Imagine if the Dallas Mavericks decided to trade Luka Doncic to any of the other 29 teams in the NBA.
This is a question that many NBA team managers considered on February 2nd, when news broke about a big trade sending Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers and Anthony Davis to Dallas. The Lakers were the only team that the Mavericks` manager, Nico Harrison, talked to about a possible deal.
To answer this question, we looked at the teams that didn`t get Doncic and came up with possible trade deals for 28 different teams, along with what the Lakers and their manager, Rob Pelinka, could have offered.
There are a few important things to keep in mind.
First, the trade talks between the Mavericks and Lakers were private and complicated. A major reason the trade happened was that there weren`t a lot of public rumors about Doncic being traded. If all 28 teams had been involved, the trade probably wouldn`t have happened.
`If it had been leaked and the trade didn`t go through, it would have been very unfair to the coaching staff and the team`s progress,` said Lakers owner Jeannie Buss in February. `It would have been a big distraction.`
Second, there are salary cap rules to consider. When the deal was made, the Lakers were $3.5 million under the second tax apron and couldn`t take on more salary in trades. The Mavericks, however, were $526,000 under the first apron and needed Davis to give up his $5.1 million trade bonus. (In our trade ideas below, we`re using the same salary rules and team rosters that were in place on February 1st.)
Finally, we also considered that Doncic, who could become a free agent in 2026, might not sign a new contract with a new team. So, the trade offers for some rebuilding teams are less valuable.
Which teams would risk everything with players and draft picks, even if Doncic only stayed for 17 months? Which star players would be offered to Dallas? And which trade would Harrison and the Mavericks choose if they had 29 options?
Let`s go back to just before what might be the most surprising trade in NBA history to find out.
- Hypothetical Trade Offers for Luka Doncic from 28 NBA Teams
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Top Offers for Dallas
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Houston Rockets
- Trades Involving Star Guards
- Atlanta Hawks
- Charlotte Hornets
- LA Clippers
- Superstar Backcourt Partnerships
- Detroit Pistons
- Golden State Warriors
- Indiana Pacers
- Memphis Grizzlies
- Philadelphia 76ers
- More Big Men for the Mavs
- Miami Heat
- New York Knicks
- Sacramento Kings
- Teams Over the Salary Cap Apron
- Denver Nuggets
- Boston Celtics
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Phoenix Suns
- Large Draft Pick Packages
- Brooklyn Nets
- New Orleans Pelicans
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- Orlando Magic
- San Antonio Spurs
- Rebuilding Teams Take a Chance
- Chicago Bulls
- Portland Trail Blazers
- Toronto Raptors
- Utah Jazz
- Washington Wizards
Hypothetical Trade Offers for Luka Doncic from 28 NBA Teams
Los Angeles Lakers
What they actually traded:
- Anthony Davis
- Max Christie
- 2029 unprotected first-round pick
What they could have offered:
- Anthony Davis
- Austin Reaves
- 2029 unprotected first-round pick
- 2030 first-round swap
- 2031 unprotected first-round pick
Top Offers for Dallas
If Dallas considered trades from other teams, two teams could have offered the best packages: players who can win now and draft picks.
Cleveland Cavaliers
What they could have offered:
- Darius Garland
- Jarrett Allen
- 2031 unprotected first-round pick
Note: Because of salary rules, Dallas would also include Maxi Kleber in this trade.
Houston Rockets
What they could have offered:
- Dillon Brooks
- Reed Sheppard
- Jabari Smith Jr.
- 2025 unprotected first-round pick (via Phoenix)
- 2027 unprotected first-round pick (via Phoenix)
Trades Involving Star Guards
Should teams trade star guards like Trae Young, LaMelo Ball, or James Harden to get Doncic? Here are some ideas for three teams.
Atlanta Hawks
What they could have offered:
- Trae Young
- Onyeka Okongwu
- 2025 unprotected first-round pick (via Lakers)
- 2029 unprotected first-round pick
Charlotte Hornets
What they could have offered:
- LaMelo Ball
- Mark Williams
- 2027 first-round pick
- 2027 top-14 protected first-round pick (via Charlotte; unprotected in 2028 if not conveyed)
LA Clippers
What they could have offered:
- James Harden
- Terance Mann
- 2030 first-round pick swap
- 2031 unprotected first-round pick
Superstar Backcourt Partnerships
Some teams already have star guards, but they might still want to trade for Doncic to create a super backcourt.
Detroit Pistons
What they could have offered:
- Tobias Harris
- Ausar Thompson
- Ron Holland II
- 2027 unprotected first-round pick
- 2029 unprotected first-round pick
Golden State Warriors
What they could have offered:
- Andrew Wiggins
- Jonathan Kuminga
- Brandin Podziemski
- Gary Payton II
- 2025 unprotected first-round pick
- 2026 first-round pick swap
- 2027 unprotected first-round pick
- 2030 first-round pick (if 1-20)
Indiana Pacers
What they could have offered:
- Myles Turner
- Bennedict Mathurin
- Aaron Nesmith
- Obi Toppin
- 2028 unprotected first-round pick
- 2030 unprotected first-round pick
Memphis Grizzlies
What they could have offered:
- Desmond Bane
- Jaylen Wells
- Brandon Clarke
- 2027 unprotected first-round pick
- 2029 unprotected first-round pick
Philadelphia 76ers
What they could have offered:
- Paul George
- Jared McCain
- 2026 first-round pick (least favorable of Houston; if 6-30, Oklahoma City and Clippers)
- 2028 unprotected first-round pick (via Clippers)
- 2029 unprotected first-round pick
- 2031 unprotected first-round pick
More Big Men for the Mavs
Dallas was interested in Anthony Davis for his defense. Here are some other big men they might have considered.
