NBA insider slams Dallas Mavericks over key failure in Luka Doncic trade

It's been over two months since the Dallas Mavericks shocked the NBA world by trading Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. And while there have been some ups and downs for LA since, the consensus remains that this was one of the most bizarre deals of all time.

Trading away a 25-year-old superstar that's a perennial MVP candidate makes no sense, but the bigger issue in this scenario is with the return the Mavericks got.

While Anthony Davis is undoubtedly a premier two-way superstar when healthy, acquiring just him along with Max Christie and a single first-round pick makes little sense. And Brian Windhorst thinks there was one key piece missing in the trade that makes it a colossal failure.

Brian Windhorst goes off on Nico Harrison and the Dallas Mavericks

“Mavericks not getting Austin Reaves in that trade is MALPRACTICE.”

(🎥 @FirstTake / h/t @LakeShowScoop )

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— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) April 7, 2025

"I will say one more thing because there's a game coming up in Dallas in a couple of days," Windhorst said on ESPN. "I know we're all going to focus on Luka - we should. But the Mavericks not getting Austin Reaves in that trade is malpractice.

"Austin Reaves has been awesome in this last month. Especially in this last week when LeBron hasn't been great. And the fact that the Mavericks didn't get Austin Reaves in that trade is insane. And Reaves is just proving it night in and night out."

Austin Reaves is showing signs of potentially becoming an All-Star in the years to come. Since February 1st, Reaves has averaged 23.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game. This is despite playing alongside ball-dominant stars like Luka Doncic and LeBron James.

There is no doubting that Dallas could have gotten a much larger haul if they had shopped Luka Doncic around the league. But not even getting Reaves or Knecht as part of the trade from the Lakers does seem like a massive failure now. Now the Mavericks get to face both Doncic and Reaves for years to come, starting on Wednesday night.

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