Lakers, Lakers trade, Daniel Gafford, Dallas Mavericks
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Daniel Gafford #21 of the Dallas Mavericks shoots the ball over Deandre Ayton #5 of the Los Angeles Lakers during the first quarter at Crypto.com Arena on November 28, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.
The Dallas Mavericks reportedly have no intention of doing business with the Los Angeles Lakers, spelling bad news for the Lakers in their trade pursuit of Daniel Gafford, a former teammate of Luka Doncic.
According to The Athletic’s Dan Woike, the Mavericks are still not over the Lakers landing Doncic, in what many described as a heist, at last year’s trade deadline. As a result, they have put gigantic “road closed” signs on any and all Lakers trade targets.
“Naji Marshall has also generated interest around the Lakers, though the pathways to any deal with the Dallas Mavericks after the Luka Doncic trade last season have gigantic ‘road closed’ signs all over them,” Woike reported on Wednesday.
“The same is probably true for Daniel Gafford.”
Bleacher Report
Mavericks are “no longer interested” in doing business with the Lakers following the Luka trade, per @DanWoikeSports 😅
LA was eyeing several Mavs players but “the pathways to any deal” now have “gigantic ‘road closed’ signs all over them”
Lakers Trade Target: Daniel Gafford
Gafford, who played a vital role in helping the Mavericks reach the 2024 NBA Finals, is averaging 8.1 points, 6.6 blocks and 1.3 blocks this season from 21.1 minutes per game. Both his numbers and minutes are the lowest in a Mavericks uniform, which can be attributed to injuries and his sharing minutes with Anthony Davis and Derreck Lively II before their injuries. Yet Gafford is widely coveted around the league for his budget-friendly contract and proven playoff track record.
While the Lakers have prioritized 3-and-D wings ahead of Thursday’s NBA trade deadline, they’ve been in the market for an athletic big all year, per several insiders. Besides, Gafford, the Brooklyn Nets‘ Nic Claxton, and New Orleans Pelicans Yves Missi, two other defensive-minded bigs, have been earmarked as Lakers trade targets.
Lakers Trade Deadline Plans
The Lakers continue to shop the expiring contracts of Maxi Kleber and Gabe Vincent, along with second-year wing Dalton Knecht, to make marginal roster upgrades by the NBA trade deadline. However, none of those players have piqued any interest around the league, according to the LA Times’ Broderick Turner.
Ultimately, the Lakers are expected to stand pat, hold onto all their assets and potentially pursue a bigger name, possibly Giannis Antetokounmp, during the offseason, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.
“So, they have $40 million in expiring contracts and they have been interested in upgrading on the perimeter defend and defense and at rim protection,” Windhorst said earlier this week. “But they really just kind of want to use those expiring contracts. They don’t want to use draft assets. They don’t really want to use players that they value past this season. And so, that just basically makes them bargain bin hunting.
“That’s kind of what they did last summer when you look at they signed DeAndre Aiden and Marcus Smart. Those were guys who were bought out elsewhere. Now, their strategy could shift. Again, we are only on Monday, but I think they’re bargain shopping and looking to go into the summer when they will have $100 million in cap space and not sort of mess with that right now.”
For what it’s worth, the Lakers are still open to moving their only tradeable first-round pick “for the right defensive upgrade,” per The Athletic. However, such a deal is no longer on table, with the New Orleans Pelicans making Herbert Jones and Trey Murphy III unavailable, and the likes of Keon Ellis, De’Andre Hunter and Jonathan Kuminga all off the board. The NBA trade deadline is at 3 p.m. ET on Thursday.