Anthony Davis trade looks even better after Mavs forge another Luka Doncic path

The Dallas Mavericks had egg on their face after trading Anthony Davis, getting back a disappointingly small package of assets for the onetime MVP candidate. It was the latest disappointment from the Luka Doncic trade disaster.

Four months later, however, things are shifting. The Mavericks may have received by salary flotsam and a collection of less valuable draft picks, but they used the first pick in a brilliant way on Tuesday night. They are shifting the trade back in their favor.

Armed with the very last pick in the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft, the Mavericks traded up the board to pick No. 25 and took Spanish guard Sergio de Larrea. In doing so, they took the most productive draft pick to come out of the Spanish league since...well, since Luka Doncic himself.

And that is enough to turn some frowns upside down.

Anthony Davis was a disaster in Dallas

The entire Anthony Davis saga in Dallas was fraught with pain and disappointment. He was the centerpiece of the trade that shockingly sent away a franchise icon in the dead of night. While Mavericks fans were forced to watch Doncic play for the league's glammer franchise, they had to pin their hopes on a defense-first big man.

Davis did his best when he was in uniform, but he simply rarely was. He suffered multiple, unrelated injuries that kept him off the court, and in all he played only 29 games in a Mavericks uniform. Ultimately, the front office washed their hands of it all and traded him at February's trade deadline.

The return, as previously noted, was slim pickings. Khris Middleton, Marvin Bagley and Tyus Jones were expiring contracts, while AJ Johnson was a flier on a draft bust. The "two first-round picks" were hardly enticing, with the 2026 pick belonging to the Oklahoma City Thunder, landing last at pick No. 30. The 2030 first-round pick will only convey if it falls from 21-30.

Dallas is moving on

That left a bitter taste in the mouths of Mavericks fans and employees alike, but it did offer a way forward. The Mavericks took the first step with the No. 9 pick, drafting Davis's replacement in Michigan big man Morez Johnson Jr.

At pick No. 25, they executed the second part of the plan. They used two second-round picks to trade up from 30 and take Spanish guard Sergio do Larrea.

The young point guard is currently playing a key role for Valencia in the Spanish league, with his team up 2-1 in the Liga ACB finals -- a competition that Doncic starred in as well during his time in Spain.

In addition to his crisp passing vision, de Larrea has a confident 3-point shot and under-control handle. His combination of positional size, ball-handling and passing, and confident shooting should absolutely remind Mavericks fans of Luka Doncic.

He doesn't have the same teleportation skills as Doncic does passing the ball, and he doesn't quite have his size, but the similarities are obvious. The Mavericks have a shot not at replacing Doncic as an MVP candidate, but perhaps as a spiritual successor to his offensive role next to Cooper Flagg.

The Luka Doncic trade still hurts. The Anthony Davis trade was disappointing at the time. But the Mavericks are taking lemons and making lemonade, and the results could be truly delicious.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow