The Dallas Mavericks stunned the NBA when they traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis in February. It is still a main topic of discourse around the league, especially after the team won the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery.
Now that the season is over for the Mavericks, as they missed the playoffs after the trade, some more people are starting to speak out about the trade. The latest was Naji Marshall, who appeared on the "Young Man and the Three" podcast with Tommy Alter and his former New Orleans Pelicans teammate Trey Murphy III. He spoke briefly about it on a Twitch stream a week ago, but he went more in-depth on this episode.
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Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic
Apr 9, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) in action during the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
"Luka is just the chillest guy ever bro," Marshall first started about Doncic on what he was like. "You just feel like his best friend from day 1. He’s just a great dude. Never mad, just always happy. And just a hall of fame flamethrower when it comes to basketball... He's like [Zion Williamson], like in practice, he just does crazy things, acting like it's normal, and that s--- just be amazing.”
Then, Marshall was asked about his initial reaction to the trade: "I mean, I understood, business is business as far as the NBA. But I was hurt, man. Luka is my dog, for real. And I love AD, that's my guy... But as far as personally, I was hurt to lose Luka, man. It was a great time spent with him, the short time we did. I was just hurt to see him go."
Marshall also talked about the crazy game when Doncic first returned to Dallas: "I just knew he was going to go crazy like that, though. First game home, Luka wanted to be in Dallas, he probably thought he was never going to leave, I don't know what he was thinking. Man, that was crazy, to see him cry before the game... I don't know what he was feeling but I just could imagine what that moment felt like for him."
It was a historic trade that will never be forgotten, and for the players to even admit it hurt them is rare. It may take a long time for the entire franchise to heal from this trade, even with Cooper Flagg coming soon.
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