Fantasy Basketball Trade Reaction: Winners and losers of shocking Luka Dončić for Anthony Davis swap

The Dallas Mavericks reportedly made one of the most epic and unfathomable trades in NBA history late Saturday night, dealing Luka Dončić, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick. The three-team deal also includes the Utah Jazz.

The deal, hoops-wise, sent shockwaves through the NBA and fantasy communities. I’ve never seen NBA Twitter in a frenzy like that. Like others, I wondered if Shams got hacked while awaiting confirmation on the deal from other notable insiders like Chris Haynes and Jake Fischer. My initial reaction is probably in the minority, but I like the deal for both sides (assuming Dončić wasn’t going to sign his supermax extension)!

The Lakers said F it; let’s get a generational superstar in purple and gold and figure out the rest later. Dallas brought in Anthony Davis, one of the best two-way big men in the league to fortify its frontcourt with Dereck Lively II (foot) missing the rest of the season. It’s a good “win-now” move for the Mavericks while the Lakers have their next cornerstone, franchise player post-LeBron James.

While I like the deal, it’s still hard to conceptualize the Mavs actually trading away Luka Dončić, a 25-year-old perennial MVP candidate. Here are my thoughts on the blockbuster trade for fantasy purposes — with one caveat.

I didn’t include LeBron or Luka in the winners and losers sections because I’m still trying to imagine how two ball-dominant, stat-stuffing generational talents will coexist. Luka will always be fine, and LeBron has only finished outside of third-round fantasy value once in his 20-year career (and it was his rookie season).

Winners

Kyrie Irving – PG/SG, Dallas Mavericks

Irving was already providing second-round value in 9-cat leagues before the deal and now he will see a massive bump in usage. Dončić is one of 10 players with a usage rate of over 31%. As one of the most efficient guards in the league, Irving and Davis will be a fun and dynamic duo that will be great for fantasy purposes.

Anthony Davis – PF/C, Dallas Mavericks

It’s pretty funny that AD wanted a center, and rather than granting him his wish, the Lakers shipped him to Dallas. The silver lining is that he weirdly got what he wanted (playing alongside Daniel Gafford), so I’d anticipate the Mavs playing through him more than the Lakers previously did. The Kyrie-AD pick-and-roll is going to be tough to stop. Given the volume and opportunity available, we should see a slight bump in assists and possibly scoring without Dončić.

Jaxon Hayes – C, Los Angeles Lakers

Hayes is left as the de facto center for the Lakers. He’s worth picking up and streaming until another domino falls. He’s averaged 10 points with 6 rebounds and a block a game as a starter in his career. He won’t be outstanding, but consistent minutes plus limited depth in the frontcourt is a W for his fantasy value.

Spencer Dinwiddie – PG/SG, Dallas Mavericks

Dinwiddie has been playing a lot of minutes when Dončić has been off the floor, jumping from 19 to 29 minutes per game this season. He’s averaging 13/3/5 this season, and this move preserves his value as a 12-team back-end depth streamer.

Losers

Daniel Gafford – C, Dallas Mavericks

Gafford was balling out as the primary center in Dallas with Dereck Lively II (foot) on the shelf, but bringing in one of the most talented bigs in the game will surely impact his value going forward. Gafford’s been a top-five fantasy player over the last two weeks and top 50 over the past month. Even though he’ll likely still start with the Mavs rolling out a Cavs-like frontcourt with AD at power forward and Gafford at center, he can’t sustain the level of production we’ve seen over the past 30 days. He’s still worth holding in all leagues for his blocks, rebounds and FG% since he’s still one of the more effective bigs on a per-minute basis.

Austin Reaves – PG/SG/SF, Los Angeles Lakers

Bringing in Dončić hurts Reaves’ upside as a secondary ball-handler. Reaves was averaging a career-best 6.1 assists per game, and it’s hard to imagine he’ll be able to sustain that amount of usage with Dončić in the fold. Reaves remains the Lakers’ third-best scoring option — it’s just hard to imagine the playmaking not tapering off with Luka and LeBron dominating so many possessions.

Rui Hachimura – SF/PF, Los Angeles Lakers

I’m concerned that Hachimura’s playing time and usage will dwindle even further with Dončić in town. Dorian Finney-Smith has a rapport with Dončić and can also play the small-ball center, so I could see Hachimura getting squeezed for opportunities, much like PJ Washington in Dallas.

Washington played power forward with Dončić and only saw a 17% usage rate this season. When Dončić was off the floor, Washington’s usage rate jumped to 23% with far better production. Before the acquisition of Finney-Smith, Hachimura played 34 minutes per game. This month, it dipped to 27.8 minutes per game. A move like this can’t be good for his fantasy outlook.