With the two-way big man, Anthony Davis, centered in rumors throughout the last handful of weeks, the Washington Wizards are his confirmed next destination. It was the second blockbuster trade the Wizards have made this season, yet, with Davis in particular involved, fans of the LA Clippers feel a sense of jealousy towards the Los Angeles Lakers over the return of Luka Doncic.
BREAKING: The Dallas Mavericks are trading 10-time NBA All-Star Anthony Davis, Jaden Hardy, D'Angelo Russell and Dante Exum to the Washington Wizards for Khris Middleton, AJ Johnson, Malaki Branham, Marvin Bagley III, 2 first-round picks and 3 second-rounders, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/sfrQQubI5i
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 4, 2026
It was roughly a year ago when the Doncic-Davis deal took place, and here is what the Dallas Mavericks received for their generational superstar: Max Christie, Khris Middleton, AJ Johnson, Malaki Branham, Marvin Bagley, three first-round picks, and three second-round picks.
To be quite frank, this blasphemous; the Dallas Mavericks received nowhere near the return on their investment in shipping Doncic.
It was already known that the Mavericks made a massive mistake by trading Doncic for Davis, but now it is clear: the Lakers fleeced the Mavericks and gained a top-five player in the world to give the Clippers trouble for years to come.
The Clippers will be forced to watch the Lakers brag for years on the heist of Luka Doncic
Every time the LA Clippers face off with the Los Angeles Lakers, there are always bragging rights involved for the fans, and by the end of the year, whoever won the regular season series provides the fanbase with the green light to boast throughout the entire offseason on the fact that their team was more dominant.
However, no matter what happens, the Lakers will always have one up on the Clippers, and every ounce of it pertains to Luka Doncic.
It is rare, like one in a trillion, for a team to get as lucky as the Lakers did. Los Angeles’ fortune behind the Doncic-Anthony Davis package is all but a dream for Clipper Nation, and it may never happen again.
Doncic immediately outperformed Davis, and now looking back at it with the big man in the Eastern Conference playing for the Washington Wizards, the first, and most important question is: what were the Dallas Mavericks thinking?
The Mavericks could not have been in their senses, and the Clippers are among the few teams that will pay a prominent price for their deadline error.
That said, the Clippers had no part in the Wizards-Mavericks package for Davis, yet they were indirectly impacted. Though it hurts, LA is forced to accept the reality and move on, knowing the Lakers have the greatest trade-win in history.