Former Maverick's bold Luka Doncic take will finally be put to the test

The unthinkable happened over the weekend as the Dallas Mavericks traded Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber, and Markieff Morris to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a first-round pick. No one could have ever expected for Dallas to make that move, and this trade starts an entirely new era of Mavericks basketball with Davis and Kyrie Irving at the center of it all.

Before the trades happened, the Mavs. were struggling. They were looking for answers on how to respond to various injuries that had knocked them out without warning.

The Mavs did show some resilience without Doncic for some time, as they were able to get another victory against the Oklahoma City Thunder, proving some black magic in the Mavs' favor with the odds stacked against them. During the month of January, they elevated the Thunder rivalry to a whole new level, and it's a shame that Doncic won't get to be a part of it anymore.

One former Maverick was on the fence about the team during Doncic's injury, and he dropped a take that infuriated some fans, and it is about to be put to the test.

Parsons' doubts about Mavericks are about to face reality

Chandler Parsons credited the P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford trades as the main reasons why the Mavs made the NBA Finals in 2024. Parsons also compared Doncic being out with the calf injury to Nikola Jokic not playing for the Denver Nuggets as a completely different team without their star player.

"They're not that good of a team without Luka Doncic in the lineup," Parsons said. "It's tough. With no Luka, it's hard to judge this team this far, but yeah, right now you see the trajectory is not good because the Western Conference is deep, everyone seems to have gotten a little bit better and this team is kind of stagnant, especially with no Luka in the lineup."

Since the Mavericks had their Christmas plans ruined with Doncic going down on Christmas Day against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Mavericks have a 7-14 record since that moment, and they are now 0-2 since the trade went down.

Parsons betting against Dallas' supporting cast is now going to be put to the test, and even though his take was before the team acquired Davis, it still showed that he doesn't have much faith in the role players.

It's also important for fans to know that it wasn't all because of Doncic's injury for the Mavs' struggles. The Mavs were doing all they could to overcome various injuries to almost everyone, and now almost everyone is finally starting to get healthy.

Dereck Lively II might not be back until the playoffs, but outside of Lively II and Dwight Powell, the team is fairly healthy.

Regardless of Parsons' comments, it's a team effort, and this team can prove that they are better than he gave them credit for, even without Doncic. The Mavs have been one of the more unlucky teams in the NBA when it comes to injuries, and the new-look squad with Davis and Irving at the helm could silence him once and for all.