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Austin Reaves of the Los Angeles Lakers drives past Kyrie Irving of the Dallas Mavericks.
The Dallas Mavericks fans are still reeling from the shocking trade of Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers and the subsequent injuries to Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving.
But what if the Mavericks and the Lakers make a trade again in the offseason to balance out their rosters to maximize their championship odds?
Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz proposed an offseason trade that the Mavericks fans wouldn’t feel they got fleeced like they did with the Dončić deal.
Dallas Mavericks Receive: Austin Reaves, Jarred Vanderbilt
Los Angeles Lakers Receive: Klay Thompson, Daniel Gafford
“Mavericks fans may start to twitch when seeing the Lakers as a trade partner, and understandably so. This deal would actually work out in their favor, however, giving Dallas some much-needed offensive creation now with Luka Dončić gone,” Swartz wrote.
Mavericks Land Best Player
Unlike in their previous trade, the Mavericks will get the best player this time in this proposed trade by Swartz.
“Reaves is having the best season of his career (19.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, 6.0 assists 1.1 steals per game) and would help take playmaking pressure off of Kyrie Irving, who’s now likely to miss the beginning of 2025-26 following a torn ACL. A starting five of Irving, Reaves, Naji Marshall, Anthony Davis and Dereck Lively II would be younger, more athletic and carry more offensive pop,” Swartz wrote.
The Lakers value Reaves so highly that they made him untouchable in trade talks. But with his contract extension coming up and their draft capital depleted to get a significant center upgrade, will they be willing to let go of him if it means satisfying their new franchise player’s wishes?
The Lakers could accomplish what they set out to do in the failed Mark Williams trade by finally getting the vertical lob threat that Dončić loves to play with while Thompson gets out of the “purgatory.”
“Thompson should be thrilled to play with Dončić again and the Lakers get an ideal starting center with Gafford taking over for Jaxson Hayes,” Swartz wrote.
Klay ‘Stuck in Purgatory’
Thompson chose the Mavericks over the Lakers last offseason because he believed Dončić and Irving had a greater chance to win a championship.
So he was taken aback when Dončić was traded to, of all teams, the Lakers, according to his father, ex-Laker Mychal Thompson.
“No, no not at all,” Mychal Thompson said on ESPN Los Angeles’ “Mason & Ireland” show on March 5 when a caller asked if Klay expected this turn of events when he signed. “He thought with Luka [Dončić] and Kyrie he had a chance to get back to the Finals. Obviously Luka left. When I told him [Anthony Davis] is coming, you still got a chance to get to the Finals because AD’s that good. Then he’s hurt. And then [Daniel] Gafford got hurt and then [Dereck] Lively got hurt.
“So yeah, Klay is stuck in purgatory right now, and if they hang on to the 10th seed, that will be the story of the year in the NBA. Because I think they’re going to lose 10 in a row.”
Thompson’s shooting percentage dipped without Dončić. He averaged 14.9 points on 43.4% overall shooting and 3.4 made 3s on 40.6% shooting from the 3-point line when he played with Dončić.
Without the Slovenian star who drew so much attention from defense and has the penchant of kicking out passes to 3-point shooters, Thompson averaged 14.3 points on 40.6% overall shooting and 3.1 made 3s on 39.5% shooting from the 3-point line.