This past week the NBA community was caught off guard by one of the craziest trades in NBA history. On the morning of Jan. 7, Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison invited Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka to Ascension Coffee in Dallas to begin a delicate trade conversation that would shock the rest of the NBA (Tim MacMahon, ESPN). This past Sunday the trade was released to the public. The Lakers acquired Luka Doncic, along with Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris and the Mavericks received Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a 2029 first-round pick. According to Zachary Neel from Athlon Sports, “The Dallas fans were outraged about losing their face of the franchise with no warning. Many of these Dallas fans are starting to boycott the team after the move, as well.” For proof, the Mavericks’ Instagram account has seen a massive fall in followers since the trade took place. Originally at 5.3 million followers on Saturday afternoon, that number has dropped to 4.6 million as of Sunday morning. A loss of 700,000 followers in a matter of hours. Many of those fans are just trying to understand why the Mavericks would make a move like this. It is one thing to trade one of the best players in the league, but it is another to do so in secret and not take the deal to the public and to see what players and fans want, to get the best deal possible.

All of the NBA was surprised, even the players involved in the trade. According to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, “Stars across the NBA were stunned, including the players involved in the trade who had been given no heads-up that discussions of trade were even taking place.” That includes the players of the Lakers and Mavericks, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon said, “Doncic did not answer or return Harrison’s call informing him of the trade. Davis was home in Los Angeles after a win on Saturday night. Kyrie Irving, Luka’s teammate, first heard about the trade on social media Sunday morning.” Executives from around the league were both furious and jealous that the star-driven Lakers had been the only team given an opportunity to bid for Doncic.

So to answer the question: Why did the Mavericks trade their “best player?” Many reports came out about how the Mavericks were growing frustrated with Luka’s conditioning and durability every year. Zachary Neel from Athlon Sports said, “The GM of the Mavericks also said that if they want to win a championship they felt the best route was with an elite defensive player like Davis, rather than an elite scorer who rarely plays defense, like Doncic.” Lakers fans are ecstatic for the most part, receiving arguably one of the top three best players in the entire league as he enters his prime at only 25 years old, the opposite can be said for Mavericks fans. “Many are distraught at the thought of giving up the face of their franchise.” said Neel from Athlon Sports, “Also giving him up for an aging center who has dealt with injuries and struggled to stay on the court throughout most of his career.”

This trade shook the NBA world, mostly because of the surprise and the trade being completely private from the public and even the players. Dallas fans believed, that even though Luka was injured at the time, he would come back and still be their best player. NBA executives and coaches think if Dallas had been looking to trade Luka and other players, they should have made it available for all the teams and not done it privately and exclusively with the Lakers. Most basketball fans think the Lakers won the trade and now will be capable of competing for a championship once again.