Rumors: Mavericks' trade return for Luka Doncic was initially much stronger

The Dallas Mavericks shocked the entire NBA world on Saturday night when they traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a 2029 first-round pick. This move came out of nowhere, as no one expected Dallas to be looking to trade Doncic ahead of the February 6 trade deadline, and Mavs fans continue to try to make sense of why Nico Harrison made this move 38 hours later. Doncic wanted to be a Maverick for life, and that opportunity was taken from him as this trade shocked him.

Harrison made it clear that he believes Davis will help Dallas' defense tremendously, but the reasoning behind punting on Doncic is a bit more confusing. Early reporting indicates that the Mavericks were fed up with Doncic's conditioning, and there was a belief that his conditioning struggles could lead to a durability problem moving forward.

While it's undeniable that Doncic has struggled with conditioning over the last few years, and his health hasn't been great over the last 12 months, the bigger question that has risen over the last day and a half has shifted from why did the Mavericks trade Luka Doncic to why didn't the Mavericks get more for him.

Mavericks failed to fully maximize Doncic's trade value

The Lakers are the only team that Harrison spoke to about this deal over the last month or so, and rather than creating a bidding war across the NBA, Harrison and Rob Pelinka worked this deal out entirely behind closed doors. While not leaking that Dallas was looking to trade Doncic and pursuing the player they have been eyeing for years in Davis could have been the right move, there was one aspect of Pelinka and Harrison's conversations that still has Mavericks fans in shock.

It seems like Dallas could have commanded more from Los Angeles in the Doncic-Davis trade, and according to Kirk Goldsberry of The Ringer, the package that Pelinka and Harrison agreed to was not what was discussed initially.

On The Bill Simmons Podcast, Goldsberry said an original package that was discussed between the two teams included two first-round picks from Los Angeles along with rookie sharpshooter Dalton Knecht on top of Davis and Christie. This package would have made much more sense between the two teams considering how much value Doncic will bring to the Lakers for years to come, and the "deal got whittled down" by Pelinka.

The Mavericks missed out on adding another young piece to their core in Knecht along with a 2031 first-round pick. Even this package would have been a questionable return for Doncic, but the youth of Knecht along with another draft pick sweetener would given Mavericks fans a little more hope when it comes to this trade and the long-term implications that come along with it.

First-round picks are one of the most valuable trade assets in today's NBA, and having one more tradeable first-round pick in Harrison's arsenal would have given the Mavericks much more flexibility when it comes to the type of move they can make over the next few days ahead of the trade deadline. It's clear they need to make some sort of move to give them the best shot at making the NBA Finals this season, and another first-round pick would have made it considerably easier.

Knecht, on the other hand, would have given the Mavericks another shooter off the bench who is under contract until after the 2027-28 season before he hits restricted free agency. This season for the Lakers, Knecht is averaging 9.3 points and 3.0 rebounds per game while shooting 35.5 percent from downtown, and he has shown tons of promise in his first year in the association.

Knecht has scored 20 or more points five different times this season, and he even put up 37 points in a win over the Utah Jazz in November. He would have been an excellent piece to build around for years to come and to add to Dallas' young core which includes Christie, P.J. Washington, Dereck Lively II, Daniel Gafford, and Quentin Grimes, but it sounds like Pelinka was able to work the deal down to include just Davis and Christie along with the 2029 first-round pick.

While Knecht and a first-round pick may not have been enough compensation to fully ease Mavericks fans' minds, it would have been just enough to put Dallas in a better position to build the roster in the post-Luka Doncic era.