The Saturday night trade that sent Luka Dončić from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis in a multiplayer, three-team deal will cost Dončić a great deal of money.
Dončić, who has been out since straining his left calf during a Christmas Day game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, will no longer be eligible, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, to sign a five-year, $345 million super max contract this summer.
In additon to Davis, the Lakers sent Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick to the Mavericks for Dončić, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris, with the Utah Jazz acquiring the Lakers’ Jalen Hood-Schifino, a Mavericks’ 2025 second-round pick and a Los Angeles Clippers’ 2025 second-round pick.
The collective bargaining agreement’s “designated veteran player extension” provision permits teams to re-sign qualified players for up to 35% of the salary cap after their eighth or ninth season, whereas otherwise players with at least seven years of service but less than 10 years can be signed to contracts up to 30% of the cap.
Qualified is a keyword. It means, among other things, the team offering the extension either originally drafted the player or acquired him in a trade when he was on his rookie contract. Dončić was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks in the 2018 NBA Draft and is playing on a $215.2 million contract he signed with the Mavericks in 2021. That means neither of those super max conditions is satisfied (the Lakers didn’t draft Dončić and Dončić isn’t playing on his rookie contract).
As Robert Raiola, director of the Sports & Entertainment Group at PKF O’Connor Davies, told Sportico, the trade also has adverse income tax implications for Dončić. Texas has no state income tax whereas California has the highest income tax of any state, with a top marginal rate of 14.4% on wage income that exceeds $1 million a year.
Davis, NBA insider Chris Haynes reports, is waiving a trade kicker. A kicker is a contractual bonus in the event of a trade and serves as a deterrent to a team to deal a player given salary cap limitations.
The Mavericks’ willingness to deal Dončić, who is 25 years old, is unexpected. The five-time All-Star is consistently regarded as one of the league’s best players. Dončić led the NBA in scoring in the 2023-24 season, averaging 33.9 points per game, while also averaging 9.2 rebounds and 9.8 assists per game. There have been reports, however, the Mavericks are concerned about Dončić’s conditioning, which could become more of an issue as he ages.
Davis, 31, is one of the NBA’s best defensive players and a gifted scorer, too. Thus far in the 2024-25 season, the 10-time All-Star is averaging 25.7 points per game to go along with 11.9 rebounds per game and 2.1 blocks. Whether Davis continues to excel at this high level as he advances into his 30s remains to be seen