Miami Heat
What they could have offered:
- Bam Adebayo
- Haywood Highsmith
- Jaime Jaquez Jr.
- 2029 unprotected first-round pick
- 2031 unprotected first-round pick
Note: To use these draft picks, Miami would need to adjust protections on other picks.
New York Knicks
What they could have offered:
- Karl-Anthony Towns
- 2025 top-10 protected first-round pick (via Washington; 2026 top-8 protected if not conveyed)
Alternative: Knicks could offer Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart instead of Towns.
Sacramento Kings
What they could have offered:
- Domantas Sabonis
- Keon Ellis
- Devin Carter
- 2028 unprotected first-round pick
- 2030 unprotected first-round pick
Teams Over the Salary Cap Apron
These teams have more restrictions on trades due to salary cap rules.
Denver Nuggets
What they could have offered:
- Michael Porter Jr.
- Christian Braun
- Dario Saric
- 2031 unprotected first-round pick
Note: Denver would need to adjust pick protections to include the 2031 pick.
Boston Celtics
What they could have offered:
- Jaylen Brown
- 2027 unprotected first-round pick
- 2031 unprotected first-round pick
Milwaukee Bucks
What they could have offered:
- Damian Lillard
- 2031 unprotected first-round pick
Minnesota Timberwolves
What they could have offered:
- Rudy Gobert
- 2025 first-round pick (via Detroit; top-13 protected)
- 2028 first-round pick swap
Phoenix Suns
What they could have offered:
- Kevin Durant
- 2025 first-round pick (via Cleveland)
- 2027 first-round pick (least favorable of Cleveland, Minnesota and Utah)
- 2029 first-round pick (least favorable of Cleveland, Minnesota; if 6-30, and Utah)
Large Draft Pick Packages
Some teams might focus on offering many draft picks instead of established players.
Brooklyn Nets
What they could have offered:
- Nic Claxton
- Cam Thomas
- De`Anthony Melton
- Four first-round picks
Note: Includes first-round picks acquired from the Knicks.
New Orleans Pelicans
What they could have offered:
- CJ McCollum
- Herbert Jones
- 2025 unprotected first-round pick
- 2027 unprotected first-round pick
- 2029 unprotected first-round pick
- 2031 unprotected first-round pick
Alternative: Mavericks could ask for four unprotected first-round picks instead of Williamson.
Oklahoma City Thunder
What they could have offered:
- Lu Dort
- Isaiah Joe
- Aaron Wiggins
- Ousmane Dieng
- Kenrich Williams
- 2025 first-round pick (via Philadelphia; top-6 protected)
- 2025 first-round pick (via Miami; top-14 protected)
- 2026 first-round pick (most favorable of OKC, Houston; if 6-30, and Clippers)
- 2027 Denver first (top-5 protected)
- 2029 Denver first (top-5 protected)
- 2029 unprotected first-round pick
- 2031 unprotected first-round pick
Note: This is a historically large package of draft picks.
Orlando Magic
What they could have offered:
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
- Cole Anthony
- Anthony Black
- Jett Howard
- 2025 unprotected first-round pick
- 2027 unprotected first-round pick
- 2029 unprotected first-round pick
- 2031 unprotected first-round pick
- 2025 first-round pick (via Denver; top-5 protected)
San Antonio Spurs
What they could have offered:
- Harrison Barnes
- Tre Jones
- Zach Collins
- 2025 unprotected first-round pick
- 2025 unprotected first-round pick (via Atlanta)
- 2027 unprotected first-round pick
- 2027 unprotected first-round pick (via Atlanta)
- 2029 unprotected first-round pick
- 2031 unprotected first-round pick (via Minnesota)
Note: This is an unprecedented number of unprotected first-round picks.
Rebuilding Teams Take a Chance
For teams that are rebuilding, trading for Doncic might be a chance to get a top player.
Chicago Bulls
What they could have offered:
- Zach LaVine
- Matas Buzelis
- 2028 unprotected first-round pick
- 2030 unprotected first-round pick
Portland Trail Blazers
What they could have offered:
- Scoot Henderson
- Jerami Grant
- Shaedon Sharpe
- 2029 first-round pick (most favorable of Portland, Boston and Milwaukee)
- 2029 first-round pick (least favorable of Portland, Boston and Milwaukee)
- 2030 unprotected first-round pick
Note: Portland might need to adjust pick protections in a separate deal.
Toronto Raptors
What they could have offered:
- Immanuel Quickley
- Gradey Dick
- Ochai Agbaji
- 2025 unprotected first-round pick
- 2027 first-round pick (via Indiana; top-4 protected)
- 2029 unprotected first-round pick
Note: Raptors could still make another trade for Brandon Ingram.
Utah Jazz
What they could have offered:
- John Collins
- Isaiah Collier
- Taylor Hendricks
- Two 2027 first-round picks (most favorable of Cleveland, Minnesota and Utah)
- 2029 first-round pick (most favorable of Cleveland, Minnesota; if 6-30, and Utah)
Note: Jazz have a lot of draft picks to offer.
Washington Wizards
What they could have offered:
- Alex Sarr
- Jordan Poole
- 2028 unprotected first-round pick
- 2029 first-round pick (second-most favorable of Portland, Boston and Milwaukee)
- 2030 unprotected first-round pick
Note: Wizards would be giving up a lot for a potentially short-term Doncic.
