Real reason the Mavericks traded Luka Doncic continues to reveal itself

As Anthony Davis and Luka Doncic begin to gear up against their respective new teams, the smoke is beginning to clear after an unexpected blockbuster trade between the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers from last weekend.

Doncic's departure from Dallas was nothing short of unfathomable. Doncic was the face of the franchise following the Hall of Fame career of Dirk Nowitzki. The phrase outside Nowitzki's statue is "loyalty never fades away," but fans haven't been opposed to letting their voices be heard.

Those voices might take a back seat for at least a moment after Davis made a bold claim in his introductory press conference saying he's "going to give the city life back."

Aside from the noise, the Mavericks already feel like they have a win with Max Christie, who is passing his early test by exceeding all expectations so far. Mavs fans can only hope that Davis does his part to bring the same dominance that he's brought for over 10 years. ESPN's Brian Windhorst is beginning to clear the air for Mavs fans as to why Davis was chosen over Doncic.

Mavericks think Anthony Davis can help them win NBA Finals now

Regardless of how Mavs fans feel about GM Nico Harrison's awful decision to trade the face of the city away by getting much less compared to what he was worth, the wing depth of the Mavericks is fairly stacked with plenty of guys to knock down shots night after night.

Windhorst says that the bigs of Dallas are now good enough to challenge other opposing bigs around the West that are already stacked up.

"The reason they selected Anthony Davis as the guy they wanted for Luka is because they believe that trade can help them win the championship this year," Windhorst said. "They think they’re now big enough with their bigs to go against Memphis, to go against OKC, to go against Houston. They think they’ve got an advantage. They think they can get up there and beat them. That’s their look.”

This point can also be relevant to bring up Davis' defensive abilities. Davis is a three-time NBA All-Defensive First Team player and a two-time NBA All-Defensive Second Team player. He is going to match well with some of these teams who have elite size, and Davis at the four with Dereck Lively II or Daniel Gafford at the five is going to scare other teams around the league.

Davis is an established All-Star who knows how to win big games, just like he did in the bubble with LeBron James in 2020 winning Los Angeles their first championship in over a decade. Dallas has a championship drought that's 14 years old now.

Simply put, Davis knows how to lead a team to a championship, as does Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson. Now, all of them put together can lead the young bunch to a championship appearance, and time will tell if Harrison's bold bet on Davis pays off.

Dallas now has matched the defense and the big man firepower to go after teams like Oklahoma City, Memphis, and Houston, and the Mavericks believe that he's the answer to help them go win their first NBA championship. Plainly, the Mavs gave up on Doncic and they seem to think Davis will give them a better shot at going all the way.