavs have seemingly opted to focus on what he can’t do rather than what he can. They are well aware what he is capable of, however, and will be praying they aren’t on the receiving end in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

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