Luka Doncic trade 'disaster' still haunts Mavericks over a year later

Many people have expressed a bleak opinion on the Dallas Mavericks trading away Luka Doncic last season to the Los Angeles Lakers, and it was now time for NBA Analyst Jalen Rose to have his turn. Prior to the Mavericks' game against the Minnesota Timberwolves this past Friday, Rose was extremely critical of the Doncic trade.

"For the Mavs, trading Luka ends up going down as one of the worst moves in the history of the NBA," Rose said.

Rose continued to rip the Mavericks by saying it has been a "disaster" ever since the Doncic trade happened. With how everything has transpired since the trade, Rose is right about the move going down as an awful one in NBA history.

Mavericks can't escape the fire of the Luka Doncic trade

Because of this season, the Doncic trade has been so one-sided, favoring the Lakers. Doncic has thrived in his first full season with the Lakers, averaging 33 points per game, and has a chance to win another scoring title and be in the MVP discussion. Meanwhile, it's been a dumpster fire in Dallas.

This season brought in excitement due to Cooper Flagg being drafted first overall by the Mavericks at the 2025 NBA Draft. While Flagg has been phenomenal, the rest of the team hasn't. The Mavericks are at the bottom of the Western Conference with a small chance to even make the Play-In Tournament. Rose also mentioned Flagg saved the Mavericks and how the Mavericks got lucky to draft him first overall.

Two other things make the Doncic trade worse, and it surrounds Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis. When the Mavericks acquired Davis, the team hoped that his defense would carry them to the top, as he is still a standout center. However, injuries continued in Dallas as they did in Los Angeles. Davis had injury issues throughout his time with the Mavericks and missed 54 games during his tenure. To make it even worse, Davis only played in 29 games as a Maverick.

Davis was traded to the Washington Wizards in a move the Mavericks had to make earlier this month. The Mavericks getting good value in return is where one can hope the team can build for the future. However, even though the Mavericks did trade for Davis, a big asset in return in the Doncic trade, trading him just one season later shows how bad the trade actually was.

For Irving, he tore his ACL last season after the Doncic trade. Irving was projected to return at some point during this season. However, given the circumstances of this season, playing Irving wouldn't make much sense, as the Mavericks are out of playoff contention. Therefore, Irving isn't returning this season.

Although Irving is recovering for over a full season, it takes away the hope of seeing how he would play with Flagg as a rookie. Having a good mentor like Irving is crucial for a young rookie to develop, and Flagg could have gotten used to playing with him to learn and grow before his sophomore season.

This season sure has been ugly for the Mavericks, and the Doncic trade continues to show why. Rose's comments are ones that will always haunt the Mavericks, whether fans want to admit it or not.