How Blockbuster Lakers and Mavericks Trade Impacts Betting Decisions
by Sam Cox | by Tyler Doty
Dončić and Roll: Lakers and Mavericks Shake Up the NBA
The Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks shocked the NBA – and its fans around the world – with their trade on Friday night. Luka Dončić is a Laker. Anthony Davis is, remarkably, a Maverick, days after demanding the Lakers trade for a center.
If Davis was desperate to play the four, his wish has been granted next to Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford. Dončić, who reportedly didn’t request a trade, is paired with LeBron James. The Lakers are as short as +1200 to win the title at Caesars after this move.
Dallas has drifted to +3500 at DraftKings and FanDuel. The sportsbooks have responded to this massive trade, keep an eye on these teams for your NBA predictions!
Lakers Frontcourt Need
The Lakers are aggressively chasing a center, according to Evan Sidery. With Jaxson Hayes as their current starting five, the Lakers are not a title contender as currently constructed, but that could quickly change.
Dončić, LeBron James, Austin Reaves, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Dalton Knecht gives them something to work with. Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Gabe Vincent are tradeable salaries. Having won eight of out 10 prior to the trade, the Lakers are poised to push for homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
The Lakers had been worse in LeBron’s minutes for the first few months of the season. That has turned around in 2025, following James’ brief time away from the team.
It’s inevitable the Lakers make more moves. Dončić is their franchise player long-term, but it would be foolish to waste this season with LeBron playing at a high level and Dončić set to return from injury before the end of February.
FanDuel somehow has the Lakers as second favorites at +120 to win the Pacific Division. Their offense is going to be impossible to stop with Dončić and LeBron sharing the workload. The defense should get reinforcements before the deadline, with Nic Claxton and Bruce Brown among the potential targets.
What Were the Mavs Thinking?
Yes, the Mavericks have leaked they are concerned about Dončić’s conditioning. This supposedly made them wary of his upcoming supermax.
The Mavs, though, had built their entire future around Dončić.
(Dončić is a five-time First Team All-NBA selection. He’s led them to the Finals and Conference Finals in the last three years.
After losing Jalen Brunson, Dallas was able to build a contender around Dončić with Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson keen to play alongside the Slovenian.
Davis is a few weeks away from his 32nd birthday. A 2029 Lakers first-round pick is not as valuable as it sounds with Dončić leading the purple and gold. Irving, Thompson, and Davis would have been an exciting Big Three six or seven years ago. In 2025, it looks like a very short window.
There might be no window at all. There’s no guarantee all three remain healthy, and this version of the Mavs would not be favored in a playoff series against the Oklahoma City Thunder. They might be underdogs if they faced the Memphis Grizzlies, Houston Rockets, Denver Nuggets, or Los Angeles Clippers.
There really is no way to justify this deal for the Mavericks. They have admitted defeat on the Dončić era, instead backing themselves into a corner with three 30+ high-paid big names.
League Reshaped
The impact of this trade will be felt for years, maybe even decades. No trade machine screenshot is implausible at this point. Maybe the Lakers really can acquire every single Hall of Famer.
When it looked like the Lakers were either stuck in mediocrity or destined for a painful rebuild post-LeBron, they have landed one of – at worst – the five best players on the planet.
Dončić makes the Lakers a title contender in 2025 if he can get fully healthy. If Rob Pelinka adds a rim-protecting big and a perimeter defender, the Lakers could be the Thunder’s biggest threat in the Western Conference.
The Lakers will be in the mix for the rest of the decade, providing Dončić stays. Dallas is looking at a painful rebuild by 2027 or 2028, with several of their future first-round picks owed to other teams.
This changes how active the Lakers are in the trade market. It makes them a team to genuinely consider to make the Finals.
It might even provoke more action from other Thursday’s deadline.
Time will tell, but this could be the most impactful trade since the Lakers acquired Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1975.
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