New Maverick just infuriated every Lakers fan with brutally honest admission

Even deep into the dog days of the offseason, the fact that the Mavericks traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers on February 1 is still as baffling as it was then, but the Mavericks have been forced to operate with a new infrastructure spearheaded by Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving (once he returns from injury. After getting a much-needed injection of youth by getting Cooper Flagg No. 1 overall in the 2025 NBA Draft, the Mavericks will do their best to tackle two timelines, as they have a win-now squad that will be retooling around Flagg in the next few seasons once Irving and Davis fully exit their primes.

One of Dallas' only pieces that truly fits Flagg's timeline is none other than the other addition from the Doncic trade in Max Christie, as Christie is only 22 years old and has flashed some intriguing potential as a 3-and-D guard. The Mavericks must highly covet Christie, hence why general manager Nico Harrison may not have sought more first-round picks in the Doncic deal, and there's obviously a spotlight on Christie to perform well because of being the lead younger player in the return package for Doncic, even though that isn't necessarily fair for him.

Christie proved to be very poised as well an extremely hard worker during his half-season with Dallas last year, and he recently gave even more reasons for Mavericks fans to view him as a fan-favorite, as he recently said the best moment of his NBA career was getting traded to the Mavericks when asked by one of the campers.

Christie said getting traded to Dallas was the best moment of his career

This is something that is bound to spark some resentment amongst Lakers fans, as they notoriously view Los Angeles as a premiere destination that has the team with the most storied history in the league, but whether it's lifestyle preferences or a better opportunity in the rotation, Christie clearly seems much happier to be on the Mavericks than he was to be on the Lakers.

Now, this isn't to say Christie didn't enjoy his time in Los Angeles whatsoever or hates the Lakers, and he could've just been giving a cop-out answer in the spur of the moment, but Christie has always presented himself as a very authentic and humble guy, so it wouldn't be surprising whatsoever if he simply likes his situation in Dallas more than he did with the Lakers.

Not everyone loves the high life of LA, and Dallas does offer a more laid back scene with no state income taxes, but as competitive as Christie is, it wouldn't be surprising if his answer is more related to on-court opportunities, as he could have a prominent role in Dallas' rotation next season and possibly even start if he continues to develop as a three-level scorer.

Even if Christie doesn't showcase increased potential as a shot creator or playmaker next season, he's still a versatile and highly competitive 3-and-D guard that would be an excellent role player for Dallas to continue to ride with once the Flagg era full kicks in, so it's great to see that he's really enjoying his time in the city of Dallas thus far, as the Mavericks clearly are as well evidenced by the fact he's been doing plenty of community events for the team this offseason.