Fresh Lakers rumor sets up a second nightmare Mavericks trade

Dallas Mavericks fans won't be thrilled by this new rumor from ESPN, as NBA insider Tim MacMahon claimed there hasn't been a drop-off in big men wanting to play with Luka Doncic while on a recent episode of "The Hoop Collective" podcast, which begs the question of if the Mavericks would be willing to trade Daniel Gafford to the Lakers to reunite him with Doncic.

"I can just tell you, big men will do back flips to be able to be in that Lakers uniform paired with Luka," MacMahon said. "I was talking to an agent who’s got a big man who may or may not be on the move who would love to get his guy in L.A. Big men are going to want to play with Luka that much I can assure you."

There are multiple things to unpack here, as Gafford has been in trade rumors for the Mavericks since the beginning of the season, but constant re-aggravation of a right ankle injury, coupled with a dip in performance this season, has left fans and analysts wondering what his trade value is right now. MacMahon recently lauded Gafford as the most likely Maverick to be traded, but teammates like Klay Thompson and Naji Marshall probably have more trade value than him right now.

Lakers could trade for Daniel Gafford to reunite him with Luka Doncic

Gafford is a Klutch Sports client, as his agency is notorious for getting players where they want, and they have a huge contingent in Los Angeles with LeBron James still being there. Taking this into account, as well as the factthat Gafford was thinking of joining the Slovenian national squad to play with Doncic in international competition one day, it'd make perfect sense for Gafford to want to be re-paired with one of the best pick-and-roll lob passers in the league.

With Dallas being hard-capped at the second apron and the Lakers being hard-capped at the first apron, the logistics of moving Gafford to Los Angeles aren't favorable in a straight-up trade, so this would likely have to be a multi-team deal if the Mavericks opted to do this. The Lakers' incentive to do this is abundantly clear, as Gafford may be their best two-way big if he could get healthy again this season, and he already has pre-established chemistry with Doncic.

However, while this would be a feel-good story for the Lakers, the Mavericks shouldn't treat Los Angeles as their first option if they want to trade Gafford. The optics of the Doncic trade would look even worse if Dallas shipped Gafford to Los Angeles, especially if the Mavericks ultimately lost the deal again.

The Lakers' only tradable first-round picks are in the 2030s as well, so it's not like the Mavericks would get any prime draft assets by shipping Gafford to Los Angeles, unless the deal was expanded to more teams. There are other Eastern Conference squads who are equally or more desperate than the Lakers to add a center, so Dallas should definitely explore Gafford's market holistically before giving Doncic and the Lakers some premium ammo.

Gafford and Doncic's relationship was well documented in Dallas, and while fans who abandoned ship following the Doncic trade would probably love to see the Slovenian superstar get one of his best lob threats back, it would be crushing for Mavericks fans to see both Doncic and Gafford in Los Angeles together.

Dallas is in no position to veer off course from seeing what they can get for Gafford ahead of the February 5 trade deadline, but fans will hope this new rumor doesn't turn against Dallas from the standpoint of getting fleeced by the Lakers in two consecutive trade deadlines.