On the night of Saturday, Feb. 1, National Basketball Association fans were told of the most shocking  news they had ever experienced over years of fanatical fandom. Luka Doncic, the 25-year-old superstar  Slovenian guard for the Dallas Mavericks, a consensus top-five talent in the NBA and one of the league’s  top stars, was traded in a blockbuster move to the  Los Angeles Lakers.  The details of the trade are as follows: the Dallas  Mavericks traded Doncicć, forward Maxi Kleber and  forward Markieff Morris to the Lakers in exchange  for Lakers forward-center Anthony Davis, guard  Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick. Most shockingly, the Mavericks gave no indication that their  franchise cornerstone, a five-time NBA All-Star  and All-NBA selection with career averages of 28.6  points, 8.7 rebounds and 8.3 assists, would be moved. Doncicćwas widely viewed around the league as an  untouchable asset. Still, Mavericks general manager  Nico Harrison apparently had his reservations about  Doncic’s defensive abilities and his overall durability, with some injury concerns arising in the past  few months. Harrison shockingly only spoke to Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka about the details  of the trade and contacted no other teams about getting a potential return for an otherworldly player.  The soured attitude on Doncicć is a great departure  from previous Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who  was an avid supporter of Doncicć and infamously  remarked: “If I had to choose between my wife and  keeping Luka on the Mavs, catch me at my lawyer’s  office prepping for a divorce.” However, Cuban sold  his majority stake in the team in 2023, and evidently  new ownership does not share his devotion to the superstar. While the Mavericks are receiving a decent return  in this trade in terms of a top-10 player in Davis and a  competent role player in Christie, there are a couple  of glaring issues in their negotiating process. Harrison emphasized that the Mavericks made this decision looking towards the future, despite Doncicć being only 25 while Davis is 31 with an extensive injury  history that has consistently plagued him throughout his career.  Another significant problem was the Mavericks  were only able to grab a single first-round pick from  the Lakers, as L.A. did not even have to give up their  available pick for 2031. Traditionally, trades involving NBA stars or superstars come with the stipulation that the team receiving the coveted player has  to give a great deal in terms of draft capital. Mikal  Bridges (a starting caliber player not in the same  stratosphere as Doncic) was traded from the Brooklyn Nets to the New York Knicks this past summer  at the price of the Knicks providing the Nets with a  whopping five first-round picks! The fact that with  that precedent, the Mavericks were only unable to  collect one first-round pick for a player like Doncicć  is utterly inexcusable. It is extremely likely that the Mavericks will regret  this decision in the future as an injury-riddled Davis  faces the end of his NBA career while Doncicć begins  to thrive, entering his prime in L.A. Mavericks fans  can only hope that this trade does not go down as  one of the worst in NBA history, as they lost a generational talent in his prime. Despite the greatness  Davis has shown over the years, Doncicć is essentially irreplaceable in basketball terms, with the potential exception of the world’s best, such as Denver  Nuggets center Nikola Jokić and San Antonio Spurs  Center Victor Wembanyama. This is not even mentioning the philanthropic work that Doncic has done  in the Dallas area with the Luka DoncicćFoundation  and his deep love of the city and state, even wearing a  cowboy outfit to one of his years a few years ago as an  homage to the state he played in. In fact, Doncicć was  about to close on a home in the Dallas area around  the time the trade took place.  The loss of Doncicć has fallen especially hard on  Mavericks fans, who have gravitated towards his  awe-inspiring play and on-court personality since  his debut as a rookie in 2018. Their displeasure and  ire at management for the trade has resulted in allout protests being staged at the Mavericks arena  (American Airlines Center). Fans were seen chanting “Nico sucks” in reference to General Manager  Harrison for his role in the debacle of a trade. Ultimately, only time will tell if this trade ages  horribly for the Mavericks, but Davis and Kyrie Irving are literally required to bring the team a championship because that’s the sole form of compensation that Mavericks management could provide to  the fans who lost the soul of their franchise. As for  Luka on the Lakers, LeBron James will ride into the  sunset of his career playing alongside a remarkable  talent, and Luka will usher in yet another era of Laker dominance anchored by a transcendent superstar