Lakers expose Mavericks' Luka Doncic trade blunder with latest ruthless move

The Dallas Mavericks pulled off a move that no one could have ever expected on Saturday night, as they traded Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber, and Markieff Morris to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a 2029 first-round pick. Dallas also gave up a second-round pick which was sent to the Utah Jazz.

No one within the Mavericks organization outside of Nico Harrison knew that this deal was on the table until it was time to push it past the finish line, and Mavs fans have been in a whirlwind over the last few days. Fans laid signs, Doncic jerseys, and all sorts of memorabilia at the base of the Dirk Nowitzki statue in PNC Plaza outside of the American Airlines Center, and the buzz around the city has not died down.

While many fans are starting to move on and embrace Davis and Christie, especially after Christie's dominant debut earlier this week, fans are still confused as to why the Mavericks didn't get more for Doncic in this deal.

While Davis is one of the best bigs in the league and Christie is a good young piece, only one first-round pick from the Lakers is what had Mavs fans in an uproar. Doncic is among the top players in the NBA, and considering that he is only 25 years old and hasn't reached his prime yet, many fans wish Dallas was able to secure at least another rotation player in the deal along with the Lakers' 2031 first-round pick as sweeteners. The trade would have still infuriated Mavericks fans, but it may have made losing Doncic to the Lakers easier for them to deal with.

Lakers' Williams trade highlights Mavs' blunder in Doncic deal

It was rumored that Dalton Knecht and the 2031 first-round pick were originally part of the Davis-Doncic deal during negotiations, but Rob Pelinka was reportedly able to work the deal down to the way it ended up looking when the trade went down late on Saturday night. There were also rumors that the reason that the Lakers kept the 2031 first-round pick out of the trade was because Dallas didn't want the Lakers to talk with Doncic or his agent about the deal. With the secrecy of this trade, there could have been other moving parts from both sides of the deal as well that no one may ever know, and the Lakers just pulled off another move with the pieces that most fans believe should've been coming to the Mavs.

According to ESPN's Shams Charania, the Lakers traded Knecht, a 2031 first-round pick, and a 2030 pick swap to the Charlotte Hornets for Mark Williams. The Lakers immediately added a new center to pair alongside Doncic, and the package that the Hornets received for Williams throws salt into Mavericks fans' wounds considering two of the three pieces that Los Angeles gave up could have and probably should have been sent to Dallas.

One more tradable first-round pick along with Knecht being sent to Dallas as part of the Doncic-Davis trade would have made a major difference when it comes to how the Mavericks are set up for the future, and even the Hornets being able to land a pick swap from the Lakers as part of the deal can't get overlooked. Tons of fans think the Mavericks severely undervalued Doncic in the trade with the Lakers and moves like the Williams trade give these fans even more of a reason to believe that.

The Mavericks settling for the smaller trade package allowed the Lakers to go out and get a young center in Williams, and fans may never get over the Doncic trade and all the implications that come with it.