The Lakers were exploring a move that would have put Luka Doncic next to one of the most polarizing defenders in recent Mavericks memory.
According to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto, Los Angeles had interest in Lu Dort before the wing landed with the Atlanta Hawks in last weekend’s three-team trade. That deal sent Zaccharie Risacher to the Dallas Mavericks, Ryan Nembhard and Dort to Atlanta, and draft capital to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
For the Lakers, the logic was obvious. They’re still shaping the roster around Doncic as he heads into his second full season with the team, and the front office has been chasing the kinds of pieces that make sense around him: rim-rolling big men and two-way wings.
Dort fits that mold cleanly. At 6-foot-4, he brings the kind of defensive edge teams covet, and Los Angeles has clearly been operating with Doncic at the center of every move.
But for Mavericks fans, the idea of Doncic sharing a locker room with Dort would have hit a nerve.
Dort’s reputation in Dallas took a major hit during the 2024 NBA Playoffs, when he became public enemy No. 1 for a lot of MFFLs. His physical style was nothing new, but that series pushed things further. He spent the games hounding Doncic, and one loose-ball sequence in Game 3 ended with Doncic injuring his back while both players were crashing the glass.
That wasn’t the only flashpoint. Dort also undercut Doncic on multiple closeouts in the series, and he kneed him while fighting through a screen from Derrick Jones Jr. Later in that same heated run, Dort made contact with Dereck Lively II’s groin while battling through a screen.
The frustration didn’t stop there. Less than a year later, Dort was ejected for doing the same kind of thing to Gafford in a 2025 regular-season game.
Mavericks fans have had plenty to hold onto since then, and many of them still follow Doncic closely. So the thought of him teaming up with Dort in Los Angeles would have been a strange one - especially after all the baggage from Dallas’ best playoff run since 2011.
The Lakers may have seen a perfect fit. Mavericks fans would have seen something else entirely.
In Other News...
Klay Thompson Is Suddenly At The Center Of Another Stunning Rumor
The Mavericks are once again in the middle of roster chatter as the franchise works through free agency and leadership changes, with Klay Thompson now drawing fresh attention around the league. Multiple reports have tied Dallas to trade discussions involving Thompson, and the buzz has picked up enough to suggest this is more than routine speculation.
What makes the rumor worth watching is the possibility of a three-team framework that would also pull in Miami and New Orleans, with draft capital and players moving around to satisfy each side. For Dallas, the appeal would be finding a workable path through a complicated market, but the exact shape of any deal remains unsettled as the talks continue to circulate. [Read more 🡒]
Lakers Trade Idea Brings Back A Familiar Name In Costly Upgrade
A speculative three-team trade idea has the Lakers, Cavaliers and Mavericks circling each other in a deal built around familiar faces and roster reshuffling. For Dallas, the concept is less about headline names than about whether a package of depth pieces and a draft asset could make sense as the front office weighs ways to reshape the roster around Luka Doni and the core it has tried to build in recent seasons.
The proposal would also create a few reunion angles, including one player heading back to the Lakers after a previous stop in Dallas and another link between Doni and a forward who helped the Mavericks reach the 2024 NBA Finals. It is the kind of trade framework that can spark plenty of debate because it offers Dallas multiple moving parts, but it remains only an idea for now, with the real question being whether the Mavericks would see enough value to actually pull the trigger. [Read more 🡒]
How The Mavericks Landed Zaccharie Risacher Is Raising Eyebrows
The Mavericks latest front-office maneuver turned heads around the league, not just because they came away with Zaccharie Risacher, but because of how much coordination it took to get there. Dallas completed a three-team trade with Atlanta and Oklahoma City, sending Lu Dort and Ryan Nembhard to the Hawks while the Thunder took in three second-round picks to help make the deal work.
For a team that has been working with limited assets, landing a former No. 1 pick like Risacher looked like the kind of swing that requires both conviction and creativity. Masai Ujiri and Mike Schmitz helped steer the process, and Oklahoma Citys role was essential in giving Dallas a path Atlanta would accept, even as the Mavericks continue to operate with a thin stash of picks and the possibility that more roster pieces may eventually be needed to restock it. [Read more 🡒]