The Luka Doncic trade couldn't being going worse for the Mavericks

12.02.2025 23:16

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The Dallas Mavericks host the Golden State Warriors tonight in what was supposed to be a highly-anticipated matchup between teams that made major moves at the trade deadline. Instead, it’ll likely be a dud involving teams trending in opposite directions.

While the Jimmy Butler experiment is off to a fantastic start for the Warriors, who are 2-0 since acquiring the do-it-all forward from the Miami Heat, Dallas’ trade of Luka Doncic couldn’t look worse than it does now. The thing everyone feared when the Mavericks swapped their 25-year-old superstar for a player six years his senior with a history of injury problems happened. Anthony Davis got hurt. And it happened just one game into his Dallas tenure.

Davis is expected to miss multiple weeks with a left adductor strain, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Sunday. The injury adds to a growing list of Mavericks players out against Golden State and beyond, including Daniel Gafford, Dereck Lively II, Dwight Powell and fellow deadline acquisition Caleb Martin. With P.J. Washington also questionable for Wednesday’s game, the Mavs’ front-court is as thin as can be.

Dallas Mavericks star Anthony Davis is expected to miss multiple weeks with a left adductor strain, sources tell ESPN. His absence could stretch to a month. pic.twitter.com/WnZUuqZKrw

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 10, 2025

The Doncic trade was always going to go down as one of the most consequential deadline moves ever, drawing scrutiny regardless of how well the Mavs played in the aftermath, but if Dallas had any chance at calming fan angst, the team needed to start stacking wins immediately. Instead, the Mavs are a shell of the team that reached the NBA Finals last season and post-Doncic life is grim.

Mavs fans are revolting. It’s hard to blame them. And those displays of frustration aren’t likely to disappear anytime soon, with Wednesday’s game being their third of five straight at American Airlines Center. Especially not with Dallas on the fringe of the Western Conference play-in tournament. Just a half-game separates the Mavs at No. 8 and the Warriors at No. 10, and the Warriors are 6.5-point road favorites Wednesday despite it being their fifth straight game away from home.

There wasn’t a good way to sell the Doncic trade to fans, but if there was an absolute worst way, we’re getting a glimpse of it now. Things are ugly in Dallas, and they might get a lot uglier before they get better.

The Mark Williams trade saga is about to get messy

Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

As we reflect on trade deadline fails, it’s hard not to think about the other Lakers deal that ended up not being a deal at all. The trade for Mark Williams of the Charlotte Hornets.

The deal ended up being rescinded because Williams failed a physical, but as FTW’s Bryan Kalbrosky wrote, the ripples of that near-trade are still being felt. Dalton Knecht missed LA’s last game while still grappling with the fact the Lakers tried to trade him. The Hornets are disputing the failed physical while also having to accept Williams back, and while he’s likely coping with his own emotions of everything that transpired. Lost in all of that is the Lakers’ continued need for a big, which they tried to address by signing Alex Len.

It’s all a mess and some of these emotions are likely going to linger for a long time, even after the NBA comes to a conclusion on Charlotte’s dispute.