It’s been a few days since the Dallas Mavericks stunned everyone by trading Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.
When ESPN’s Shams Charania tweeted out the trade, a lot of fans and media members thought it was fake or that he got hacked because nobody saw it coming. Doncic is one of the top players in the NBA and just helped the Mavericks make the NBA Finals this past season, but their front office was ready to move on.
In return, the Mavericks got Anthony Davis, a 2029 first-round pick, and Max Christie. It was a very light return for one of the top players in the league.
In addition to getting Doncic, the Lakers acquired Maxi Kleber, and Markieff Morris from the Mavericks, The Utah Jazz were the third team in the trade, acquiring Jalen Hood-Schifino, and two second-round picks.
Bill Simmons is still digesting the trade and floated a conspiracy theory about how this could be about the Mavericks moving from Dallas to Vegas at some point down the line.
“I love this one: that the (NBA) owners have always wanted the Vegas team and their eventual goal is to basically flip franchises, move Dallas to Vegas so they can have their whole casino thing,” Simmons said on The Bill Simmons Podcast,” (first transcribed by Awful Announcing).
He later called it one of the “best” conspiracy theories that he’s ever heard. While he’s a fan of it, it will likely not happen since the Mavericks are fully entrenched in Dallas and have been since their first season in 1980-81.
The Mavericks are 26-25 through 51 games and are 11th in the Western Conference. They lost to the Philadelphia 76ers 118-116 on Tuesday and will play the Boston Celtics on Thursday.
Doncic is expected to make his Lakers debut fairly soon.
Related: Breaking: Luka Doncic Traded To Lakers, Anthony Davis To Mavericks In Blockbuster Deal