Porzingis trade just handed Luka Doncic a gift Mavericks fans won't be able to stand

Even after the Dallas Mavericks traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in February, Mavs fans remained invested in his games and journey with the Lakers as he remains one of the most loved Mavs of all time. Mavericks fans will always be connected to Doncic for everything he gave the city of Dallas, but now, with Cooper Flagg coming in, Dallas will be jousting with Los Angeles for playoff positioning in the Western Conference, and fans may not be rooting for the Lakers as hard as they were last season.

After Kristaps Porzingis was traded by the Boston Celtics to the Atlanta Hawks earlier this week, Doncic might be getting a new running mate in Los Angeles in the form of Clint Capela. Atlanta may not re-sign Capela, considering they have Porzingis coming to town, and that would work heavily in Doncic and the Lakers' favor.

Capela is an unrestricted free agent this offseason, and with the starting center spot being the Lakers' biggest hole, they could end up eyeing him to be Doncic's new pick-and-roll partner. He was someone who Mavs fans wanted for years (but never got) while Doncic was a Maverick, and the Lakers have a great shot at taking a big step forward if they can sign Capela.

Lakers may land the center Mavs fans always wanted to play with Doncic

As things stand now, the Mavericks' frontline of Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively II, and Daniel Gafford is much stronger than the Lakers' group of bigs, but with Capela potentially joining the mix in Los Angeles, they are going to be much stronger in that area.

Doncic is locked in on getting into elite shape this offseason, and a motivated Doncic alongside Austin Reaves, LeBron James, Rui Hachimura, and maybe Capela is going to be a team that could end up contending in the West. Any team that Doncic is on is always going to have a chance to be tough to beat, and all he needed was a center to take his game to the next level with the Lakers.

While Jaxson Hayes had his moments in Los Angeles, they clearly needed to make an upgrade in that area, and Capela is a great option for them due to his rim rolling, rebounding, and shot blocking. Doncic is at his best when he is playing next to a rim-rolling big who can catch lobs, and if the Lakers sign Capela, he is going to be in a prime position to have a bounce-back season.

With the Lakers looking to address their center position and the Mavericks bringing in Flagg, the matchups between these two teams are going to be must-watch television every time they step onto the floor. Doncic is always going to be a fan favorite in Dallas, but Mavs fans want their team to win a title as badly as ever with the new sense of energy that has been present around the city ever since they won the draft lottery and the right to draft Flagg.

With the Lakers potentially bringing in Capela, their frontcourt still won't stand a chance against Dallas', but it does bring them some much-needed depth in a spot that didn't have depth to begin with. Thanks to Porzingis being traded by the Celtics to the Hawks and Capela becoming more expendable, Capela, the center Mavs fans pushed for the team to trade for, may end up playing next to Doncic for the Lakers.

And Mavericks fans are just going to have to live with it.